Penguins looking for a leader

After watching the Youngstown State women's basketball team lose Sunday to Kent State, it's easy to see why veteran coach Ed DiGregorio is starting to pull out his hair.
DiGregorio's teams have struggled the past two seasons and they appear headed for another struggling season this year.
For DiGregorio it is hard to accept since his teams were so dominant during the 1990s -- appearing in three NCAA tournaments and earning five consecutive 20-win seasons.
DiGregorio, who is in his 20th season, still feels he has a talented team. But the coach is waiting for someone to step up and be the leader.
Injuries
Before this season began, he lost one of his top returning players in junior Cathy Hanek, an Ursuline High product, who might have provided the missing spark.
Hanek, a good shooter and ball handler, was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis, an inflammatory arthritis, and was told by her doctor to take the year off to make a full recovery. She's being redshirted and will have two more years of eligibility.
Four games into the season DiGregorio lost his top freshman prospect, Ashlee Russo of Boardman. Russo had off-season surgery on her ankle, It's still giving her a lot of trouble, so she's also being redshirted this year.
With those two standouts on the sidelines, the Penguins are hurting at the guard position. Their lone returning starter at the position, senior Maggie Johnston, missed most of preseason practice with tendinitis in both her knees. She's been playing all season, but is still not able to go full strength.
DiGregorio has had to call upon sophomore Jessica Olmstead and junior Devin Novak, neither of whom saw much action a year ago, to help out at the guard spot. Neither are great ball handlers, which showed up Sunday at Kent when the Golden Flashes went into full court pressure and the Penguins turned the ball over 27 times.
The Penguins have had to rely on their inside game this year, and nobody has really stepped up to take the ball.
Sunday DiGregorio was upset.
"Nobody wanted the ball at all today," he said. "I can't figure it out, we run against that same press every day in practice. There's no excuse for that kind of sloppy play."
Talented
The Penguins have talent inside, led by sophomore Jen Perugini, the Horizon League's Newcomer of the year last season. But Perugini, who was among the nation's leaders in rebounds at one point last season and led the Horizon League in rebounding, has been only average this season.
Perugini, a 6-foot-2 forward, has gotten the ball inside numerous times this season only to miss easy layups.
Junior Jessica Forsythe has been one of the bright spots on the team. At 5-10, she leads the Penguins in rebounds (averaging over seven per game) and had her first career double-double against Kent State with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Sophomore Tara Fleming, at 6-3, could be a threat inside, but hasn't been able to find her range often enough. Sophomore Barb Fabianova, one of the area's top high school stars from Kennedy Catholic High, has been hot and cold for the past two years.
Novak is probably one of the best pure shooters in all of women's basketball, but she is only average at handling the ball and on defense. Give her an open shot from anywhere on the floor and she's deadly.
The Penguins don't have an easy road heading up to the Horizon League, where they were picked to finish sixth this year.
Wednesday night they are home to Buffalo and then must go to Ohio State on Friday. They return home to play their sixth Mid-American Conference opponent, Akron, next Sunday.
XPete Mollica covers YSU athletics for The Vindicator. Write to him at mollica@vindy.com.