YSU BASKETBALL Penguins begin run against the MAC

The women play Bowling Green on the road, then come home for four straight.
Youngstown State's women's basketball team (2-2) closes out its three-game road swing at Bowling Green tonight at 7 p.m. (WNIO-AM 1390).
The Penguins were runner-up at the Florida Atlantic Thanksgiving Classic, where they defeated host Florida Atlantic, 71-58, then lost to James Madison in the championship game, 79-62.
Seniors Jen Perugini and Barb Fabianova were named to the all-tournament team.
The match-up against Bowling Green is the first of five straight games against schools from the Mid-American Conference and the only one not played at Beeghly Center.
The Penguins play host to Toledo on Thursday, Akron on Sunday, Eastern Michigan on Dec. 11 and Buffalo on Dec. 14.
Bowling Green is 1-2 after losing 68-63 decision to Duquesne on Saturday. The Falcons defeated Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne, 115-84, and lost to Ohio State in the preseason WNIT, 89-41.
Bowling Green has three players averaging in double figures, led by sophomore Liz Honegger (13.7 points per game). Sophomores Megan Thornburn and Ali Mann are averaging 12.3 and 12 points per game, respectively, and Mann leads the team with 8 rebounds per game.
Close series
This is the 20th meeting between Youngstown State and Bowling Green with the Falcons owning a 10-9 advantage in the all-time series. Youngstown State, however, has won the last two meetings, including a 79-67 win in Beeghly Center last season. The Penguins also defeated the Falcons, 70-64, in their last meeting at Anderson Arena during the 2002-03 campaign. It was the first time in 12 years the Penguins defeated the Falcons in Bowling Green.
In the Penguins' 79-62 loss to James Madison, Perugini led the Penguins with 17 points while sophomore Kristy Gaudiose added 10 points off the bench.
Perugini is off to an outstanding start, averaging a double-double with 19.8 points and 13 rebounds per game. The 6-foot-2 forward also leads the Horizon League in rebounds per game and is second in scoring average.
Perugini averaged 19 points and 9.5 rebounds per game while shooting 48.3 percent from the field at the FAU tournament, and Fabianova averaged 14 points per game over the weekend. Fabianova also connected on 41.7 percent from behind the 3-point line.
In the first round against Florida Atlantic, Fabianova scored a season-high 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field and 4-of-8 from behind the 3-point arc. It marked the third straight game Fabianova reached double figures. She is averaging 17 points per game.
Gaudiose was 4-of-7 from the floor, including 2-of-2 on 3-pointers.
Freshman Lauren Branson had a career-high seven assists against James Madison.