Photo courtesy of YSU Athletic Communications / Madison Chapman. The YSU women’s basketball team huddles up at the end of its on-court practice on Wednesday morning at Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center.

YOUNGSTOWN — In the final game of the 2024-25 regular season, Youngstown State handed rival Cleveland State a 73-70 defeat at Zidian Family Arena.

It was the Penguins’ first win over the Vikings since February 2022 and first win over a team that finished in the top four of the Horizon League standings since the 2024 season.

With a young squad littered with freshmen, YSU had taken its lumps throughout the year, which included several season-ending injuries to key players. But the way the Penguins ended the regular season — winning three of its last four, including the victory over CSU — showed the growth and improvement that the team had been striving for all along in head coach Melissa Jackson’s first year in Youngstown.

“I think how we ended last year really helped us in the spring because we were competitive in most Horizon League games, but then to win three out of our last four with that big win at home against Cleveland State really validated everything we were doing and working towards,” Jackson said this week.

“I was really happy with year one of laying the foundation that we did, and I think that’s why you saw so many kids want to return. They all have a shared goal and really a purpose for why they’re here and what they want to build on.”

Now, with the majority of the team returning from last year, YSU is hoping to take that next step as a program heading into Jackson’s second season.

“I feel like it just reminded us what kind of team we can be,” returning redshirt senior forward Faith Burch said. “Now we have everybody back…I feel like we finally got certain pieces that really fit our puzzle. So it really means a lot for us to just really make that big jump and show the Horizon League who we can be.”

After the season, the Penguins spent most of the spring in the weight room strength training to address what the coaching staff perceived to be one of the team’s weaknesses last year.

“They worked hard in the weight room in the spring and that has carried over into the summer,” Jackson said. “I could not be happier with where we’re at from a strength standpoint. Now I think it’s really starting to translate onto the court.”

The team returned to campus in the middle of June and went right into its annual youth camp to kick things off.

“Their main responsibility in week one was giving back to our community and we had about 70 campers at youth camp and our team did a fantastic job with that,” Jackson said.

Then during the second week, the Penguins began individual and group workouts before breaking for the Fourth of July holiday.

Upon its return, YSU had its first full-team on-court practice of the summer on Wednesday.

“This is week three and we really ramped it up a little bit with some more concept stuff,” Jackson said. “I will say I was pretty happy with the first one. It’s so nice having nine returners. You can just walk into the gym and say a drill and they know what it is. Now they’re coaching our newbies, and I think that’s what you want. When you take over a program, you want that continuity.

“It’s been a really good start. I’ve loved the pace. We are focusing a lot more on our transition offense. We want to play much faster than we did last year, and I think we have the depth this year to do that. But you also have to have the buy-in, and I think this group has really bought into that.”

FILLING OUT THE STAFF

After former assistant coach Peyton Booth opted to step away from coaching after the season, Jackson began interviewing candidates to fill the vacancy on the coaching staff.

On June 16, she announced the hire of Altoona, Pa. native Kayla DeCriscio as an assistant coach. Before arriving in Youngstown, DeCriscio has had two previous stops at Detroit Mercy and Niagara during her nine-year coaching career.

She spent the last five years as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Niagara. Prior to getting into coaching, she played college basketball at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, a Division II program, before graduating in 2016.

“I think it’s been a seamless transition,” Jackson said. “We were actually in a coaching group together when I was an assistant at Cleveland State, and I was really impressed with her on some of the calls that we had. We stayed in touch, and when we had the opening, I reached out to her. She was in a great position at Niagara, a really good program there that has done some great things.

“So for me to get her to come here, I think she sees the vision and the talent that we have. She’s got a great voice in practice. She’s working a lot with our wings, and she’ll do a lot of our defensive concepts once we get into the thick of things. But I think she’s been a great addition.”