YSU women in Brooklyn on Friday

After a long break, the
Penguins will play against Long Island.

By PETE MOLLICA

VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF

YOUNGSTOWN — The Youngstown State women’s basketball team has had 10 days off, and head coach Tisha Hill is hoping that the extra practice will get her Penguins back on the right track.

YSU (0-2) will resume play Friday night when the Penguins travel to meet Long Island (2-2) in the first round of the LIU Turkey Classic at the Wellness, Recreation and Athletics Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.

“Offensively, we’ve been playing pretty well, but our defense has been what has been killing us,” Hill said. “It was very disappointing to give up 87 points against Niagara and that what we’ve been working on during the layoff.”

Hill said that her three senior starters have been doing all that they can to carry the load, but that they definitely need some help.

Senior Jessica Schloemp is averaging a double-double with 11 points and 10.5 rebounds in the first two games, while senior Heather Karner leads the team with 18.5 points a game and six rebounds. Senior Lauren Branson is averaging seven points and five assists.

“Jess may not be the most athletic player on the floor, but she just gives out 100 percent all the time she’s in there, while Heather is doing just what we expect from her and Lauren is averaging more points than we expected and still is handling the point guard spot well,” Hill said.

Hill also said that the task of playing seven of their first 10 games on the road is a major one.

“But this is a veteran team and I had hoped they would have handled it better than they have,” she added.

“Long Island is a very good basketball team with an outstanding back-court and will give us a great challenge,” she said.

Win or lose on Friday, the Penguins will come back and play either Albany or Holy Cross on Saturday in either the championship or the consolation game.

The Penguins will return home on Nov. 29 to play Toledo in a 7:05 p.m. tip-off at Beeghly Center.

mollica@vindy.com