YSU BASKETBALL Men, women play host to Butler

Wednesday's doubleheader begins at 5:15 p.m.
By PETE MOLLICA
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- The second basketball doubleheader at Youngstown State University will be held Wednesday night when both the Penguins teams play host to Butler University at Beeghly Center.
The women's contest will tip-off at 5:15 p.m., while the men will follow at 7:35 p.m.
The last time the two Penguins teams paired up in a doubleheader at Beeghly Center, on Jan. 10, the men knocked off Cleveland State 86-82 and the women battled Wright State down to the wire before losing 61-58 before a crowd of over 4,000 fans.
The men have played only one game since the Cleveland State win and they lost that one at UW-Milwaukee 80-74 last Thursday.
The Penguins continue to struggle on the road as they are 0-9 this season away from Beeghly and have lost 38 consecutive regular season road games dating back to the 2001 season.
Penguins 4-2 at home
YSU is playing much better at home with a 4-2 record. In the Horizon League YSU is 1-5, but is 1-1 at home.
Butler, which a year ago posted a school record 27-6 record and reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament, has struggled this season.
The Bulldogs come into YSU with a 6-9 season record and are just 2-4 in the Horizon League.
Butler, which lost its first four league games, is on a two-game winning streak. Saturday the Bulldogs beat Detroit 70-69 in overtime. They also own a win over Loyola 72-54 last Thursday night.
Senior 6-foot-6 forward Mike Monserez has scored nearly 50 points in the last two games for the Bulldogs, including a 24 point effort in the win over Detroit on Saturday. Senior Duane Lightfoot made two free throws with five seconds left in overtime to give the Bulldogs the win.
The Penguins are led by 6-3 junior guard Doug Underwood, who scored a career-high 29 points in last week's loss to Milwaukee. He also had a team-high 18 points in the win over Cleveland State.
Women's problems continue
The YSU women have been struggling both home and away this season as their 1-15 season record indicates. The Penguins have lost 15 straight games after dropping a 65-47 contest at UW-Green Bay on Saturday. They are 0-6 in the Horizon League.
The 15 straight losses is a record for the Penguins, who had lost 14 straight back in the 1993-94 season under then-coach Ed DiGregorio.
First-year coach Tisha Hill has been unable to find a leader on this year's team. Poor shooting and too many turnovers have been the Penguins' main downfall this year.
YSU is averaging nearly 20 turnovers a contest and is shooting just 32 percent from the field.
The Penguins are led by junior Jessica Olmstead and junior Cathy Hanek, both scoring just over 10 points per game.
The YSU inside game has been inconsistent with junior Tara Fleming, senior Jessica Forsythe and junior Jen Perugini. All have played well at times, but never consistently although Forsythe continues to be one of the top rebounders in the conference averaging just under nine per contest.
The Butler women are 5-11 on the year and 1-4 in the Horizon League after dropping a 66-60 decision to league-leading Detroit on Saturday afternoon.
Wednesday's game will be the first of two straight at home for the Penguins, who also play host IPFW in a non-league contest Saturday in a 2 p.m. tip-off. The men will head to Cleveland State on Saturday for a 5:30 p.m. Horizon League game against the Vikings in Goodman Arena.
mollica@vindy.com