ysu women \ Today’s game

Who: Youngstown State (0-8) at Buffalo (1-7)

When: 2 p.m.

Where: Alumni Arena, Buffalo, N.Y.

Radio/TV: WKBN-AM 570.

Coaches: Cindy Martin (Florida, ‘99) is in her second season with the Penguins and has a 3-35 record. Her five-year career record is 73-58. Linda Hill-MacDonald (West Chester, ‘70) is in her fifth season with the Bulls with a record of 44-83.

YSU starters: Bojana Dimitrov, 5-7 junior guard (14.7 points per game, 3.5 rebounds per game); Brandi Brown, 5-11 freshman forward (10.8 ppg., 10.0 rpg.); Macey Nortey, 5-3 sophomore guard (10.3 ppg., 2.8 rpg.); Kenya Middlebrooks, 5-7 sophomore guard (9.4 ppg., 3.8 rpg.); Rachael Manuel, 6-3 senior forward (6.9 ppg., 4.9 rpg.).

Buffalo starters: Kourtney Brown, 6-0 junior forward (18.3 ppg., 11.1 rpg.); Jessica Forthman, 6-0junior forward (10.0 ppg., 5.0 rpg.); Brittany Hedderson, 5-9 sophomore guard (7.8 ppg., 1.5 rpg.); Abby Dowd, 5-10 freshman guard (6.6 ppg., 3.0 rpg.); Bridgett Kendricks, 5-9 junior guard (3.9 ppg., 6.3 rpg.).

Outlook: One team is going to snap a long losing streak today. YSU has lost all eight games this season including a 75-63 loss to Akron in its last outing on Dec. 5. The Penguins have been off for eight days for final exams. Bojana Dimitrov, the 5-7 junior guard who leads the Penguins in scoring is expected to be back after missing the last two games with a concussion. Freshman Brandi Brown has been leading the Penguins and hit career highs against Akron with her third double-double of the year, getting 24 points and 14 rebounds. Buffalo, which won its season opener with Niagara 87-79, has lost its last seven including a 78-57 loss at St. Bonaventure last Wednesday. The Bulls are 0-2 at home this year.

The series: The Penguins lead the series 12-10, but Buffalo has dominated lately, winning eight of the last 10. Last year the Bulls defeated the Penguins 66-42 in Youngstown. The Penguins haven’t won at Buffalo in their last five trips there. The last YSU win came there in 1997-98 when both were still members of the Mid-Continent Conference, 66-65.

Up next: The Penguins have one more road game this year when they travel to St. Francis, Pa., on Thursday in a 7 p.m. tip-off. They return home to play Bowling Green on Dec. 21 before opening Horizon League play with back-to-back home games with Milwaukee (Jan. 2) and Green Bay (Jan. 4).

Pete Mollica