YSU womens basketball team looks to rebound

Photo by: William D. Lewis

Photo

Youngstown State basketball player Macey Nortey stands at center court of the Beeghly center during media day. Nortey, a junior guard, is one of four returning starters for the Penguins, who began practice for the first time under new head coach Bob Boldon on Monday — about two weeks earlier than the NCAA has allowed in previous years.

By Jon Moffett

By JON MOFFETT

jmoffett@vindy.com

Youngstown

Two weeks may not be a lot of time, but it is a welcome addition to the Youngstown State women’s basketball practice schedule.

The Penguins practiced together for the first time as a team on Monday — about two weeks earlier than the NCAA has allowed in previous years.

First-year head coach Bob Boldon said those extra days will go a long way in helping a coaching staff that is still getting to know its players.

“We’re going to get 10-12 hours of practice in this week and next week where we would normally be limited to two hours,” Boldon said. “So we’re going to get almost an extra 20 hours of practice in that we would not have normally had.”

That extra time is going to be used to help remove the memories of an 0-30 campaign the Penguins suffered through last season.

Out is former coach Cindy Martin, who resigned after her second season, and in is Boldon, a Louisville native who is eager to get the team moving forward.

“I think everybody wants to start everything on a good note and get things going in the right direction,” Boldon said. “We haven’t talked about [the losing streak] a lot, I think everybody knows it exists and it’s not something that we can easily hide from.”

Boldon, however, isn’t hiding from anything. He knows the team needs to shoot better and play better defense to compete.

The team was in last place in point differential last season, Boldon said. But a lot of the problem in those figures may have correlated to another figure.

The Penguins will have a roster of about 11-12, Boldon said. Last year, because of injuries, the team had nights were six girls would suit up.

“It’s very refreshing [to have more teammates],” Brandi Brown said. “It’s nice to have a lot more legs back there, and we’re just happy. We’re going to do our best to stay healthy.”

Four starters return from last season. Brown, a sophomore, had an excellent freshman year where she averaged a double-double with 11.4 points per game and 10.6 rebounds, and broke the school’s freshman rebounding record with 318.

Joining her are senior guard Bojana “Boki” Dimitrov, and junior guards Macey Nortey and Kenya Middlebrooks.

Nortey said it has been a refreshing offseason, and she is excited to get things started.

“It’s just a different feel; there’s just a different feel in the air I guess,” she said. “We’re just at ease and just ready to go. It’s calm; it’s a lot calmer than it was in March.”

The hardest part has been trying to learn Boldon’s styles.

Boldon said he has barely “scratched the surface” of installing his offensive and defensive strategies. But with more practice time will come more wrinkles.

“We depend on the three-point shot a lot more than last year’s team did, and I know that probably scares some people when you look at numbers,” Boldon said. “But that’s why the improvement in our shooting has been encouraging.”

Boldon said the offense is more “motion-based” with fewer set plays.

The Penguins open their season on the road on Nov. 12 at Pitt. The early tipoff is at 11 a.m.

YSU Women's Team Schedule

Friday, Nov. 12 at Pittsburgh, 11 a.m.

Wednesday, Nov. 17 at Bowling Green 7 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 20 vs. IPFW 1:05 p.m.

Wednesday, Nov. 24 vs. Bucknell (DH) 5:15 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 27 vs. Ohio (DH) 4:35 p.m.

Wednesday, Dec. 1 at Kent State 7 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 4 at American 2 p.m.

Sunday, Dec. 12 at Western Michigan 2 p.m.

Thursdays Dec. 16 vs. Akron 7:05 p.m.

Monday, Dec. 20 at Stetson& 1 p.m.

Tuesday, Dec. 21 vs. Winthrop& 3:30 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 31 at Loyola* 2 p.m.

Sunday, Jan. 2 at UIC* 4 p.m.

Thursday, Jan. 6 vs. Green Bay* 7:05 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 8 vs. Milwaukee* 4:35 p.m.

Thursday, Jan. 13 at Valparaiso* 8:05 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 15 at Butler* 2 p.m.

Thursday, Jan. 20 vs. Wright State (DH)* 5:15 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 22 vs. Detroit (DH)* 4:35 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 29 vs. Cleveland State* 1:05 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 3 at Milwaukee* 8 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 5 at Green Bay* 3 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 10 vs. Butler* 7:05 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 12 vs. Valparaiso* 1:05 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 17 at Detroit* 7 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 19 at Wright State* TBA

Saturday, Feb. 26 at Cleveland State* 4 p.m.

Thursday, March 3 vs. UIC* 7:05 p.m.

Saturday, March 5 vs. Loyola* 1:05 p.m.

Horizon League games are marked with an *

Home games are in bold and played at Beeghly Center