Posts Tagged ‘Bob Boldon’

Youngstown State University finished the season on a high note and kept their momentum heading into the Horizon League Tournament as they handled Loyola, 84-65, on Senior Day.  Brandi Brown was sensational in the win, scoring 27 points and grabbing seven rebounds.  This was a physical game, especially the first half, when three players had to leave the contest injured, one being Boki Dimitrov.

Bojana Dimitrov was honored as the lone senior player before the game and had to leave the game when she sprained her ankle with 11:31 left in the first half.  Not the storybook ending anyone would have wished for the bubbly Serbian in her last home game.  Brown caught an inadvertent elbow to the face while contesting a shot and would miss a stretch of just over seven minutes for the Penguins, who proved worthy even without Brown holding a 13-11 lead while she was attended to.  When she came back with what looked like a half-roll of Charmin in her nose (see top picture), Brown made up for lost time.  In the second half, she moved into 18th on the YSU all-time scoring list, quite an accomplishment for just a sophomore.

Brown impacted the game as soon as she returned scoring  12 and extending her consecutive free throws made streak to 17-17 on a 5-5 first half.  The streak would end at 17 as she missed the first of two charity tosses in the second half.  With 13:25 left in the game, Brown hit a couple more free throws to put YSU comfortably ahead, 52-38.  Monica Albano did her best to keep Loyola in the game when she buried a three with 10:59 left in the game to cut the YSU lead to 54-43.

Kenya Middlebrooks and Liz Hornberger each hit a three to extend the Penguin lead to 66-55 with 5:58 left in the game.  Albano again responded for Loyola hitting another three from the corner to cut the lead to 66-58.  The Penguins stretched their lead to 80-62 on a pair of free throws from Macey Nortey with 1:38 left in the game.

“Our intensity at practice has really kicked up”, said Hornberger after the game.  “Brandi always shows up and if the rest of the team intensity can stay where it is, we can play with anyone in the league.  We are going into the tournament hot.”

YSU got big numbers from Brown again as she set a few more records.  Brown finished the game with 27 points and moved into 18th all-time on the scoring list.  She also recorded the fifth highest point total in a season.  Hornberger had a career high in points with 12, all threes, and has given some quality minutes the last few games.  Tieara Jones played a solid game recording 11 rebounds to go with her 11 points.  Monica Touvelle (above) and Kenya Middlebrooks each hit four threes.  For Touvelle, the twelve points was a career-high.  In fact, five Penguins hitting double figures had not happened since 2004.

With the win, Youngstown State nabbed their second in a row to end the regular season and improved to 6-23 and 4-14 in the Horizon League.  The 84 points scored was the highest total for the Penguins offense this season who shot a blazing 53.8% from the floor in the second half.

Loyola got a great effort from Monica Albano who finished the game with 34 points.  The Ramblers dipped to 11-18 and 5-13 in the Horizon League.

Coach Bob Boldon talked about the constant improvement and expectations heading into the league tournament.  “The way our offense is run, it takes time to pick things up and develop.  We are better than we were last month and this is when you want the team to be playing their best basketball.  It is better to be a bottom team in a tournament and make crazy things happen, than being one of the good teams and having all of the crazy stuff happen to you.”

Coming into Saturday’s game against Valparaiso, Youngstown State had only one Horizon League win, a 61-55 victory over the Crusaders in Indiana.  Brandi Brown and Kenya Middlebrooks combined for 51 points in leading the Penguins to the season sweep of Valpo with a 79-76 win.  The Crusaders made it interesting down the stretch, but YSU was able to hold on for the win.

In the first half, Youngstown State never relinquished the lead and had as big of a margin as 14 points.  Brandi Brown, still limping from a knee injury suffered on Thursday, had 19 first half points on 9-10 shooting from the field.  Valpo got 16 first half points from Tabitha Gerardot but YSU would head into the locker room with a 44-34 lead.

In the second half, Tieara Jones (above) picked up her fourth foul with just over 17 minutes to go forcing Coach Bob Boldon to rest one of his better rebounders.  Kenya Middlebrooks picked up the slack for the Penguins.  Middlebrooks only had five first half points on a three-pointer and a standard two, but exploded for seven threes in the second half.  Middlebrooks had tied the school record once already this season with seven threes earlier, and duplicated the fete again on Saturday.

Youngstown State had a 62-52 lead in the game with 7:11 remaining.  Gerardot was doing all she could to keep Valpo in the game, literally scoring half of her teams 52 points, with 25 of her own to this point.  Valpo cut the lead to 68-62 with 2:42 left when Skyler Gick hit a pair of free throws.  Brown hit a pair of charity tosses on the Penguins next possession to push the lead back to eight.  The Crusaders still had life when Ashley Timmerman hit a three, cutting the lead to just three at 73-70.  Timmerman hit another three to make it 75-73, but Boki Dimitrov hit a runner to increase the margin to 77-73.  Laura Richards hit another three making it a one-point game.  Dimitrov was fouled with 5.5 seconds remaining and hit both shots to give YSU a 79-76 lead.  Timmerman had a look on Valpo’s final possession but could not connect preserving the Penguins 79-76 win.

With the win, Youngstown State picked up their fourth win overall and second in the conference (both against Valpo).  Brown finished with 28 points and 5 rebounds, her career high in points is 29.  Middlebrooks (above) finished the game with a career-best 23 points, besting her old mark of 22.

Valpo fell to 6-19 (3-10 HL) with the setback.  Gerardot did her part with 25 points for the Crusaders.

After the game, a happy Coach Boldon talked about his team shooting a season best 62% for a half.  “I’m very pleased with the effort tonight.  Offensively, that was our best first half, by far.  The last five or so games, we have had to play from behind, so it was different tonight in the sense that they were making runs at us with a lead.”

Youngstown State University’s Lady Penguins returned home to face Butler Thursday.  The Bulldogs wore there special pink breast cancer awareness alternate road jerseys on the visit.  Butler got 34 points from Chloe Hamilton and came away with a 73-56 victory over the Penguins.

The Bulldogs came out of the gates fast with a 10-0 start.  The Butler lead would be as high as 16, but give Youngstown State some credit for hanging in there and cutting the halftime margin to 11.  Butler got big numbers from Hamilton who posted 20 first half points, five rebounds, and an assist.  Youngstown State, trailing 32-21 at the break, got eight from Brandi Brown.

In the first ten minutes of the second half, Butler outscored Youngstown State 24-12 to open up a 56-33 lead.  Alyssa Pittman hit a couple of threes for the Bulldogs to help compile the big lead for Butler.  Youngstown State cut the lead to 14 on some good defense when Kenya Middlebrooks and Macey Nortey each had a steal and Brandi Brown got a couple of transition baskets.  Hamilton (above), however, hit a couple of free throws to put Butler ahead 59-43.

Tieara Jones fouled out with 7:25 left in the game.  Jones had 12 points, 2 rebounds, and an assist for YSU.  With 5:21 left in the game, Hamilton again got fouled and hit two more free throws to put Butler ahead 66-46.  Monica Touvelle had one of her best games as a Penguin with 9 points.

When asked why he left Jones in the game with four fouls, Coach Bob Boldon replied, “I looked down the bench for our 6’4″ replacement player, but she wasn’t there, so I had to leave the 6’1″ player with four fouls in the game. Call it insanity for leaving the 6’1″ player in the game with four fouls, but I am insane.  If we don’t have both Brandi and Tieara in the game we get eaten alive on the boards, so I have to take my chances and leave them in as much as possible.”

With the loss, Youngstown State fell to 3-20 and 1-11 in conference play.  Brown took high scoring honors for YSU, while limping with an apparent right leg injury most of the game,  with 20 points and 9 rebounds.

Butler improved to 15-9 and 9-3 in Horizon League play.  Hamilton finished the game with 34 points and nine rebounds for the Bulldogs in the win.  Senior, Brittany Bowen (below) also had 12 points and eight rebounds for Butler.

After the game, Coach Boldon talked about the struggles his team faced for a second consecutive contest.  “We just miss shots and turn the ball over.  I have never lost that many games in a season in my life.  Apparently, we are coming out not ready to play.  If an athlete comes not ready to play, there is something seriously wrong.”

Tisha Hill, former Youngstown State Coach, returned to Beeghly as a Butler assistant coach.  ” I have very fond memories of my time here.  It was weird being in the visitors locker room, it’s noisy in there. It felt good to come back and everyone welcomed me back with open arms proving just how special of a place this is.”

Although she is a long way from home, Bojana “Boki” Dimitrov is doing just fine here in the United States.  Dimitrov is a senior who never runs out of spirit on or off of the hardwood floors.  Boki is helping the transition into the new Bob Boldon Era.  She has a passion for life that few student athletes possess and one of the best personalities of anyone I have ever interviewed.  She remembers where she came from, knows where she is at, and envisions where she wants to get to.  I recently interviewed Boki about the losing streak, the new and old coaches, and just why chicken wings are so good to her.

Paneech: How big of a deal is basketball in Serbia where you grew up?

Dimitrov: Oh yeah, it is a big deal.  I started practicing when I was only eleven years old and went to basketball camps when I was away from home, sometimes for months, it was very tough.

Paneech: If you weren’t playing basketball, is there another sport that you might have tried to play?

Dimitrov: Actually, I like tennis.  I am a big tennis fan and there are some very good Serbian tennis players.  Also soccer, I don’t like it all that much, but I am very good at soccer.  I didn’t have any Barbie’s as toys growing up.  My favorite first toy was a soccer ball and after that, I got a basketball.  I don’t remember why, but I dedicated myself to the sport of basketball.

Paneech: How often do you talk with the people back home?

Dimitrov: Everyday.  God bless the internet and Skype because it allows me to communicate with them every single day.  Every Summer I go back for two or three months and last Summer was just the best Summer ever.  This is my last year of college basketball, I would like nothing more than my mom being able to come here for my Senior Night.  That would be great and we are still talking about that.

Paneech: What are you studying here at Youngstown State and what plans do you have for the future?

Dimitrov: I am majoring in Sociology and will have a minor in Psychology.  Right now I am applying for some grad schools for Clinical Psych where hopefully I can get my Masters and maybe my PHD too.  When I get done I will go home to visit, but I think I will live here.  maybe not in Youngstown, but possibly Cleveland or Pittsburgh.  I am 24 years old and it may not be the most popular decision with my family, but they do support me so much.

Paneech: How does a girl from Serbia end up playing basketball in Youngstown, Ohio?

Dimitrov: I played at a junior college in Oklahoma and a lot of schools were recruiting me.  Last year, Coach Martin and Coach Scott were very consistent in recruiting me and came to watch a few of my games.  They would call every week.  I signed before I even visited the school.  In some ways it was tough because we had a bad year.  I think we are improving this year and I am glad to be a part of that.  I was recruited to Oklahoma, even though I didn’t know what Oklahoma really was (laughs) I ended up there.

Paneech: Being in the U.S. for six years now, what are the major culture changes you deal with?

Dimitrov: The language was a big thing.  I had a tough first year learning all of the proper English.  At first I could understand everything, but couldn’t say anything.  People would talk loud like my IQ was low.  The second thing is that Americans just like to eat and enjoy food way more than European people do — and I don’t have a problem with that.  I eat healthy, but I have to have chicken wings once a week.  Barbecue and garlic wings. Time management is also very different in America.  Over here, time means money and in Europe there isn’t a lot of money, so time means something different.  Sometimes I am still running on Serbian time and am late.  It is not good to be a Division I athlete and be late.

Paneech: How are you adjusting to a new coach and what kind of coach-player relationship do you have with Coach Boldon?

Dimitrov: When we got a new coach, everything is totally different.  Coach Boldon’s way is totally different than Coach Martin’s ways were last season.  We don’t have a choice, we have to adjust if we want to win.  I’m a senior, but in this regard, I am a freshman too.  I think we are doing a good job and we are getting there.

One Word Answers

Favorite Restaurant: Olive Garden.

Favorite Winter Olympic Sport: Skiing.

Person You Want To Meet : I would like to say a few words to Bill Clinton.

Favorite TV Show: South Park.

Favorite Music: Hard Rock.  Scorpions and Queen.

Animal You Are Most Like: Horse.  I love horses.

Best Cartoon: The Simpsons.

Favorite NBA Team: Oklahoma Thunder.

Best American Holiday: Thanksgiving Day.

Worst Class Ever: (laughs)  Environmental Science.  I didn’t have a good teacher.

Best Class Ever: Social Stratification with Dr. Kiriazis.

The Youngstown State Lady Penguins could only get better was the general feeling coming into this season under first-year coach Bob Boldon. Boldon has taken the stance that, “close but no cigar“, means nothing.  The improvement since last season is obvious and the team is much more competitive and focused.  Saturday, the Penguins played Detroit, team that demolished the Lady Penguins twice last year.  The Titans ended up winning by nine, 66-57, competitive and close but no cigar, yet again.

In the first half, Detroit built big leads on two separate occasions with the largest being nine.  Jalesa Jones (top photo) paced the Titans with nine first half points as Detroit  was ahead 31-26 at the break.  Brandi Brown had eight points and four rebounds for YSU in the half.  The story was shooting percentage in the opening half.  Youngstown State shot almost 35% from the field, but the Titans shot 41.4%.

In the second half, Maryum Jenkins buried a three from the corner with 15:24 left to make it 41-37 in favor of Detroit.  YSU surged even closer when Kenya Middlebrooks hit a three to cut the lead to just one point at 43-42 with 13:01 left in the game.  As the second half rolled along, Detroit gained control of things and had a 55-47 lead with 8:59 to go.

Brown started to heat up and heat a three with 8:04 left to cut the deficit to three points at 55-52.  Tieara Jones fouled out with just over eight minutes to play.  Jones (next picture down) finished with 10 points and seven boards.

Interesting stat of the game, last year the Horizon League chose to award the Newcomer of The Year award to Detroit’s Yar Shayok instead of Youngstown State’s Brandi Brown.  Brown had much better statistics for the season but was passed over when the chalice was awarded.  In their first head-to-head meeting since that award was given, Brown had 18 points and 10 rebounds.  Shayok finished the game with 17 points and 13 rebounds.

With Detroit ahead 51-47, Dominique Dixon, who finished with 15 points,  hit a pair of free throws to extend the Titans lead to 63-57. With just under a minute to go, YSU went into auto-foul mode and Detroit converted enough to keep the Penguins at arms-length.  Jones finished the game with 13 and Shayok had 17.  The Titans evened their record at 9-9 and 3-4 in the conference.

Youngstown State was paced by Brown’s double-double (18 points, 10 boards).  Boki Dimitrov chipped in with 11 points.  The Penguins fell to 3-16, and 1-7 in the Horizon League.

After the game, Coach Boldon talked about the loss.  “Tieara [Jones] played well for us tonight, we really needed her when she fouled out with eight minutes left.  We came out flat in the second half and we are nota good enough team to try to exchange baskets with anyone.”

Youngstown State University looked pretty solid despite dropping a hard-fought contest to Wright State, 64-61.  Brandi Brown scored 23 points for YSU, but the Penguins were not able to get a good shot with six seconds left and fell to 3-16 and 1-7 in the Horizon League.

The first half was pretty much a coin flip with Wright State calling “heads” and guessing properly.  The Raiders took a one point lead into the locker room, 32-31, but the statistics for the opposing teams were not similar.  Wright State held a 23-12 rebounding adantage, while the Penguins enjoyed a 9-3 advantage in steals.  The Raiders got nine boards from Shaunda Sandifer and ten points from Molly Fox. The Penguins got nine points each from Brandi Brown and Kenya Middlebrooks.  It was surprising that the score was so close at the half when Wright State shot nearly 10% better from the floor than YSU.

With 14:34 left in the game, Middlebrooks hit a three to give YSU a 42-37 lead, their largest of the game to that point.  Maryum Jenkins pushed the lead to 49-43 with just under eleven minutes to go in the game when she buried a three.

With 8:47 left in the game, Wright State grabbed their first lead of the second half, 52-51, when LaShawna Thomas hit a couple of baskets for the visitors.  The Penguins would reclaim a one-point lead with 7:27 left when Brandi Brown gathered in a long rebound on the offensive end and dribbled through three Raider defenders like orange cones for a layup. Thomas tied the contest at 57 when she hit one of two free throws with 4:24 left.

After the game, Coach Boldon talked being competitive.  “Yeah, we played well, but it is still a loss. Until we get tired of losing it will not change and it really has to.  We got some good shots, but the last play was not very good, and I take responsibility for that.”

The Penguins got another solid night out of Brandi Brown, who just continually punches her card and works hard until the final whistle has been blown.  Brown’s evening consisted of 23 points and eight rebounds and the reigning Horizon League Player of The Week was just everywhere on both sides of the court.  Kenya Middlebrooks finished with 14 points.

Wright State got a good night from LaShawna Thomas who knocked down 17 points, as did her teammate Molly Fox.  Maria Bennett also chipped in 15 points for the Raiders who improved to 11-6 overall and 4-2 in the Horizon League.

The Penguins tee it up again Saturday against Detroit as part of a mens-womens doubleheader starting at 5.

 

Sophomore Brandi Brown tied her career high with 29 points and the Youngstown State women’s basketball team made some key free throws down the stretch to beat Valparaiso 61-55 on Thursday night at the Athletics Recreation Center.

The win on the road was the first for the Penguins away from the Beeghly Center since March 8, 2008, which came at UIC. It also snaps a 22-game Horizon League losing streak dating back to a win over the Crusaders at the Beeghly Center on March 7, 2009.

The Penguins are now 3-13 overall and improve to 1-4 in the Horizon League while Valpo drops to 3-13 and 0-4.

Brown was 12-of-19 on the night and also finished with 18 rebounds, including nine on the offensive glass. Brown had previously scored 29 points earlier this year against IPFW.

Kenya Middlebrooks finished with 13 points while Boki Dimitrov added 11 in a winning effort. Combined from the free-throw line, those two players were 10-of-12. Valpo’s Betsy Adams was the only Crusader to reach double figures as she finished with 20.

The Penguins came out strong from the opening tap and never trailed in the contest.

Youngstown State came out and took control of the game early scoring 16 of the first 19 points taking a 16-3 lead at the 14:07 mark on a Brown basket.

YSU opened the game scoring the first five points before Valpo got on the scoreboard on a 3-pointer by Adams. But the Guins scored the next 11 points as Brown scored the first five, Dimitrov and Nortey each followed with layups and then Brown capped the run with a jumper.

The Crusaders cut the deficit to 18-15 as the Guins picked up just two points on a Middlebrooks bucket in a 9:06 span.

YSU led 23-17 with 4:23 left following two Middlebrooks free throws and a 3-pointer by Dimitrov. Adams pulled the Crusaders with three on a 3-pointer, but the Guins scored five straight to go back in front by eight. Valpo drained two 3-pointers in the final 2:12 to get within four at the break.

The Guins held on to lead 30-26 at the break. YSU shot 40.7 percent in the first half making 11-of-27 attempts while Valpo shot 37 percent (10-of-27)

In the first 20 minutes, Brown had 14 points and six rebounds while Dimitrov and Middlebrooks each had seven points. The Penguins protected the ball well committing only four turnovers.

In the second half, Valpo cut the deficit to 32-30 in the early going, but six straight YSU points forced the Crusaders to play catchup the rest of the night.

Valpo had crept back to 53-49 with just over two minutes to go, but Brown’s putback of Tieara Jones miss put the Guins up six at the 2:02 mark.

On their next two possessions, the Crusaders missed a shot and threw an errant pass out of bounds.

Dimitrov stepped to the line and drained two free throws with 44.3 seconds left to put YSU ahead 57-49.

Valpo answered with a layup by Skyler Gick with 38.7 ticks left, but was forced to foul. With 35.4 seconds remaining Dimitrov split a pair of free throws, but Valpo’s Rashida Ray missed the front end of a one-and-one and Jones corralled the rebound and dished to Middlebrooks who was fouled.

Middlebrooks drained two free throws with 16.3 seconds left pushing the lead to 60-51. Valpo scored four straight points before Dimitrov split another pair of charity tosses with 4.7 seconds for the final margin.

The Penguins wrap up their Indiana road trip on Saturday afternoon when they visit Butler. Tipoff at Hinkle Fieldhouse is set for 2 p.m. The contest can be heard on 570 WKBN.

In what could only be billed as a fair contest between Milwaukee and Youngstown State, the team that would make fewer mistakes would probably win.  Both teams came into Saturday’s game with nine game losing streaks.

In the first half, Milwaukee had a lead as large as 18 points.  Youngstown State carved and fought until that lead was shaved all the way down to  33-28 at intermission.  The Panthers used some good passing and kept finding open people to take shots in building a big first half lead.  Lindsay Laur had 11 points and Angela Rodriguez added 10 for Milwaukee.  YSU got a nice boost from Liz Hornberger who went three-of-three from three point range.  Hornberger fluttered into the game like a moth, but made an impact by half.  Brandi Brown also had 12 points and six rebounds.

In the second half, Youngstown State trimmed the deficit to one at 34-33 when Tieara Jones hit a basket.  Unfortunately for the Penguins, Milwaukee went on an 15-3 run and widened the margin 49-36 with 10:07 to go.  Kenya Middlebrooks hit a three, her first points of the game, at the 7:59 mark to make it 49-42.  Next trip down the court, Milwaukee turned it over and Macey Nortey hit a layup for her first points of the game to make it 49-44.  There were not a lot of people at Beeghly Center, but the ones that showed were loud and into the game.  Nortey would go on to score five points in a row for YSU, but with 5:00 left in the game, but Milwaukee would hold a 56-47 lead.

YSU, losers of 38 of their last 39 Horizon League games, scratched and clawed all they could but always seemed to be trailing by nine. With 2:08 left in the game, Milwaukee held a 62-52 lead.

Brown finished the game for Youngstown State with 22 points and eight rebounds.  Hornbereger finished with nine points, all in the first half, and Nortey contributed seven points (all in the second half).

Milwaukee got 19 from Lindsay Laur and 13 from Rodriguez.  Sami Tucker also scored 11 points and hauled in 11 boards for the Panthers.  The Panthers improved to 4-11, 1-3 in the league.

Brandi Brown talked about the loss for the Penguins.  “We dug ourselves a big hole in the first half .  We can’t do that and expect to fight back.  We know we can win and compete, but we have to get more consistent.”

Coach Boldon echoed the sentiments of Brown.  “Our offense was just miserable today.  We didn’t execute, we didn’t take care of the ball, and we got real tentative in the second half.  We also reverted to taking some crazy shots and passing up the good ones.  I was very frustrated.  To the halfway point in the season, we are about average.  This is a bad day to ask me that question because we were so bad today.  I think that the team is showing signs of improvement, but you can’t rebuild a program and expect to see improvement consistently each game.”

When the YSU women play Green Bay is equal to when the YSU men play Butler.  Green Bay has been the power of the Horizon League the last couple of seasons.  This season, the Phoenix come to Youngstown ranked #20 in the country and Coach Matt Bollant had never lost to a Penguins team.  Conversely, new YSU Coach Bob Boldon had never lost to Green Bay, so something had to give.  Unfortunately for Boldon, his young Penguins took one on the chin while facing a monumental challenge, falling 71-57  to Green Bay.

In the first half, Julie Wojta scored 20, and YSU scored 20.  Unfortunately, the other Green Bay players chipped in 18 additional points and YSU trailed 38-20 at the half.  Wojta (pictured above) was dominant in the paint.  The Phoenix had 22 rebounds (ten offensive) in the opening half, YSU had ten (zero offensive).  Green Bay also scored an impressive 23 points off of 18 YSU turnovers.

In the second half, Green Bay showed no signs of letting up.  Kayla Tetschlag and Celeste Hoewisch offered an alternative to Wojta with a couple of buckets on consecutive possessions.  The good news for YSU fans was that this team never hung their heads or quit.  YSU cut the lead to 16 with 15:04 left in the game at 47-31 when Boki Dimitrov hit a three.  Maryum Jenkins (below) hit a three with 11:04 left to cut the lead to 13.  Brandi Brown scored her 11th point with 10:19 left to cut Green Bay’s lead to 11 and the Penguins deserve a big pat on the back for showing a lot of heart.

The last three times the Lady Penguins have shot 50% or better , they have lost.  All three of those losses have been to Green Bay.

Green Bay pushed the lead back out to 15 with 7:03 remaining in the game and never looked back building a 68-47 lead with 4:04 left in the game.

Green Bay improved to 14-1, (3-0 HL) and didn’t have their “A” game but enough to win this one.  Wojta paced the Phoenix with 24 points and seven boards.  Hoewisch also knocked in 18 points.  Green Bay converted 32 Penguin turnovers into 43 points.

Youngstown State (2-12, 0-3 HL) played respectfully.  Tieara Jones finished the game with 12 points, Brandi Brown had 15 points, and Dimitrov 13 to lead YSU.

After the game, Boki Dimitrov addressed why the Penguins lost.  “It is not acceptable to have 32 turnovers. Things have changed and we have a good leader.  Coach Boldon inspires us to act on his leads. “

Boldon discussed the monster that is Green Bay.  “They are a great team, very well-coached and what I would want our program to be like someday.  They ran a secondary trap that we have not seen and their girls are very fast and just reload to the ball.  They are the best team that we have played all year and we get to play them again.”

The much-improved Youngstown State Lady Penguins welcomed their longtime geographic rival, the Akron Zips, to town for a finals week matchup.  The game was tied at 55 with just under five minutes to play, but Akron was able to clamp down and improve to 6-4 on the season, as they posted a 70-56 win at Youngstown State.

Akron carried a 31-25 lead into the locker room at the half thanks in part to shooting 44% from the floor.  Rachel Tecca led a balanced Zips attack in the first half with seven points.  Youngstown State got eight first half points from Boki Dimitrov including a couple of threes that kept YSU at a single digit deficit.  The Penguins launched 18 threes in the first half, hitting five.  The Zips also held a 20-14 rebounding advantage at the intermission.

The Penguins cut the Zips lead to 35-33 when Tieara Jones scored inside and was fouled.  Jones scored her tenth point to cut the Akron lead to one point at the 12:49 mark, but but Tecca responded on the Zips next possession to keep the lead at three.  Jones, a product of Rayen High School, again connected with 11:52 left in the game to make the score 41-40 in favor of Akron.  Jones was having one of her best nights as a Penguin.

Sina King gave Akron a 45-40 lead on a layup, but Kenya Middlebrooks hit a three coming back to keep the Penguins close.  Macey Nortey, who seems to hustle her heart out every game, had a steal and drove the court for a layup, and was fouled.  Nortey hit the free throw putting the Penguins in front for the first time in the second half at 46-45.

Middlebrooks was in a zone, hitting threes at will, she had three of them in a six minute span, including one at the 7:15 mark to put the Penguins back in front, 52-51.  Brandi Brown’s presence seemed like enough for Akron to really concentrate on shutting her down, allowing the role players like Middlebrooks, Nortey, and Jones ample chances to score.

Jasmine Mushington stepped up for the Zips and hit a couple of big baskets to give Akron back the lead at 59-55 with 3:54 left in the game.  Akron’s 9-1 run put the Penguins into fouling mode with 1:24 left in the game.  The Zips coasted home holding the Penguins to just one point over the final four and a half minutes.

Akron was paced by Tecca’s 19 points and 11 boards.  Youngstown State got 15 from Jones and 14 from Middlebrooks.  The Penguins finished 9-39 from three-point land.  With the loss, YSU fell to 2-7 and will not play at home again in 2010.

After the game, Coach Boldon spoke about his team’s collapse down the stretch.  “We look at film and see the things we do well, and the things we don’t do so well, and we are doing more things not so well right now.”

Tieara Jones talked about a piece of the machine giving way each possession.  “We play good defense, but if four people are on the same page and one breaks down, it can hurt the whole team and we had some of that tonight.  It wasn’t any one person in particular, just one of the four on the court would break down and it cost us.”