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First-year players give YSU a boost
First-year players give YSU a boost
YOUNGSTOWN
It’s difficult to write a story about the Youngstown State women’s basketball team without mentioning injuries.
Sarah Cash, Nikki Arbanas and Kelsea Newman are all sidelined for the season and other bumps and bruises have kept players like Alison Smolinski out for periods of times as well.
But with all the injuries the Penguins (7-10, 3-3 Horizon League) have suffered this year, much like a forest devastated by fire, new life grows from the ashes. And YSU’s freshman class has had a large role in the Penguins’ current three-game win streak.
After the sophomore Smolinski and the junior point guard Indiya Benjamin, the third and fourth leading scorers for YSU are freshmen Mary Dunn and Morgan Brunner, both averaging double figures.
Dunn, a forward, is picking up the majority of the minutes now available after Cash has been sidelined the remainder of the year with knee injuries.
“Initially I didn’t think I would be playing as much as I am,” Dunn said about her expectations before the season. “I knew it was going to be a big challenge to get on the floor because Sarah is so skilled.
“When the time came when Sarah got hurt, I knew it was time for me to step it up.”
The 6-foot-3 Dunn scored a season-high 21 points this year against Point Park and has scored 18 points twice in Horizon League competition against Northern Kentucky and Valparaiso. Dunn credits much of her success to how Cash helps coach her in practice.
“Sarah is a really big help for me at all times,” Dunn said. “She’ll either be telling me, ‘Oh, you did that right’ or what I did wrong. Even if it’s something little, knowing [the upperclassmen] are willing to help us makes a huge difference.”
The arrival of conference play has also marked the arrival of Brunner. The walk-on guard is averaging 11.7 points in the six games she’s played.
“I knew coming in as a walk-on I needed to do more to prove myself than the other girls,” Brunner said. “It was unfortunate how I got my playing time, but I’m glad it happened.”
Brunner said despite what YSU’s overall record ends up being by season’s end, the experience the Penguins — and especially the freshmen — are gaining will be valuable for years to come.
“It’s going to help a lot going forward,” Brunner said. “It’s helping our confidence and going up against older opponents makes us work even harder.”
With the college season being significantly longer, and with considerably more travel than a high school season, some freshmen like Mailee Jones have taken it upon themselves to put in extra work, which includes extra sprints, after practices to make sure their endurance is where it needs to be.
“The time I put in individually after practice really has helped me loosen up and really helped me adjust to how I need to prepare for each game,” Jones said. “I know I need to make sure I’m doing game things outside of practice to stay sharp.”
Despite the obvious youth and inexperience, signs of progress were evident during YSU’s three-game home sweep of Illinois-Chicago, Valparaiso and Cleveland State over the extended weekend. YSU blew out the Vikings 92-67 on Monday.
“We’re definitely focusing on progressing forward,” Brunner said. “I think we’re working harder now that we’re winning games and we know what we’re capable of.”