YSU women are on the defensive early

Staff report

Youngstown

The Youngstown State women’s basketball team flourished offensively in head coach John Barnes’ first season.

Three games into this season, it has been the Penguins defense that has them off to a 3-0 start.

“It takes time to get the type of defense and style you want to play in and I think this team has really embraced it,” Barnes said during his Monday press conference.

“They play hard and so far it’s been working.”

The Penguins are holding opponents to 51.3 points per game — including their last two to less than 50 — and a 33.9 shooting percentage from the field.

As a result they’ve won their first three contests by at least 19 points. Tonight, Bucknell University will provide a different challenge for the Penguins, says Barnes.

“Every team has brought different things to the table,” he said. “I think Bucknell’s probably the most well-rounded team.”

The only blemish for the Bison (2-1) this season came at Michigan, where they lost by seven points. Both their wins (Bowling Green and Fairleigh Dickenson) have come by a single point.

Offense has been difficult to come by for Bucknell this season, giving YSU hope that their defensive mentality could benefit them greatly tonight.

“We’ve worked a ton on defense,” Barnes said. “That’s what we focused on in the whole summer, the whole preseason.

“We haven’t done that much offensively, so we’re hoping [defense] is our strong point and we can work in the offense.”

In addition to strong defensive play, the Penguins have been aided by freshman playing beyond their years to start the season.

Indiya Benjamin is second on the team in points per game, with 13.7, and first in assists with five. She’s also averaging 51.7 percent shooting from the field. However even with her impressive scoring numbers, the Lima native is buying into what Barnes has been preaching.

“At the beginning it was really tough, because the defensive aspect was really hard to understand,” Benjamin said. “Being able to help and deny and all that stuff and in one split second something can change and if you’re not in the correct spot the whole thing can unravel.

“So now that we really got the gist of things, it’s easier.”

Senior Heidi Schlegel leads the team with 14 points per game, but four of YSU’s five starters average double digits. Freshman Nikki Arbanas has also been a nice addition for the Penguins, shooting nearly 59 percent from beyond the arc.

Despite the encouraging numbers early, they’re not going to take any team on their schedule lightly. And that includes tonight’s opponent.

“They play smart, they play hard — it’s just a very good team,” Barnes said of Bucknell. “It’s going to be a very tough test for us, but I’m excited for it.”