Women’s Basketball to open postseason play at Youngstown State Wednesday

Wednesday, March 4

Youngstown, OH / Beeghly Center

7 PM

Wright State University

Youngstown State (HL Championship First Round)

Photo by: Joseph Craven

Women’s Basketball to open postseason play at Youngstown State Wednesday

3/3/2026 4:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball

DAYTON- The Wright State women's basketball team (10-21, 6-14 HL) will hit the road to open postseason play at Youngstown State Wednesday night. Tipoff in the Beeghly Center is slated for 7 p.m.

GAME INFORMATION
Wednesday, March 4 – WATCH (ESPN+) | FOLLOW LIVE STATS

SCOUTING THE PENGUINS
Youngstown State enters the first round of the Horizon League Championship at 22-8 on the season, and 15-5 in Horizon League play. The Penguins are currently riding a five-game win streak and have won nine of their last 10. Youngstown State's lone loss in that stretch came at home against Green Bay.

The Penguins feature a stout defense that leads the Horizon League in conference in scoring defense, opponent field-goal percentage, opponent 3-point field-goal percentage, and blocks. Anchoring that defense is the 2026 Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year, Sophia Gregory. She leads the league in rebounding, averaging nine rebounds a game, including 6.7 rebounds on the defensive end of the floor. Gregory is also second in the league with 1.5 blocks per game, only trailing her teammate Paulina Hernancdez at 1.8 blocks per game.

Offensively, Youngstown State has four players averaging double-digit points, led by Casey Santoro, who was selected to the All-League Second Team. Santoro leads the Penguins with 12.3 points per game, followed by Sarah Baker with 11.8, Gregory with 10.5, and Erica King with 10.0 points per game. Santoro also leads the Horizon League and ranks 22nd nationally with 35.6 minutes per game.

HISTORY VS. YOUNGSTOWN STATE
Wednesday's game will mark the 77^th all-time meeting between Wright State and Youngstown State, a series the Raiders lead 43-33. The Penguins swept the season series this year, with the Raiders falling 46-65 at the Beeghly Center in December and 67-78 in overtime at the Nutter Center in January.

The Raiders and Penguins meet in the first round of the Horizon League tournament for the second consecutive season after meeting in the Nutter Center a season ago. Wright State took down Youngstown State 73-58 on the back of Amaya Staton's record-breaking night. The senior finished with 27 rebounds to break the WSU program record, the HL Championship record, and the 2024-25 NCAA Division I single-game rebounding record. She also matched the HL all-time single-game rebounding record. Staton also finished with a team-high 17 points, tallying her ninth double-double of the season.

LAST TIME OUT
The Raiders dropped their regular-season finale at Robert Morris on Saturday afternoon, falling 50-62.
Ellie Magestro-Kennedy finished with a team-high 15 points to lead the Raiders Saturday afternoon. The redshirt sophomore was connecting from behind the three-point line, finishing with five made threes to match her career-high. Including Magestro Kennedy, all nine Raiders who saw the floor today found their way onto the scoresheet. Olivia Brown and Claire Henson finished with eight rebounds apiece to lead the Raiders; Brown's eight rebounds mark a new career high. Brown also led the team with five assists and three steals.

The Raiders started the game on fire, scoring 21 points in the opening 10 minutes to jump out to a 14-point lead with a minute remaining in the first. Wright State shot 50 percent (8-16) from the floor and a near-perfect 80 percent (4-5) from behind the three-point line. The Raiders would hold the Colonials to nine points in the first 10 minutes to hold an early 12-point lead.

Robert Morris would answer with a 12-point run to open the second quarter. The Colonials also stepped up on the defensive end, holding the Raiders to six points in the second quarter to cut the Wright State lead to four at the halftime break.

The third quarter would follow a similar path to the second quarter with Rober Morris opening the half on a 14-0 run and holding the Raiders to six points again in the third to take an eight-point lead into the fourth quarter. The Colonials kept their foot on the gas in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Raiders by four to secure a 12-point win.

In the box score. Wright State led Robert Morris in rebounds (35-32), second chance points (8-5), and bench points (14-9), while trailing the Colonials in points in the paint (10-30), and fast break points (2-4).

FROM WAY DOWNTOWN
The Raiders get it done from behind the arc, shooting 34.8 percent from behind the three-point line while knocking down eight three-pointers a game, both marks top the Horizon League and rank in the top 50 nationally. Four Raiders have eclipsed 40 made three pointers, led by Rylee Sagester with 57, followed by Ellie Magestro-Kennedy with 49, Lauren Scott with 43, and Breezie Williams with 41. Sagester leads the bunch, knocking down threes at a 39.3 percent clip.

The Raiders have made 10-plus three pointers on 10 different occasions this season, including setting a new program record 18 threes in the home opener against Wilberforce. Six of those games have come in Horizon League play, led by a 14 made three pointers against Milwaukee on February 18.

BALL SECURITY IS JOB SECURITY
The Wright State offense has been taking care of the ball this season, averaging 14.1 turnovers per game, which is third in the Horizon League and tied for 71st nationally. The Raiders also feature a 1.35 turnover margin, which ranks fourth in the Horizon League.

BREEZIE LIKE A SUNDAY MORNING
Breezie Williams has made a major impact for the Raiders in her lone season in Green and Gold. Williams has started all 31 games for the Raiders. She leads the team with 385 points, averaging 12.4 per game, ranking sixth and ninth in the Horizon League, respectively. Williams has scored in double figures, a team high 17 times this season, and has finished with 20-plus eight times, which ranks fourth in the Horizon League. The senior also leads the Raiders in minutes played (934), assists (95), and steals (62), while finishing second on the team in rebounds (129).

Williams is shooting 41.0 percent from the floor, 6th in the Horizon League, and 38.0 percent from three-point range. In conference play, those percentages jump to 41.7 percent from the floor and a stellar 44.6 percent from downtown.

The senior has set multiple career milestones in a Raider uniform. The Bryant transfer had a breakout performance on the road at Tennessee State early in the season, dropping a then-career-high 27 points with three assists, three rebounds, and two blocks. Williams also finished one rebound and one steal short of a triple-double at Florida Atlantic, finishing with a career-high nine steals and nine rebounds. She joined the 1,000 career-point club, scoring her 1,000^th point against Northern Kentucky on January 17. Most recently, Williams set a new career-high after scoring 28 points against Purdue Fort Wayne on February 5. She was on fire, shooting 85% from the floor and a perfect 5-5 from behind the three-point line.

ELLIE MAGIC
Wright State's Ellie Magestro-Kennedy has turned in nine double-digit scoring performances in Horizon League play. The redshirt sophomore has scored 10 or more points against Green Bay (10), IU Indy (13), Youngstown State (17), Northern Kentucky twice (10 and 13), Detroit Mercy (16), Milwaukee (10), Cleveland State (18 (Career-high) and 10), and Robert Morris (15). To go along with the scoring, Magestro-Kennedy has seen her role increase, playing 20+ minutes in 10 of her last 15 games.

The redshirt sophomore was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes five years ago. Daily, she is required to check blood glucose (sugar) levels, administer and adjust insulin dosages, and calculate meal carbohydrates (regular and pre- and post-workout/practice/games).

CLAIRE CRASHING THE BOARDS
Claire Henson has been active in the paint for the Raiders, snagging a team-high 186 rebounds so far this season. The senior has turned in 15 performances with seven or more rebounds and three performances of 10-plus rebounds. Henson set a new career-high in rebounds on the road at Ohio as part of a 17-point and 15-rebound double-double.

SIZING UP THE 2025-26 SQUAD
The Raiders return nine players from last season while adding four newcomers (two transfers and two freshmen).

The squad features four seniors, three juniors, four sophomores, and two freshmen. The roster also expands not only across the nation, with four different states represented (Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin), but across the globe, with three international student-athletes (England, Nigeria, Sweden).