The Milwaukee Panthers women’s basketball team travels to kick off its last road trip of the regular season as the team takes on the Youngstown State Penguins on Friday evening inside Beeghly Center in Youngstown, Ohio beginning at 6:00 p.m. CST.
The game can be viewed on ESPN+; while live stats and live audio on the Black & Gold Network with Matt Menzl on the call are also be available on MKEPanthers.com.
SCOUTING THE PENGUINS
Youngstown State is coming off a pair of home victories last weekend as the Penguins knocked off Oakland and Detroit Mercy to improve to 18-7 overall with a 12-4 mark in league games, currently sitting in third place in the Horizon League.
It’s Lilly Ritz leading the way for the Penguins with 437 points (17.5 PPG), 264 rebounds (10.6 RPG), 45 steals (1.8 SPG) and 30 blocks (1.2 BPG). The senior had a 20-point, 11-rebound effort back on February 22 in Milwaukee to help lead the Penguins to a 61-51 victory.
Megan Callahan and Malia Magestro are both averaging 10.6 points per game, while Dena Jarrells leads the team with 96 assists (3.8 APG).
On Saturday against Detroit Mercy, the Penguins edged the Titans by five in a 72-67 win. Ritz had 26 points and 12 rebounds to lead the way, while Callahan added 16 points and Paige Shy scored a dozen.
The Penguins are the fourth-best team in the Horizon League averaging 68.2 points per game and are third defensively allowing 57.8 points per contest. Youngstown State is second in the conference in assist/turnover ratio at 1.15, trailing just Green Bay.
LAST MEETING
Milwaukee and Youngstown State met on January 22 at the Klotsche Center, with the Penguins picking up the 10-point win, 61-51.
The Panthers had three in double figures with Kendall Nead scoring 17, Kamy Peppler knocked down 13 and Emma Wittmershaus recorded a dozen. In comparison, it was four to score double figures for the Penguins with Lilly Ritz picking up 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Megan Callahan had 15, Malia Magestro had 13, and Dena Jarrells picked up 10.
The Panthers were within two after a three-pointer by Peppler with 1:39 left in the game, but Milwaukee was unable to get the bucket as Youngstown State connected on their free throws to escape with the 10-point win.
SERIES HISTORY
Milwaukee owns a 31-20 all-time lead over the Penguins as each side has exchanged three-straight wins over the last six. Youngstown State has wins in the last three matchups, which was preceded by three-straight wins by the Panthers.
From February of 1992 to February of 2004, the Panthers won nine-straight, while the Panthers also had a 15-game winning streak from January of 2006 to February of 2012.
The Panthers also own a 14-11 record in Youngstown, Ohio, having split the two previous matchups in Northeast Ohio.
WBB-FCS: Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers (9-16) at Youngstown State Penguins (18-7)
