Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes. The Youngstown State women’s basketball team celebrates at midcourt after its win over Oakland on Jan. 3

YOUNGSTOWN — Despite a rough start, Youngstown State battled and overcame adversity during the 2023-2024 season.

Coming off a regular season Horizon League championship in 2021-2022 and a fourth-place finish in 2022-2023, the Penguins entered the season with lofty expectations having been tabbed third in this year’s conference preseason poll.

YSU was returning a wealth of experience, which included six fifth-years and two seniors.

But before the season even began, the Penguins were left scrambling. Fifth-year forward Jen Wendler and freshman Amya McLeod had sustained injuries in preseason practice that ended up keeping both players out for the whole year.

Then, former head coach John Barnes announced he was taking a leave of absence to tend to personal matters on Oct. 2, and associate head coach John Nicolais was elevated to acting head coach for the time being.

The Penguins opened the season winning their first two games, but from there, things started to slip. YSU lost each of its next six games and would win just four more games until Jan. 18.

At that point, YSU was 6-12 overall, its worst start since starting 6-12 to open the 2017-2018 season, and Nicolais and the Penguins were left looking for answers.

On Jan. 19, Barnes officially resigned as head coach, which concluded his 10-year career leading the Penguins program. Nicolais was named interim head coach and began to make changes.

The Penguins implemented a full-court press, and mixed in some zone with its signature halfcourt man-to-man defense. YSU’s efficiency on offense improved, as well, and over the final 1.5 months of the season, the Penguins looked like a different team than the one that began the year.

Over the final month of the season, YSU won six of its final nine games, which included a four-game winning streak in the heat of conference play in February.

“I really feel like now, and since Jan. 19, we’ve taken ownership of it and we wanted to have our stamp on things,” Nicolais said after the Cleveland State game on Feb. 27. “They’re playing really confident and they’re playing with a chip on their shoulder and they’re playing with a sense of finality. Those are all things you hope to have in late February and I don’t know that we had that the last couple of years. With two really good teams, we kind of died off at the end of February. So I like the direction this is heading.”

In addition to the season-long injuries to Wendler and McLeod, YSU battled injuries and player absences throughout the season.

Shay-Lee Kirby missed a couple games, Malia Magestro missed a game at the end of the season and Paige Shy missed a significant number of games with an injury, especially during the final month.

But still, even with all the injuries and the coaching changes, by the end of the season, YSU looked like the team they were envisioned to be before the season began. The Penguins finished 14-18 overall, 9-11 in conference play and bowed out in the Horizon League tournament quarterfinals.

“Behind the scenes, we had a lot of little sicknesses and players with injuries — probably the most adversity I’ve had since being here,” Aulbach said. “Obviously we had some coaching changes, and not every player played every single game.

“I think when we went to Northern Kentucky (Feb. 24), and we pulled out that win being down 18 points, (assistant coach Teonna Jewell) and Coach (Nicolais) were actually in tears after the game. Because it seems like no matter what’s being thrown at us all year, we turn around and we somehow manage to make the best of it, whether it shows in a W or not. But we’ve been making the best of things all year.”

NICOLAIS STAKES CLAIM

Now that the season is over, it remains to be seen whether Nicolais has done enough to earn the permanent coaching job in the eyes of athletic director Ron Strollo.

YSU may elevate Nicolais, or after 10 years under the leadership of Barnes and Nicolais, Strollo and the YSU administration may choose to go in a different direction.

But nonetheless, a decision is imminent. Strollo told the Tribune Chronicle and Vindicator that YSU “hopes to have an announcement before the transfer portal opens on March 18.”

After Barnes’ resignation, Nicolais made it clear that he is interested in the full-time job.

“100%, there’s no question about that,” Nicolais said on Jan. 23.

He is well-versed with the Penguins’ program and its ins and outs, having been at YSU under Barnes for each of the last 10 years until his resignation. He feels that helps his case for the job.

“I certainly know the lay of the land with the administration, Youngstown itself and selling Youngstown (to recruits),” Nicolais said during YSU’s weekly press conference on Feb. 26. “I would like to think that would be an advantage of mine. The big thing is trying to execute down the stretch and keep winning games and make things difficult for Ron.”

Nicolais has also publicly received support from fifth-year guard Dena Jarrells for what the Penguins have done this season.

“I’ll say this, the February team that we (had) is the team that the Penguins can be for years to come,” Jarrells said. “John Nicolais has done a great job with us. We were 1-7 or 1-8 on the road — obviously we didn’t start off great. We’ve all transitioned into everything that he’s brought into with us.”

“Him stepping up and being the type of coach that we needed for this program and what we’ve been through this season, I think our team at the end of the season is the type of team that I think he can provide this program with later on in the years. And I think he’s done a wonderful job.”

THE FUTURE

With the exodus of Aulbach, Jarrells, Kirby, Shy, Wendler and Emily Saunders, YSU will have almost a completely new group next season after significant roster turnover this offseason.

Seniors Malia Magestro and Lindsey Linard have eligibility remaining, plus junior Haley Thierry, sophomore Abby Liber and redshirt freshman Mackenzie Hurd can each return. The Penguins also have true freshmen McLeod, Abbie Davidson and Bella Samz that can return, as well.

Those outgoing upperclassmen will be replaced by YSU’s seven-member recruiting class that each signed to join the Penguins back on Nov. 9.

The group includes Ohio natives Danielle Cameron (5-foot-9 guard, Olmsted Falls HS, Olmsted Falls), Sophia Gregory (6-foot-2 forward, West Branch HS, Alliance), Erica King (5-foot-7 guard, St. Vincent-St. Mary HS, Akron) and Jayda Mosley (5-foot-8 guard, Purcell Marian HS, Cincinnati), Kentucky native Sarah Baker (6-foot-2 post, Larry A. Ryle HS, Florence, Ky.) and Hayden Barrier (5-foot-7 guard, Montgomery County HS, Mount Sterling, Ky.) and West Virginia native Ashlynn Van Tassell (6-foot-3 post, Cameron HS, Cameron, W.Va.).

Have an interesting story? Contact Neel Madhavan by email at nmadhavan@tribtoday.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @NeelMadhavan.