Posts Tagged ‘Brandi Brown’

Liz Hornberger scored a career-high 18 points, and the Youngstown State women’s basketball team scored 51 points on 63.6-percent shooting in the second half to defeat Miami (Ohio) 76-56 on Sunday at Millett Hall.

The Penguins improved to 4-0 for the first time since the 1996-97 season and won at Miami for the first time since 1979. The RedHawks appeared in the WNIT last season and were picked to win the East Division of the Mid-American Conference prior to this year.

Hornberger scored 12 of her points in the second half, and Heidi Schlegel scored all 12 of her points in the second half in her first game of the season. Brandi Brown added 18 points while Shar’Rae Davis had 12 points and Karen Flagg finished with a career-best 10.

Courtney Osborn finished with 15 points to lead Miami, which dropped to 3-2.

Following a sloppy first half that saw the teams tied at 25 after 27 combined turnovers, Youngstown State scored 13 points in the first 4:14 of the second half to go up 38-30. Jessica Rupright made a bucket for Miami to cut the deficit to six, but Hornberger answered with her second triple of the period to start a five-point run for the Penguins. The RedHawks did not get closer than eight the rest of the game.

Youngstown State will remain on the road to play Northern Kentucky on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Youngstown State senior women’s basketball player Brandi Brown has been named the Horizon League Co-Player of the Week for the period ending Nov. 18, the conference office announced on Monday.

Brown averaged 25 points and 17 rebounds in leading the Penguins to victories over Buffalo and Bryant last week. She registered game highs of 24 points and 15 rebounds at Buffalo while adding three assists and three steals. She had 14 points and eight rebounds in the first half alone. Brown then improved to 26 points and a career-high-tying 19 rebounds against Bryant in the Penguins’ home opener on Sunday. She had 20 points and 13 rebounds in the second half against the Bulldogs.

Brown is the League’s Player of the Week for the fourth time in her career and for the first time since her sophomore year. So far this season, the native of Pomona, Calif., is averaging 22 points and 15 rebounds in helping the Penguins to their first 3-0 start since 1999.

Brown shared the weekly honor with Shareta Brown from Detroit.

The Penguins will head back on the road to play at Miami (Ohio) on Sunday at 2 p.m.

The Youngstown State women’s basketball team used a tenacious defensive effort and a dominant performance on the offensive glass en route to a 75-59 win over Bryant on Sunday afternoon at the Beeghly Center.

The Penguins, who improve to 3-0 for the first time since 1999, forced 29 turnovers that led to 34 points and collected 15 steals.  YSU shot just 36.6 percent from the field but were aided by an impressive 20 offensive rebounds.

Not long ago, shooting that low of a percentage equalled automatic defeat for the Lady Penguins.  Credit coach Bob Boldon and his staff for working hard on rebounding to create second chances.

Senior Brandi Brown (above) led the Penguins with 26 points and 19 rebounds while freshman Shar’Rae Davis scored a career-high 23 points with five steals and four assists.

The Penguins used a 14-0 run late in the second half to extend a 49-47 lead at the 9:01 mark into an insurmountable 63-47 advantage with 5:29 left.  During the spurt, Brown and Davis combined for 12 of the 14 points.

Bryant would never cut the lead to under 12 the rest of the way and the Guins lead by as many as 18, 75-57, after Davis’ three-point play with 31 seconds left.

Bryant, who shot 52.2 percent from the field, falls to 0-4 and was led by Danielle Douglas and Naana Ankoma-Mensa, who had 14 points each.

The Penguins visit Miami (Ohio), Sunday, Nov. 25, at 2 p.m.

The Youngstown State women’s basketball team used strong defense and got 24 points and 15 rebounds from Brandi Brown to hold off Buffalo in a 60-50 victory on Tuesday afternoon at Alumni Arena.

Freshman Shar’Rae Davis added a career-high 19 points, six rebounds and four assists, and Liz Hornberger (above) matched her career high with 12 points. Rachel Gregory had 17 points to lead Buffalo.

The Penguins held Buffalo scoreless for more than five minutes on three different occasions in the contest, and that helped them overcome a slugging ending to the game in which they went without a field goal for nine minutes.  Coach Bob Boldon stressed before the season started that defense was the facet of the team that the Penguins wanted to get better with.

YSU’s 10-point victory avenged a 54-point loss at Buffalo three ago. It follows YSU’s 66-point turnaround against Pittsburgh when it beat the Panthers by 14 on Friday after losing by 52 three seasons ago, and suddenly the Penguins are 2-0 for the first time since 1999-2000.

Youngstown State will play its home opener against Bryant on Sunday at 12:05 p.m. For tickets, call (330) 941-1978.

Youngstown State rallied to outscore Pitt, 43-17, in the second half to post a season-opening 64-50 win on the road.  The victory was the first over a Big East team since 1991 and also the first over a BCS Conference opponent since 1997.

Brandi Brown (above), playing in her last season for the Penguins, spearheaded a furious comeback after the Penguins trailed 33-21 at the half.  Brown scored 11 of her game-high 16 points in the second half.  She also collected 11 rebounds for Youngstown State.

Brown was joined by Monica Touvelle and Melissa Thompson in double figures for YSU.  Touvelle shot 4-10 from three-point land and Thompson, who finished with 13, played a well-rounded game for the Penguins.

Surprisingly, the undersized Lady Penguins held their own on the boards.  Pitt finished the game with a 34-32 edge in rebounds, but Bob Boldon‘s scrappy team is getting used to a disadvantage in size that they are able to compensate for with hustle and technique.

The opportunistic Penguins play at Buffalo on Tuesday at noon.

Youngstown State senior women’s basketball player Brandi Brown is one of five players voted Preseason All-Horizon League for the 2012-13 season, the conference office announced at its media day near Chicago on Monday.

Brown, a forward from Pomona, Calif., averaged 15.9 points and 9.3 rebounds last season for the Penguins as a second-team all-conference pick. She ranked seventh in the league in scoring and was sixth in rebounding while shooting 40.3 percent from the field. If she duplicates the numbers from her junior year, Brown will finish second in YSU history in career points and rebounds.

Brown was a Horizon League All-Newcomer Team selection as a freshman as she averaged 11.4 points and 10.6 rebounds. She was a second-team all-conference honoree as a sophomore when she led the Horizon League with 19.9 points per game and ranked fourth in rebounding with 9.2 per contest. That led to her being named the Preseason Horizon League Player of the Year prior to the 2011-12 campaign.

The four players joining Brown in earning preseason first-team all-league mentioning are preseason player of the year Kim Demmings (Wright State), Shareta Brown (Detroit), Shalonda Winton (Cleveland State) and Adrian Ritchie (Green Bay). Simone Law (Loyola) Lydia Bauer (Green Bay), Tabitha Gerardot (Valparaiso), Sami Tucker (Milwaukee) and Patrice King (Loyola) were named to the preseason second team.

In the preseason team poll, Youngstown State was picked to finish eighth. Green Bay received 25 of a possible 27 first-place votes and was picked to finish first with 241 total points. Detroit received two first-place votes and finished second in the poll with 210 total points. Wright State was a close third with 191 points, and a sizeable gap separated the Raiders from Loyola (152) and Cleveland State (123).

The 2011-12 Youngstown State women’s basketball program recently had their season-ending annual awards banquet at the Chestnut Room of YSU’s Kilcawley Center.

• Women’s Basketball Head Coach Bob Boldon presented junior Brandi Brown with the Ed DiGregorio Award recognizing the team’s most valuable player. Brown, the 17th player in school history to score 1,000 career points, was voted Second-Team All-Horizon League for the second consecutive season. Brown averaged 15.9 points and 9.3 rebounds during the season, and she upped her scoring to 17 points per game during Horizon League play. Brown finished sixth in the postseason voting, one spot out of making it onto the first team.

• Boldon was recognized for his early days in college basketball as both a student-athlete and a coach at Walsh University.  On Feb. 25, Boldon’s accomplishments as a star point guard at Walsh were celebrated as he was selected as one of the program’s top 50 players in its 50-year history. Boldon was a four-year starter for the Cavaliers and led the squad to the NAIA Final Four in 1996.

• On May 19, Boldon will be recognized as part of Walsh’s 1998 NAIA Women’s Basketball National Championship team as it is inducted into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame. Boldon was an assistant coach on that squad, which became the first unseeded team to win an NAIA National Championship.

The Youngstown State women’s basketball team has a long-standing tradition of being active in the surrounding community, and the Penguins have maintained that practice throughout the 2011-12 academic year.

Highlighting the list of many projects was YSU’s reading program at area elementary schools. Members of the women’s basketball team read to a total of about 3,500 second through fifth graders at 11 different elementary schools throughout the Youngstown area.

Among other projects the team participated in, they served at the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church Spaghetti dinner twice during the year. The Penguins also walked in a non-violence parade and participated in the Holiday Parade and Tree Lighting ceremony in downtown Youngstown.

Additionally, seniors Macey Nortey and Kenya Middlebrooks spearheaded two community service projects. Nortey organized a large donation campaign to a homeless shelter where members of the team donated soap and shampoo. Middlebrooks organized a canned-food drive where struggling families in the Mahoning Valley received baskets.

Congratulations Lady Penguins on a great year!

Youngstown State women’s basketball player Brandi Brown has been named Second-Team All-Horizon League for the second straight season, the league office announced on Monday.

Brown, a junior forward from Pomona, Calif., averaged 16.3 points and 9.1 rebounds this season as the Penguins’ leader in both categories. She earned the sixth-most votes in the field, making her the first member of the second team. The Horizon League’s coaches, women’s basketball sports information directors and a member of each of the conference’s media markets voted on the postseason awards.

Brown ranked sixth in the Horizon League in both scoring and rebounding, and she also ranked sixth in defensive rebounding, eighth in offensive rebounding, 10th in free-throw percentage and 15th in 3-point percentage.

Brown averaged 17 points and 8.4 rebounds, and she shot 38.7 percent from 3-point range in conference games. In league games, she ranked seventh in the conference in scoring, eighth in rebounding, second in 3-point percentage, seventh in offensive rebounding, eighth in defensive rebounding, 12th in free-throw percentage and 13th in 3-pointers per game.

Brown scored at least 20 points on 12 occasions, and she registered nine double-doubles. She reached double figures in scoring 25 times in 29 games. She scored a season-high 26 points against Loyola on Jan. 12, and she matched her career high with 19 rebounds against Green Bay on Feb. 18.

Green Bay senior Julie Wojta was named the Horizon League’s Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. Detroit’s Shareta Brown and Wright State’s Kim Demmings were named Co-Newcomers of the Year, and Detroit’s Yar Shayok was voted the Sixth Player of the Year. Green Bay’s Matt Bollant was voted the Horizon League Coach of the Year.

The Youngstown State women’s basketball had three tries to force overtime in the final seconds, but could not connect on any dropping a hard-fought 59-56 decision to Cleveland State in the first round of the Horizon League Tournament on Monday night at the Wolstein Center.

With 8.9 seconds left, the Penguins setup Monica Touvelle for the first try from straight on, but her shot glanced off the left side of the rim. Brandi Brown grabbed the board, but her off-balance 3-pointer from the wing bounced out. Heidi Schlegel grabbed the second rebound and alertly dribbled out to the 3-point line, but her shot at the buzzer didn’t fall as the Vikings advanced to play at Detroit on Wednesday night in the quarterfinals.  The Penguins finish the season 10-20 while Cleveland State improves to 12-18.

YSU turned up the defensive pressure to have a chance to force overtime. The Penguins tied the game early in the second half on two occasions, before the Vikings went on top 27-25 with 17:55 remaining.  At the 8:42 mark, the Vikings went ahead 52-45 on a 3-pointer by Shalonda Winton. YSU pulled within 52-47 on a couple of free throws by Kelsea Fickiesen. However, the Vikes pushed their advantage back to seven at the 7:08 mark on two free throws by Honesty King.

From that point, the team’s struggled offensively down the stretch. Touvelle broke the scoring drought for both teams with a base-line jumper at the 3:03 mark. Brown answered over a minute later driving to the bucket and converted a layup with 1:49 remaining cutting the deficit to 54-51.

Kenya Middlebrooks split a pair of free throws with 1:07 left and with 26.5 seconds left, Melissa Thompson‘s putback of a Middlebrooks missed triple got the Penguins within 56-54.  With 24.4 ticks left, Janelle Adams sank a pair of free throws to push the CSU lead up to 58-54.

Fickiesen quickly drove to the hoop scoring with exactly 18 seconds left.  With 16.6 seconds left, Thompson fouled Honesty King who made the first, but missed the second free throw.  The Penguins quickly moved the ball up the court, but Fickiesen was whistled for a charging foul with 9.8 seconds remaining. The YSU pressure then forced Adams to travel setting up the final 8.9 seconds.

For the game, YSU shot 30.4 percent making 21-of-69 shots, but went just 3-of-22 (13.6 percent) from behind the 3-point arc. All three 3-pointers came in a five-minute span of the second half. CSU shot 36.5 percent from the field converting 23-of-63 attempts.

Fickiesen led the Penguins with 11 points while Middlebrooks and Touvelle each finished with 10. Coleman had game-high honors with 17 points while Shalonda Winton had 15 and King added 13.

Both teams struggled offensively in the first half, shooting a combined 27 percent and committing 26 turnovers, and Cleveland State held a 23-21 lead at halftime. YSU’s defense forced 10 steals as a catalyst to Cleveland State’s 15 first-half turnovers, but the Penguins were 7-for-34 overall from the floor and 0-for-9 from 3-point range offensively.

YSU scored the first four points of the game, but Cleveland State scored six straight points for the first of three lead changes in the opening period. Middlebrooks put the Guins back up 9-8, and her steal and lay-up gave them a 16-12 lead with 6:10 left.

Schlegel’s bucket put YSU up 18-14 with 5:22 remaining, but YSU did not score for nearly five minutes as Cleveland State scored the next nine points to go ahead 23-18. Schlegel made a free-throw with 30.9 seconds left to end the drought, and Fickiesen made a lay-up with less than three seconds left to make the score 23-21 at halftime.

The Youngstown State Lady Penguins fought back after putting themselves in an early hole, but ultimately came up short, falling to Cleveland State.  Over the final seven-and-a-half minutes, the Vikings outscored the Penguins 20-9 and walked away with a 79-69 victory.  YSU committed 28 turnovers, matching a season high, and attempted a season-low 14 3-pointers in the loss.

The loss shook things up for the Horizon League Women’s Tournament.  Had the Penguins (10-19, 4-14) been able to nab the road win, they would have hosted a game Monday night in the first round.  Because of the way it ended, the Lady Penguins will head straight back to the Wolstein Center for a do-over with their local rivals.

The Penguins trailed by as many as 14 in the first half, but were was able to chip away and pulled themselves into the lead midway through the second half.  The Penguins outscored the Vikings 15-7 in the first five minutes of the second half to cut the margin to three, and they took their first lead of the contest when two Macey Nortey free throws at the 9:47 mark made the score 58-57. Cleveland State made two free throws to re-claim the lead, and a Kenya Middlebrooks bucket put YSU up 60-59 with 7:34 left. The Vikings made six of their next seven shots, and YSU missed six free throws in the final 6:37.

Cleveland State shot 63.3 percent in the first half and 50 percent for the game. The Vikings scored 22 of their 33 points in the second half in the final 8:30. YSU shot 40.7 percent and posted a season-high 16 steals.  Cleveland State made 10 of its first 13 shots and ended the first half on a 9-3 run to take a 46-35 lead at halftime. The Vikings led by as many as 14 in the period, and their 9-3 run to end the period came immediately after YSU had cut the deficit to five.

Heidi Schlegel registered her second career double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds, and Kelsea Fickiesen added a career-best 14 points.  For Cleveland State, Shalonda Winton finished with 25 points, and Takima Keane and Cori Coleman both had 14 points.

The Penguins will enter tournament play as the #10 seed, while Cleveland State will host as the #7 seed.