YSU’s Saunders thriving in first season as starter
Fifth-year senior leads Penguins in scoring with 15.0 points per game
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YOUNGSTOWN -- Coming into this season, one of the biggest questions for Youngstown State was filling the void left by former center Lilly Ritz.
The Penguins expected to replace Ritz by committee -- with senior Lindsey Linard and fifth years Emily Saunders and Jen Wendler.
However, Saunders earned the starting spot and has thrived through YSU's first four games of the season. So far, she's leading the team in scoring and rebounding, having averaged 15.0 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.
"It's just really nice that (my team) has that confidence in me," Saunders said. "They're really good at getting me the ball, and I try to get it back to them when I'm not wide open. But, them having confidence in me really has just boosted me and ultimately boosts the team."
The 6-foot-5 post player started off on a tear, scoring 20 and 22 points, respectively, during YSU's opening week of the season against Xavier and Slippery Rock (Pa.).
Those performances earned her Horizon League Player of the Week honors from the conference. Saunders' 22 points against The Rock and 14 rebounds against the Musketeers were both career highs in each category.
"We knew she would be able to score," acting head coach John Nicolais said. "She has that capability, and the size that she brings proves to be a mismatch for teams and they have to change how they defend us inside. We did feel like she was capable of putting up numbers once given the opportunity."
Saunders' journey to becoming a starter at the Division I level has taken several twists and turns.
After leading Wyoming East High School to a state title in 2016 and earning West Virginia Gatorade Player of the Year honors as a senior in 2019, she sought to play for her favorite childhood team -- a storied Tennessee program built by late legendary coach Pat Summitt.
"I really just wanted a good family atmosphere and I wanted to just feel like I was home," Saunders said. "Honestly, Tennessee felt like I was home the entire time I was there and I really loved it. I was recruited by several other schools, but just automatically, I felt like that's where I needed to be."
During her three seasons in Knoxville, Saunders played in 60 games and averaged 1.5 points and 1.2 rebounds per game. But then, Saunders was looking for a change and entered her name into the transfer portal after the end of the 2021-2022 season.
In April of 2022, two of Saunders' AAU teammates with the WV Thunder -- Dena Jarrells and Shay-Lee Kirby both transferred to YSU and joined forces with Paige Shy, another AAU teammate who was already on the Penguins' roster.
The next month, Saunders joined them in Youngstown.
"When I first went into the portal, I really just wanted to have fun my last two years," Saunders said. "Obviously, I wanted to win and I wanted to get to a winning program, which Youngstown is, but I wanted to play with people that also want to just have fun. And I had three other (WV Thunder) teammates that were coming here, so obviously that was a big thing for me. Coming (to YSU) was probably the best decision I made for myself and just for my happiness."
After arriving at YSU, Saunders, along with Wendler and Linard, played behind Ritz during her first season with the Penguins last year.
She averaged 4.3 points and 1.9 rebounds per game off the bench, but had a breakout performance in January during a road game at Detroit Mercy, setting her previous career high of 18 points against the Titans.
"I think last year she was just getting comfortable with how we did things as a program, and she had Lilly, who was very talented, in front of her," Nicolais said. "To (Saunders') credit, she had some games last year where she was incredibly efficient in a short amount of playing time. So there were times last year where we saw snippets of (what she's done this year)."
While playing with and behind Ritz, Saunders had the chance to learn from one of the more decorated players to come through the YSU program. Saunders said she also made an emphasis on getting in the gym and doing extra work during the offseason.
The combination of both of those things have helped her get to the level she's played at so far this year.
"Practicing with and against her last year really helped me because she's really good at rebounding out of position, she's really good at finishing and I really tried to implement all that into my game," Saunders said. "Being able to play against someone that hyperfocused has helped me focus on that as well. Just learning all her skills -- she's one of the best post players that I've ever seen and had the ability to play with."
Saunders and the rest of the Penguins currently sit at 2-2 and are off to Las Vegas to play in the Las Vegas Holiday Classic this weekend. YSU will face Rhode Island and Northern Arizona before returning to open Horizon League conference play against Detroit Mercy the following week.
"We just need to continue to stay on the same page and mesh together," Saunders said. "We did really well playing team ball the first two games, but then we just kind of went away from that a little bit. We've got to use this Vegas trip as an opportunity to not only get back on the same page on the court, but just off the court as well. And I feel like this is a huge opportunity before conference play to do that."
nmadhavan@tribtoday.com