YSU women look for 1st win
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Macey Nortey is a ball of pure energy on the court, zigzagging through defenders with a nice, fluid dribbling style before squeaking to a halt and zipping the ball to an open teammate.
When Youngstown State's point guard took the floor to face Wisconsin-Green Bay Thursday night, she was a full eight inches shorter than the player who was guarding her.
Working hard, but simply not measuring up — that's the story of the season for Youngstown State.
The misery keeps building for the Penguins, who fell to 0-28 after Thursday's 84-45 loss. And if they don't win their regular-season finale at Wisconsin-Milwaukee Saturday or a first-round game in the Horizon League tournament, they'll become the ninth women's team to go winless for a season in the past 10 years, according to STATS LLC.
"They have a lot of spirit and energy still, for the season that they're going through," Green Bay forward Kayla Tetschlag said. "And I definitely respect that. I just wish them luck. They seem down, but I think they're still trying. They're still going to finish out the season the right way."
With his team leading 50-15 at halftime, Green Bay coach Matt Bollant didn't talk to his players about on-court strategy adjustments. Instead, he reminded them to be respectful of their opponents. He emptied his bench early in the second half, and Green Bay's backups didn't appear to be trying to run up the score.
"I feel for her," Bollant said of Penguins coach Cindy Martin. "It's a hard situation. Youngstown's not an easy place to recruit to, I'm sure. And I hope they give her an opportunity to get things turned around."
Martin declined an interview request from The Associated Press, and she and her players were not available to reporters after Thursday night's loss.
With Martin keeping mum, it's unclear how she's handling her team's snowballing losses. She didn't show many outward signs of frustration during Thursday's game, and sporadic posts on her Twitter account seem upbeat.
"Just finished shoot-around, we had a great one!" she posted on Feb. 11. "The ladies are in great spirits and we are excited to play tonight!"
They went on to lose at Butler that night, 82-36.
It's been a rough two-year stretch at Youngstown State for Martin, who was 70-23 in three seasons at Division II Indiana (Pa.) University.
Martin didn't inherit much experience last year, and the Penguins went 3-27. She brought in some players — freshman Brandi Brown has 13 double-doubles and came into Thursday's game leading the Horizon League in rebounding — but injuries have set the team back this season: They dressed only eight players Thursday night.
Still, Martin never stopped coaching.
With 1:54 remaining and the Penguins trailing 82-41, Martin called Nortey over to the bench to diagram a play for the next possession.
Bollant offered encouragement to Martin after the game, recalling Green Bay's victory in a relatively competitive game at Youngstown State back in January.
"We played them at their place, they played great," Bollant said. "They were up 28-22, their kids were intense and into it. And, obviously, the grind of the year can be hard. But I really thought the way they played at their place, they're going to get some wins at home. Unfortunately, that didn't transfer to other games. I just said, 'Hang in there, and good luck on Saturday.' I hope they can get that one."
