Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes YSU junior Mady Aulbach (right) plays tough defense on Penn State’s Makenna Marisa earlier in the season at State College.

YOUNGSTOWN — For as long as Youngstown State guard Mady Aulbach can remember, defense has been a key component of her game.

Growing up, she explained, her father, Eric, instilled in her a defensive mindset, and she’s taken that with her throughout her career, from rec leagues and high school games to now at Youngstown State.

“My dad was always really big on teaching me defense,” the junior said. “And I feel like to an extent, it’s not something you can always teach, but just kind of a mindset where you don’t want your (opponent) to score on you. … For me, I’ve always thought getting a stop on defense was really fun even compared to getting a score on offense.”

Aulbach has become the Penguins’ leading perimeter defender this season, nearly always being assigned the opposing team’s best guard. It’s a role she’s relished, YSU coach John Barnes said, and one that she’s settled into as she’s grown within the program.

“The more she got comfortable running the offense and being aggressive on the offensive end, it’s allowed her to get more minutes,” he said. “Now that she’s starting full-time and playing a lot of minutes, she’s developed that role of being able to guard the other team’s best (perimeter) players.”

So far, the results have been stellar.

In the Penguins’ last two games, Aulbach has been assigned the Horizon League’s leading scorer, Cleveland State’s Destiny Leo, and the No. 13 scorer, Purdue Fort Wayne’s Riley Ott.

Leo, who was averaging just over 23 points per game, scored 16, but that output came on a 3-for-10 day from the field. Nine of those points were at the charity stripe.

Ott, meanwhile, averages 11.4 per game, but was stymied to the tune of two points on an 0-for-7 day.

According to Aulbach, though, the best player she’s guarded this season is Oakland’s Kahlaijah Dean. In their meeting, a 79-68 YSU win on Nov. 18, Dean popped off for 18 points.

To prepare for those assignments, Aulbach says she watches film every day, whether that’s on her own, with a coach or with the team. Usually, she watches with assistant coach Malika Glover. And, Aulbach added, she always watches replays of YSU’s games on ESPN+.

“In the game it feels completely different than when you watch it back, and it feels so much more intense,” Aulbach said. “So I like to see in different moments, maybe I did get beat off the dribble and could’ve been a step over, things like that. Watching with coach Glover is super helpful, and just watching team film, regardless of if it’s me messing up or another teammate and seeing how we could be better defensively or in a different position is super helpful.”

The YSU coaching staff also provides its players with scouting reports, and in practices, the scout team provides a live look to what opposing teams will try to run.

In game situations, Aulbach says as long as she’s putting in full effort and understands her opponents’ tendencies, her teammates will “have (her) back.”

That’s critical, as the guard is frequently fighting through screens and dealing with some of the Horizon’s best.

“A lot of time when I’m guarding the best player, the coaches will say everyone is guarding her,” Aulbach explained. “It’s not just me, so if I do get screened hard or I lose (the opponent) that one time, (forward) Lilly (Ritz) is going to be there to step up and take a charge, or (guard) Megan (Callahan) is going to be ready to switch with me, just different things like that.”

The rest of the Penguins have done well in making that happen. YSU ranks first in the Horizon League in scoring defense, giving up just 55.5 points per game. Three of YSU’s opponents have been kept under 50 points.

After YSU dispatched Cleveland State to move to 12-1 overall and 6-0 in league play last Saturday, Callahan said having a player like Aulbach on defense is “huge.”

“She has to be chasing through screens. She’s going to be in there for about 30 minutes guarding their best player,” Callahan said. “That’s not an easy job.”

It’s a job that requires an ever-running motor, according to both Aulbach and Barnes.

In fact, it was that energy that stood out to Barnes as he was recruiting Aulbach from Blackhawk High School just across the state line in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, the coach said.

To keep that motor running, Aulbach has always put an emphasis on conditioning. In her high school days, Aulbach worked with trainer Craedel Kimbrough, and at YSU the team works out with Connor Keenan, a sports performance coach for the university.

Between that training and in-game adrenaline, Aulbach said she neither feels it when she gets screened hard nor feels tired after all of the running.

“One of the things I’ve always taken pride in as a smaller guard is I have to have a really good motor, or else I’m not going to last on the floor,” Aulbach, who is YSU’s second-shortest player at 5-foot-5, said. “Staying in shape has always been a top priority for me.”

Combine it all, and you have what Barnes says is one of the better defenders he’s coached in his time at YSU.

“It takes a ton of effort, takes a ton of concentration, focus and energy, and she has all those things,” Barnes said. “She’s willing to leave it all on the floor for her teammates, and that makes her that much more of a special player.”