Staff photo / Greg Macafee Youngstown State’s Shay-Lee Kirby goes up for a lay-up Saturday afternoon against Northern Kentucky at the Beeghly Center.

YOUNGSTOWN — A lot can change in just a few weeks.

When Youngstown State hosted Purdue Fort Wayne back on New Years Eve, the Mastodons were in the midst of a stretch in which they lost eight of nine games. Their loss to YSU that day — a 60-44 decision — was the first of a four-game losing streak, the second such streak the Mastodons suffered during that nine-game stretch.

Now, as the Penguins (16-5, 10-2 Horizon League) ready for a road rematch with the Mastodons tonight (7 p.m., ESPN+. 1390 AM WNIO), PFW is seemingly rejuvenated.

Purdue Fort Wayne (9-13, 6-6 Horizon League) has won its last three and four of its last five, including an impressive 73-64 win at Oakland on Jan. 26. The Mastodons have recovered from an early 3-6 conference mark to get back to .500, and stand just a game back of fifth place, which brings a first-round bye in this year’s league tournament.

“They’re a very talented team,” said YSU coach John Barnes, whose team sits in a three-way tie for first place with Cleveland State and Green Bay. “I think they had some injuries for a while, and then those players are getting healthy. They’re playing good basketball, and they’re tough at home.”

Which perhaps makes the three-game win streak all the more impressive, considering all three of those wins came away from Fort Wayne.

In its recent hot streak, PFW has shot at least 42.1 percent from the field. And in their last three wins, the Mastodons have shot just as well from 3-point range, their worst performance a still strong 11-for-26 day at Oakland.

Fort Wayne’s 7.9 treys per game rank second in the Horizon League.

“They put four shooters on the court, sometimes five,” Barnes noted. “That makes it difficult to guard. They do a great job getting into the paint, going inside-out by throwing into their post players. Their post players do a really nice job of passing out to the 3-point shooters, so if you get lost at all, they’re knocking it down.”

The leader of that effort is still Amellia Bromenschenkel, who is knocking down 45.6 percent of her shots, 37 percent of her 3-pointers and is scoring a team-high 12.9 points per game.

However, in the first matchup between the Penguins and Mastodons, Bromenschenkel was held to four points on a 2-for-7 day from the field, due in large part to tight defense from YSU guard Megan Callahan.

Callahan said Tuesday she’ll be picking up that assignment again Thursday.

“I do know that I’ll be on her,” Callahn said. “She’s a really athletic player, and she can score at all three levels. So kind of just understanding that I know I can get the job done and locking in that day knowing that I have my teammates behind me to help me.”

Fellow guard Shayla Sellers is adding nine points per game for the Mastodons.

Purdue Fort Wayne also defend the perimeter well. The Mastodons sit at third in the Horizon League in 3-point field goal percentage allowed, first in steals and second in blocked shots.

“They do a great job of switching things up,” Barnes said. “They’re playing a lot more zone now and trying to slow you down, then they’ll press and get out on the 3-point shooters. So we’re going to have to be on top of our game. We’re going to have to play to our advantages and try to make our disadvantages a little less (noticeable) by taking care of the basketball, rebounding, those types of things.”

Callahan added that PFW’s perimeter defenders all are lengthy, which will provide a challenge for the Penguins’ shooters.

“They can sit a little bit further off and still guard you from three,” she noted.

YSU, meanwhile, enters on a four-game win streak after surviving an upset bid from Northern Kentucky last Saturday. The Penguins visit PFW on Thursday before turning their attention to a massive road trip to Cleveland State on Saturday.

As the regular season turns to its final month, Callahan and Barnes both say the team still has progress to make before the postseason begins.

Callahan said, “I feel as though consistency will be the (biggest thing) for us — staying consistent on defense, staying consistent on offense when one of us isn’t having our best game, keeping each other up and knowing that each and every one of us can score.”

“I think it’s the fundamentals and the basics that we talk about,” Barnes added. “Sometimes you don’t get to rep and drill those as much because you’re playing games all the time and you’re traveling. So really, I just want to see us execute the little details on both ends that enable us to win games down the stretch.”