YSU WOMEN Cleveland State to visit Penguins

Time is running out for the 2-18 Penguins.
By PETE MOLLICA
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- Time is running out for this season's Youngstown State women's basketball team.
The Penguins, mired in the cellar of the Horizon League standings, have only seven games remaining to do something about their disappointing records (2-18 overall, 0-9 Horizon League).
Thursday at 7 p.m., the Penguins return home to meet Cleveland State University at Beeghly Center.
YSU snapped a school-record 16-game losing streak on Jan. 24, beating IPFW, 72-62, at Beeghly.
But the Penguins have dropped their last two contests, Horizon League games to Illinois-Chicago, 56-51, and to UW-Milwaukee, 62-56.
Record breakdown
The Penguins are 2-6 at home this season and 0-12 on the road.
First-year coach Tisha Hill has been unable to get her team to put anything together this year, although in both of the last two losses, the Penguins managed to make winning difficult for the opposition.
"This team has to come together and quickly," Hill said.
The Penguins have lacked a consistent scoring punch all season and while they've played better defensively, turnovers and lack of rebounding have been costly.
Thursday, the Penguins take on the Vikings, a team which defeated YSU 88-54 in their first meeting in Cleveland on Dec. 30, 2003.
Dropped from the top
The Vikings had been leading the Horizon League standings until they suffered a 62-46 defeat to UW-Green Bay on Monday and dropped from first to third.
Cleveland State had 24 turnovers in that loss to the Phoenix, which dropped it to 6-2 in the conference and 9-10 overall.
The Penguins are led by 5-foot-8 junior guard Cathy Hanek, who is averaging 10.2 points per game. Senior Jessica Forsythe is the team's leading rebounder, averaging 7.5 per game.
They have gotten some good playing time from freshman guard Kristy Gaudiose of Poland, who's averaging 6.2 points, while junior 6-3 center Tara Fleming has played well in the post.
But others have struggled. Junior guard Jessica Olmstead, who scored 25 points in the season opening win over Bowling Green, hasn't come close to that effort since and lost her starting position.
Slumpsville
Junior 6-2 center Jen Perugini, who was the Horizon League's newcomer of the year two years ago and second team all-conference last year, hasn't played to her potential this season.
Injuries have hampered the Penguins also, as freshman redshirt Ashley Russo has been off and on with an ankle injury, while junior Barb Fabianova has missed much of the season with knee problems.
The Penguins play host to Loyola of Chicago Saturday in the opening game of a doubleheader at Beeghly Center (5:15 p.m.). The YSU men will take on UW-Green Bay in the second game at 7:35 p.m.
mollica@vindy.com