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YSU women ready to get back on court
By Steve wilaj
youngstown
Youngstown State women’s coach John Barnes obviously knows he has a talented and athletic group, as evidenced by the Penguins’ 9-2 record.
But if there’s one thing he wants that group to take from their 25-point beatdown at the hands of Akron on Dec. 21, it’s this:
“We’re not talented enough or athletic enough to take any games off,” Barnes said at Tuesday’s news conference. “I think they realize we really weren’t ready, mentally, or physically tough or anything else that game. And you’re gonna get beat soundly if you’re not ready.
“Hopefully they learned that and we’ll be ready to go.”
The Penguins close out their non-conference schedule at 7 p.m. today against Tennessee State at Beeghly Center, as they’ll try to win 10 games before New Year’s Day for the third time in school history.
Coming off a nine-day layoff, Barnes said YSU is fully healthy and ready to go.
“Hopefully we were able to get some rest and recharge,” he said. “Now we’re back and we’ve had some good practices. We’re refocused and honestly just ready to play a game.”
Tennessee State enters on a three-game losing streak while holding just a 5-7 record. However, the Tigers have played a difficult schedule so far, including games at Indiana, Illinois, Mississippi State and, most recently, Kentucky on Monday.
TSU is best when it gets out and runs — the reason the Penguins are hoping to play a slow-paced game.
“We just need to take care of the ball,” said sophomore forward Sarah Cash, who leads YSU with 12.9 points and seven rebounds per game. “We just need to make sure we get open on the wings — don’t just wait for it — and go to the ball to limit them from getting steals and easy baskets.”
Added Barnes: “They’re a very good team. Their record isn’t necessarily great, but they’ve played an extremely tough schedule. They’re long and athletic. They can get up and down and put a lot of pressure on. So we’re gonna try to take care of the basketball first and foremost.”
While YSU certainly wants to close out its non-conference schedule (as well as 2015) on a high note, the real season begins — well, resumes — on Saturday when the Penguins travel to Detroit at noon.
It will mark YSU’s second Horizon League game of the season, as a scheduling conflict required the Penguins to play their conference opener on Nov. 28 at Oakland (a 96-77 win).
After Saturday, YSU — which was picked to finish fourth in the HL preseason polls — then hosts Milwaukee on Jan. 7 and conference power Green Bay on Jan. 9.
“Our league is gonna be very challenging,” Barnes said. “It’s going to be a challenge to say the least, but we’re excited to get into league play.”
Added Cash: “We’re excited to get it going. That’s the main part of the season, so we’re looking forward to it.”