Women’s Basketball | 2008-09 Season Highlights

SENIOR DAY VICTORY OVER VALPO: The Penguins ended the regular season with arguably their most complete game of the year, which was symbolic of the progression the team made. It was extra special because it came on “senior day”, the final game at Beeghly Center for YSU’s six seniors. With all five active seniors in the starting lineup, YSU pulled off an inspired 54-38 victory over Valparaiso, a team it lost to 86-43 earlier in the year. The Penguins jumped out to a 13-0 lead and shot 47.9 percent for the game. Strong on both sides of the ball, the YSU turned is second-best shooting game of the season while holding Valpo to the fewest points by an opponent since 1990.

LAFLEUR AND SCOTT SOLID IN POST: Seniors Nikita LaFleur and Tiara Scott formed one of the best post combinations in the Horizon League. That was on really on display Jan. 8 against Milwaukee when both players recorded double-doubles, which was a first for YSU in the last six years. LaFleur finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Scott had 13 points and 11 rebounds. They came close against Saint Francis (Pa.) on Dec. 3, but LaFleur finished one point shy. Scott led the Penguins in scoring a team-high nine times, and LaFleur was the top rebounder in 17 games.

CAMISHA 3-POINTERS RECORD: Camisha Alexander made the most 3-pointers by a freshman in school history with 41, breaking the previous record of 37 held by Dianne Rappach (1988-89). Alexander hit 26 of those 41 in the final 12 games of the season. For the year, she ranked ninth in the Horizon League in 3-point field goals, and her 28 3-pointers in league play ranked sixth. She finished as YSU’s leading scorer six times, which was the most of any guard. Alexander also scored in double figures in three of her final five games, showing her potential to be a strong scorer from the outside in future seasons.

LAFLEUR HAS BEST SHOOTING DAY IN SCHOOL HISTORY: Senior Nikita LaFleur put an exclamation point on her breakout season with the best shooting game in YSU history against Green Bay on Jan. 10. She made all 10 of her field goal attempts, which just edged Kristi Echelberry’s 9-for-9 effort in 1995. She was one of only two players in the nation to make 100 percent of her attempts and make a minimum of 10. She was named the Horizon League Scholar Athlete of the Week for her efforts. LaFleur’s .550 shooting percentage in 2008-09 ranks as the seventh-best for a single season in school history, and her career .481 percentage ranks eighth. LaFleur also finished with the eighth-most blocks in school history with 67.

SENIORS IN RECORD BOOK: In addition to LaFleur’s top-10 rankings, three other seniors left their marks on YSU’s record book. Tiara Scott finished her two-years at YSU with a career .535 field goal percentage, which ranks second in school history. Her career .793 free throw percentage ranks eighth in school history. She also made 24 consecutive free throws this past season, which is the seventh-longest streak in school history. Kelsey Gurganus finished her two years as the sixth-best free-throw shooter in school history, making 80.6 percent of her attempts. Ashley Pendleton finished ranked sixth in career blocks with 75.

SCORING MILESTONES: Two seniors hit career scoring milestones this season. Tiara Scott scored the 500th point of her Youngstown State career against Akron on Dec. 20 as the Penguins defeated the Zips 58-52. She finished her career with 647 points in 60 games wearing a Penguins uniform. Kelsey Gurganus reached 500 points for her Division I career in her final game. She scored 383 points in two seasons at YSU and 119 in two years at Southern Miss. Gurganus was the only player to start in every game during the year.

NORTEY HIGHLIGHTS STRONG FRESHMAN CONTRIBUTIONS: guard Macey Nortey finished with 80 assists in her freshman campaign. That total ranks as the sixth-best among freshmen in school history. She started 25 games and played 805 minutes, which ranked second on the team only to senior Kelsey Gurganus. Fellow freshman Kenya Middlebrooks played in every game and averaged 23.8 minutes, which was the fifth-most on the team. Camisha Alexander averaged 17.3 minutes and played all but the two games she missed with an injury. Makala Gasparek also played in 28 games. Nortey and Alexander became the first pair of YSU freshman since 2001-02 to both score more than 150 points in a season.

BALANCED STEALS: Five different players registered at least 27 steals, marking the first time since 2002-03 that at least five student-athletes had 25 in a season. Freshman Kenya Middlebrooks finished with a team-high 37, Jaquetta Westley had 35, Macey Nortey had 32, Nikita LaFleur had 28 and Kelsey Gurganus had 27.

OFF THE COURT: The Penguins completed nine different community service projects that ranged from serving spaghetti at a local church to hosting a Trick-or-Treat Night at a senior living center to hosting a free girls basketball clinic. The team received the Horizon League’s Community Outreach Award for its efforts. Senior Velissa Vaughn was one of eight YSU student-athletes to be honored on National STUDENT-Athlete for her significant contributions in the classroom and sideline. Vaughn and Kelsey Gurganus both earned a perfect 4.0 grade-point average in the Fall 2008 semester, and the team had a combined 3.18 GPA.