The Youngstown State women’s basketball team opened practice in preparation for the 2011-12 season on Sunday evening in its first of 30 scheduled sessions prior to the season opener at West Virginia on Nov. 11.

Individual and small group sessions had been held for several weeks, but Sunday’s practice at Beeghly Center was the first session of considerable length with the entire team.

“We’re a lot further along this year than we were last year,” head coach Bob Boldon said. “We’re trying to get as much offensive movement and development in as we can, and defense will come in a couple of weeks.”

Boldon, who is in his second year with the program, has especially noticed an increase an intensity from a year ago.

“Our effort has been fantastic. Your biggest concern [at this time of year] is that your kids are working hard and that they’re learning. We’re doing both of those, and I’m happy from that standpoint.”

Boldon is welcoming newcomers Kelsea Fickiesen,  Ashley Lawson,  Devan Matkin and Melanie Poorman to the program, and he’ll also have the use of redshirt-freshman forward Heidi Schlegel, who missed the final 22 games of 2010-11 with a foot injury. Those five join seniors Tiera Jones, Kenya Middlebrooks, and Macey Nortey (above); junior all-league candidate Brandi Brown; and sophomores Liz Hornberger, Melissa Thompson, and Monica Touvelle.

Boldon inherited a program that had gone 0-30 the year prior to his arrival, and the Penguins improved well beyond their six-win increase. Most indicative was closing the scoring margin by 15.2 points from 2009-10 to 2010-11.  That was the second-best improvement in the country.  The Penguins finished last season by winning three of their final seven contests, and they had shots in the final 20 seconds in three of those losses that would have tied the game.

“They know what it takes to win games, and there’s an expectation of what’s to be done at practice to prepare to win games,” Boldon said. “They’re taking that preparation more seriously than they were a year ago.”

Boldon said the weight room report from the preseason lifting program came back with pleasing results, thanks in large part to a large portion of the team lifting on campus during the summer.