Penguins set for matchup with Milwaukee
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YOUNGSTOWN -- With four games remaining in the regular season, Youngstown State likely is out of the mix for the Horizon League's top spot.
The Penguins (18-7, 12-4 Horizon League) sit in third place, two games back of both Green Bay (21-4, 14-2 Horizon League) and Cleveland State (24-3, 14-2 Horizon League).
Make no mistake, though. Plenty is on the line as YSU readies for its final homestand of the regular season. The Penguins host Milwaukee on Friday (7 p.m., ESPN+, 570 AM WKBN) and Green Bay on Sunday (1 p.m., ESPN+, 570 AM WKBN) before visiting IUPUI and Robert Morris next week.
As it stands right now, YSU already has secured a first-round bye in the Horizon League Tournament. The Penguins can guarantee themselves a home quarterfinal game with a combination of the following over the next four games: Two wins, a win and a Northern Kentucky loss, or two Northern Kentucky losses.
"We're fighting for the highest possible seed," YSU coach John Barnes said. "We have an opportunity where if we finish strong, we can host the second round of the tournament, which is a huge key. So there's a lot for us to fight for down the stretch."
Guard Paige Shy added, "I think we realized recently that it's a one-game season, and every team can beat any team on a given night. So Milwaukee's a really good team, and we're definitely going to have to play some of our best basketball to beat them."
The Panthers (8-16, 6-10 Horizon League) enter on a bit of a skid. Milwaukee has lost two straight and six of its last seven, the lone win a 62-57 decision over Detroit Mercy. That slide began with the first meeting between UWM and YSU, a 61-51 Penguin victory at the Klotsche Center in Milwaukee. That marked Youngstown State's third consecutive victory over the Panthers.
If YSU is to make it four in a row, it begins with stopping Milwaukee's talented forward tandem of Megan Walstad and Emma Wittmershaus. Walstad averages 9.3 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, while Wittmershaus adds 10.5 points and 5.7 rebounds per contest.
Guard Kendall Nead leads Milwaukee in scoring at 11.4 points per game.
Of Walstad and Wittmershaus, Barnes said, "What makes them special is they both can post up and finish with either hand, and they both can step out and shoot the three. ... That's a challenge for some post players to get out and defend on the perimeter. And they do a great job on the boards. They're long, they block shots, they rebound. They're a great tandem."
And defending is where Barnes has spent the last couple weeks really emphasizing things. The Penguins struggled with that aspect in their losses to Cleveland State and Purdue Fort Wayne, and perhaps even a bit in their win over Detroit Mercy last week.
"I feel like it's a work in progress," Barnes said. "It (has been) all season, but we want to be playing our best at the very end (of the regular season) and into tournament time, and we're still working at that."
Shy added, "We've just tried to pick up our energy and increase the level that we're playing at to get more energy, communicate, (win) 50-50 balls, rebounding. Just upping our level a little bit more."
A critical point, Shy notes, because every game is a must-win now.
"It's a huge week of basketball that we need to have, especially for our goal to finish however high as we can in the conference," she said.