YSU BASKETBALL Penguins hope to maintain momentum

The team, which plays Eastern Michigan today, has won three straight.
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Youngstown State women's basketball team (4-3) will go for its third straight win when it hosts defending Mid-American Conference tournament champion Eastern Michigan today at 4:30 p.m.
The game will follow the men's contest against Bowling Green and will be broadcast on WNIO-AM (1390) or on www.ysusports.com.
The Penguins are coming off a 61-48 win over Akron on Sunday. Senior Cathy Hanek led the Penguins with a career-high 22 points, while senior Jen Perugini added 13 points and 14 rebounds. Freshman Lauren Branson also reached double figures with a career-high 11 points, and added six assists.
Hanek was 8-of-15 from the floor, including a career-best five 3-pointers.
Eastern Michigan is 7-0 after defeating Michigan 69-60 on Wednesday.
Statistically speaking
Senior Ryan Coleman leads the Eagles at 15.8 points per game, while junior Nikki Knapp is averaging 10.3 points per game. The Eagles are allowing just 49 points per game and only one opponent has reached 60 points this season.
Perugini has 932 career points, good for 17th on YSU's all-time scoring list, and needs 68 more to become the 16th player in school history with 1,000 career points.
Perugini is also climbing the Youngstown State all-time rebounding chart, and ranks eighth with 707. She needs five more to move into seventh place. Perugini also has a chance to become the sixth player in school history with 1,000 points and 750 rebounds.
With four victories in its first seven games, YSU has already tied the number of games it won last season. YSU also was awarded a forfeit victory last season. It marks the Penguins' best start since the 1999-2000 season, when they started 5-2.