YSU BASKETBALL Penguins to open on road Friday
The men's team is at Indiana State, while the women travel to Bowling Green.
By PETE MOLLICA
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Youngstown State basketball teams will open the 2002-03 season on the road Friday night.
The men will take on Indiana State at 7:05 p.m. at the Hulman Center in Terre Haute, Ind., while the women will visit Bowling Green for the fourth straight year at 7 in Anderson Arena.
This will be the first meeting between the Penguins and Indiana State, although the schools are both members of the Gateway Football Conference.
"These two teams are mirror images of each other," said YSU coach John Robic. "They were 6-22 last year and struggled in their conference [Missouri Valley] and have a lot of new faces in the lineup this year."
YSU, 5-23, will try to snap a 15-game road losing streak. The Penguins last won a road contest in February 2001 at UMKC and have lost seven consecutive non-conference games on the road.
"Indiana State is a tough place to play," said Robic. "Prior to last season they were 45-8 the previous four years at home."
In their only exhibition contest the Penguins defeated the Upstate New York All-Stars 88-82.
"We've made some progress, especially in the last two weeks," said Robic. "The guys are starting to feel more comfortable and overall there have been some positive points.
Robic said the team has been playing too fast.
"There is a difference in playing fast and playing good," he said. "We're not going to play helter-skelter ball."
Opening game starters
The Penguins will start four players with college game experience: sophomore Doug Underwood (6-foot-3), who averaged 10.4 points per game last year; 5-11 senior point guard Marlon Williamson; forwards Brian Radakovich (6-7 sophomore), and Tejay Anderson (6-6 junior).
The lone new face in the lineup is 6-8 junior college transfer Adam Baumann at center.
Women's coach Ed DiGregorio hopes that he has all his weapons available Friday.
"We dressed 12 young ladies in our exhibition game last week, and that was the first time we had more than eight players available this year," DiGregorio said.
The Penguins lost to the OGBM Legends 79-74, but DiGregorio felt it was a good test.
"I was especially pleased with the way our young players performed in their first game," he said.
Falcons lead series
Bowling Green leads the series 10-6, but has won nine of the last 10 meetings. The Penguins haven't won at Bowling Green since 1990. Last season the Penguins, who were 12-16, lost 71-61 to the Falcons at Beeghly Center.
The Penguins are expected to start three sophomores and two juniors. They include sophomore forward Jen Perugini (6-2), the Horizon League's newcomer of the year; junior forward Jessica Forsythe (5-11), and sophomore forward Barb Fabianova (6-0).
The guards will be 5-9 sophomore Jessica Olmstead and 5-10 junior Devin Novak.
Senior point guard Maggie Johnston, who has been hampered with tendinitis in her knees, saw some action in the exhibition game, but she is questionable for Friday.
Junior guard Cathy Hanek is lost for the season with an inflammatory arthritis condition. She is being redshirted.
mollica@vindy.com