YSU WOMEN Red-hot Penguins hit road

Youngstown State opens Horizon Tournament play at Wright State on Thursday.
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Youngstown State women's basketball team was predicted to finish last in the nine-team Horizon League this season.
The Penguins finished in sixth place and there is no telling just how high they might have finished if the season had lasted another week.
The Penguins will open Horizon tournament play Thursday at 7 p.m. when they travel to meet No. 3-seeded Wright State at the Nutter Center in Dayton.
Winning streak
YSU comes into the game on a three-game winning streak. Included are wins at No. 1-seeded UW-Green Bay (60-56) and at No. 2-seeded UW-Milwaukee (75-68). The Penguins also enjoyed a home victory over Detroit (71-68).
YSU second-year head coach Tisha Hill, who watched her team struggle through a 4-24 season a year ago, has brought the team back to 12-15 this season, 6-10 in the Horizon League.
"We're very excited about being the sixth seed and we're excited about going to Wright State," Hill said Tuesday. "These are two very hot teams right now.
"We feel we have momentum, but so do they," Hill said. "But from here on it is just one game at a time."
Wright State comes into the contest sporting a 17-10 record, 11-5 Horizon.
Beat Penguins twice
The Raiders have beaten the Penguins twice during the regular season, including a 65-38 trouncing on Jan. 8 at the Nutter Center. The Raiders also beat the Penguins 61-51 at YSU's Beeghly Center last month.
"It's going to be our shooting and inside game against their speed and quickness," Hill said. "Their quickness is their strength and we've got to slow them down and contain them to win."
The Penguins are led by first-team All-Horizon League selection Jen Perugini, a 6-2 senior forward.
The Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, native finished second in the league in scoring with 14.5 points a game. She led the league in rebounding averaging 10.7 per game along with 13 double-doubles on the season, including eight against Horizon League opponents.
"Getting All-Horizon honors and player of the week honors is a great tribute and something that I've worked hard for all year long, but it is still all about winning and we are playing at our best right now," Perugini said.
Wins over the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the league have inspired the team and now they go up against No. 3.
"I guess it's their turn to get knocked off," Perugini said.
Supporting cast
Perugini has had good support from seniors Barb Fabianova and Cathy Hanek. Fabianova is averaging in double figures at 11.1 and Hanek is just under the mark at 9.7 per game.
Freshman point guard Lauren Branson, who was named to the league's All-Newcomer team this season, leads the league in assists averaging 5.8 per contest.
"This team started to understand that anything is possible after beating Green Bay," Hill said. "They are very excited, but they are still very hungry and not satisfied.
"We are not going into this game scared or intimidated," Hill said. "We are going in confident and also pretty healthy.
The winner of Thursday's contest will advance to the tournament semifinal round on Sunday where it will meet the winner of No. 7 seeded Detroit and No. 2 seed UW-Milwaukee in a 3:30 p.m. start. The site of that contest will be determined after Thursday's tournament action.