YSU women capture share of Horizon League title

For the first time since 1999, the Youngstown State women's basketball team captured a regular-season conference championship.

With their 61-54 road win over UIC on Saturday, the Penguins (24-5, 18-4) captured a share of the Horizon League regular season title. After their loss to IUPUI on Thursday, the Penguins finished with the same conference record as the Jaguars at 17-4.

"It's pretty exciting," Youngstown State coach John Barnes said after the win Saturday. "The team, staff, administration, everybody is really excited and happy. It was a lot of work, but we were able to get it done."

Saturday's win was led by a standout effort from forward Lilly Ritz, who tallied 23 points and eight rebounds while going 11-of-17 from the field. Malia Magestro also hit three 3-pointers and scored 18 points in the win, while Paige Shy added 10 points.

The Penguins trailed UIC (2-24, 1-20) 13-11 after the first quarter, but held UIC to just seven points in the second quarter while scoring 15 of their own. From there, the two teams went back and forth, but YSU was able to hold on late for the seven-point victory.

Then the celebration started.

The 2021-22 regular season was one of the best in recent memory for the Penguins, who started the year on an eight-game win streak before falling to Penn State 78-58 for their first loss of the season Dec. 12.

The Penguins then won their next seven games before losing to IUPUI on Jan. 16 for their first conference loss of the season.

Heading into this year, YSU was picked to finish 7th in the Horizon League, and that was largely due to the number of new pieces it brought in.

Barnes recruited five transfers and fit them into the regular rotation. Among them, Lilly Ritz, Paige Shy and Meghan Callahan averaged over 24 minutes a game this year, and Ritz led the team in scoring with 16.8 points while also grabbing 9.6 rebounds a game.

The new faces assimilating with the returning players was a key to YSU's success.

"I think that we knew it was going to be a challenge with so many new pieces, no matter how talented they are," Barnes said. "With a lot of new faces it's hard to bring them together so we knew that part was going to be a challenge. Our leadership is the best it's ever been; that makes a huge difference. They led and made sure newcomers were doing the right things -- cheering for each other, caring for each other, working for each other since day one, and that was the difference."

A major player in that leadership role was fifth-year senior Chelsea Olson, who recently set YSU's program record for most games played in a career. She finished the regular season averaging 11 points and six rebounds.

"She made the decision to stay for that fifth year and basically took the team under her wing and led them to a conference championship," Barnes said. "That makes it even more special. Her decision to stay and try and lead a team that was basically a lot of new people and unknowns -- we were picked seventh in the league -- her loyalty and mentality to do what it takes to win ... I couldn't be more proud or happy for her to experience this. It's something that can never be taken away."

With their top-two finish in league play, the Penguins will receive a first-round bye in the Horizon League tournament and will host a quarterfinal game Thursday at the Beeghly Center.

Barnes hasn't quite turned his attention to the tournament yet, as he was reveling in the fact of what his team was able to accomplish.

"To finish the year with six of eight road games was extremely difficult," Barnes said. "To be able to win enough of those to win a championship just says a lot about the team, their heart, dedication and effort and staff and everybody else. It's just truly a special group, and I couldn't be happier for them."

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