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YSU doubles up Salem International
By Dan Hiner
Youngstown
Bench play is important to the success of any basketball team. Usually, it involves one or two players coming in during the middle of the game and making an impact.
Monday, The Youngstown State University women’s basketball team got a lift from its bench. Some members of the bench players saw more time than the starters.
And players like Kelley Wright and Marissa Brown led the team to an 80-40 win over Salem International.
“Every game that we play is really important,” Wright said. “I mean the more we get out there and play with each other, the more prepared we are for the next team we play.
“So every game, no matter who gets in there — like this time, the bench players got a lot of experience,” Wright said. “Which, I know we don’t get it that much, but it really helped us a lot.”
YSU (8-1) dominated the Tigers on both ends of the court. The Penguins dominated in every statistical category.
The Penguins shot 51.6 percent from the field, including 43.5 percent from behind the 3-point line, and outrebounded the Tigers 46-27.
Salem International (2-9) was in the game until the 4:54 mark of the first quarter. With YSU leading 12-6, Nikki Arbanas made one of her two 3-pointers to put the Penguins up 15-6 and YSU never looked back from there. Arbanas scored 10 points during her 14 minutes on the court.
Shortly after, YSU head coach John Barnes started to switch out starters for reserves and the more inexperienced members of the Penguins’ roster continued to see shots fall and make plays on the defensive end.
The YSU defense smothered the Tigers in the first half. In the second quarter, Salem International scored six points on two field goals and two free throws. The Tigers didn’t hit their first field goal until there was 3:09 left in the quarter.
Brown, a freshman, led the Penguins in scoring and set a career-high 16 points, eight rebounds and three blocks.
Wright, a sophomore, was second on the team with 12 points.
“They work really hard and they put in the time,” Barnes said. “So for them to be able to get minutes was exciting. And watching Kelley make shots and Marissa posting up and doing her thing—three blocked shots too I think she had — was a lot of fun.”
He has happy to see West Branch graduate and freshman Melinda Trimmer contribute.
“One of my favorite parts of the game,” Barnes said. “Melinda Trimmer is an excellent player from nearby and hasn’t gotten a lot of time. She hasn’t scored a basket yet this year, but she’s on a fast break and she had a chance to get the layup but what does she do, she turns around and dishes out to Jenna [Jackson] for a layup, which shows her mentality of being a team player. That was my favorite play of the whole game.”
Barnes said it would be important for the bench to continue to develop as the season continues and the team heads into Horizon League play.
“We’re going to need to rely on them coming down the stretch and that experience that they got today is invaluable,” Barnes said. “I mean I thought they all came in and played very well and that will help them the next time they get in a critical situation.”