Everything about Youngstown State’s program feels new.
From the roster littered with underclassmen, to the head coach in her second season with the Penguins, to the victory total that doubles last year’s accomplishment, YSU is a storied program that nevertheless feels refreshed by the excitement of a skyward trajectory and the notion of seemingly-limitless possibility.
That label now includes unprecedented success on the court, at least within the school’s quarter-century tenure in the Horizon League.
Youngstown State defeated Northeast Ohio rival Cleveland State 60-55 in the HL semifinals on Monday afternoon in Indianapolis’ Corteva Coliseum, a result that propelled the Penguins to the conference’s title game for the first time ever.
Danielle Cameron led YSU with 16 points, ten of those coming during a furious 25-point fourth quarter, one that helped the tournament’s second seed overturn a five-point Vikings advantage entering the frame.
Two Cameron three-pointers 97 seconds apart pulled the Penguins within one with 5:27 remaining, and the latter shot launched a 12-2 run that put head coach Melissa Jackson’s squad ahead 54-48 with 2:11 remaining. The redshirt freshman was hardly alone in contributing to the barrage, as Casey Santoro and Erica King each hit triples during the surge as well.
That sequence rather decisively shook off Youngstown State’s cold start from deep, as the Guins were just 4-for-21 from behind the arc at the end of the third quarter, before connecting on five of their final seven tries.
“All of our threes, we all tell each other next shot, and then everyone has confidence in each other,” Cameron said. “So I think knowing that we all have confidence in each other helps you not be nervous to take the next shot.”
“We kept telling each other next shot’s going in,” confirmed Santoro, who added eight points, six assists and five rebounds to the victorious effort. “Once we saw one fall, we knew the next couple of them were going to fall.”
CSU rallied with a 7-0 run, capped off by a Colbi Maples and-one, to briefly re-take the lead in the final minute of play. However, Cameron immediately responded with her third three-pointer of the final ten minutes, which gave her team the lead for good with 22 seconds remaining.
“[We] went to something that has worked multiple times against Cleveland State,” Jackson said of that winning shot. “I think they blew the coverage there. Dani had a wide open three, big props to her for hitting it. Dani’s been in some big moments in high school, state championship games, big threes. The moment is never too big for any of our student-athletes.”
Most of Youngstown State’s big shots came in transition, according to Vikings coach Chris Kielsmeier.
“They got that ball down on us pretty fast,” he explained. “And we knew that that was a strength of theirs, and something that they’d really exploited in the earlier games. We really did a good job with that most of the game. But in the fourth quarter, we didn’t.”
Conference newcomer of the year Izabella Zingaro led Cleveland State with 19 points and 14 rebounds – including a stellar 8-for-11 shooting effort – but the Vikings managed just 31 percent accuracy outside of Zingaro, as players like Maples and Macey Fegan were held under their season averages.
King was largely responsible for limiting Maples, the 2023-24 Horizon League Player of the Year, to just three points in a Penguins win over CSU on January 25th. The Akron, OH native didn’t quite duplicate that lockdown effort on Monday, but she came close enough, as Maples shot just 4-for-15 from the floor.
“Erica’s one of the best defenders in this league,” Jackson said. “Unbelievable on-ball defender, unbelievable IQ when it comes to scouting reports. And I think she’s shown that multiple times against Colbi Maples, who is a really, really good player, her ability to defend.”
“But in order for all of that to work, we all have to be on the same page. We all have to be connected. And we’ve really grown our defense throughout the year to be the best defensive team in this league.”
On the offensive end, King added a trio of three-pointers and 13 total points. Star center Sophia Gregory fell just shy of a double-double, with 11 points and nine rebounds.
The triumph sets up a compelling Horizon League championship clash on Tuesday, as the first-timer Penguins will take on Green Bay, a school that has won 18 HL tournament titles in its storied history, including the two most recent crowns.
YSU is not bereft of history, of course, but the Penguins won their most recent conference tournament title in 2000, while a member of the Summit League.
“We’re the new kids on the block, right?” Jackson said. “First trip to Indy, first trip to the championship game. But our mantra all year has been the grit, but it’s also been take it one game at a time. We are a young group led by an unbelievable sixth-year senior, [Santoro], but this is a very mature basketball team for how young they are.”
Tipoff for the title clash is set for noon on Tuesday afternoon, with the victor securing an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
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