# 2024–25 Youngstown State Penguins women's basketball team

The 2024–25 Youngstown State Penguins women's basketball team represents Youngstown State University during the 2024–25 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Penguins, led by first-year head coach Melissa Jackson, play their home games at the Beeghly Center in Youngstown, Ohio as members of the Horizon League.

## Previous season

The Penguins finished the 2023–24 season 14–18, 9–11 in Horizon League play, to finish in a tie for sixth place. They would defeat IUPUI, before falling to eventual tournament champions Green Bay in the quarterfinals of the Horizon League tournament. On October 2, 2023, it was announced that head coach John Barnes would be taking a leave of absence to focus on "personal family matters," with associate head coach John Nicolais serving as acting head coach in Barnes' absence. On January 19, 2024, Barnes announced that he would be stepping down after ten years at the helm, with associate head coach John Nicolais serving as interim head coach for the remainder of the season.
On March 14, 2024, the school announced that they would be hiring former Akron head coach and Cleveland State assistant Melissa Jackson as the team's new head coach.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 4, 2024* 5:30 pm, ESPN+ | | North Dakota | Canceled due to power outage | Canceled due to power outage | Beeghly Center Youngstown, OH |
| November 8, 2024* 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Lake Erie | W 95–39 | 1–0 | Beeghly Center (1,358) Youngstown, OH |
| November 12, 2024* 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | St. Bonaventure | W 60–52 | 2–0 | Beeghly Center (1,602) Youngstown, OH |
| November 15, 2024* 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Clarion | W 69–52 | 3–0 | Beeghly Center (342) Youngstown, OH |
| November 19, 2024* 11:00 am, ESPN+ | | Mercyhurst | W 64–56 | 4–0 | Beeghly Center (3,539) Youngstown, OH |
| November 23, 2024* 11:00 am, ESPN+ | | at Bucknell | L 36–51 | 4–1 | Sojka Pavilion (198) Lewisburg, PA |
| November 26, 2024* 7:00 pm, FloHoops | | at Xavier | L 43–61 | 4–2 | Cintas Center (518) Cincinnati, OH |
| November 29, 2024* 11:00 am | | vs. Southern Indiana Puerto Rico Clasico | L 34–70 | 4–3 | Juan Cruz Abreu Coliseum (100) Manatí, PR |
| November 30, 2024* 1:30 pm | | vs. Towson Puerto Rico Clasico | L 57–68 | 4–4 | Juan Cruz Abreu Coliseum (100) Manatí, PR |
| December 4, 2024 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Milwaukee | W 66–50 | 5–4 (1–0) | Beeghly Center (1,343) Youngstown, OH |
| December 7, 2024 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Northern Kentucky | W 56–47 | 6–4 (2–0) | Truist Arena (1,295) Highland Heights, KY |
| December 14, 2024* 11:00 am, B1G+ | | at No. 11 Ohio State | L 39–87 | 6–5 | Value City Arena (5,659) Columbus, OH |
| December 18, 2024 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Detroit Mercy | L 58–65 | 6–6 (2–1) | Beeghly Center (1,205) Youngstown, OH |
| December 21, 2024* 12:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Point Park | W 85–42 | 7–6 | Beeghly Center (1,296) Youngstown, OH |
| December 28, 2024 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at IU Indy | L 50–65 | 7–7 (2–2) | The Jungle (241) Indianapolis, IN |
| January 1, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Purdue Fort Wayne | L 60–74 | 7–8 (2–3) | Gates Sports Center (474) Fort Wayne, IN |
| January 9, 2025 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Green Bay | L 50–58 | 7–9 (2–4) | Beeghly Center (1,328) Youngstown, OH |
| January 12, 2025 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Wright State | L 62–77 | 7–10 (2–5) | Nutter Center (1,174) Fairborn, OH |
| January 15, 2025 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Northern Kentucky | W 75–66 | 8–10 (3–5) | Beeghly Center (1,273) Youngstown, OH |
| January 18, 2025 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Robert Morris | L 61–67 | 8–11 (3–6) | Beeghly Center (3,172) Youngstown, OH |
| January 23, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Cleveland State | L 53–67 | 8–12 (3–7) | Wolstein Center (519) Cleveland, OH |
| January 26, 2025 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Oakland | W 73–56 | 9–12 (4–7) | Beeghly Center (1,888) Youngstown, OH |
| January 29, 2025 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Purdue Fort Wayne | L 56–79 | 9–13 (4–8) | Beeghly Center (1,185) Youngstown, OH |
| February 6, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Green Bay | L 47–58 | 9–14 (4–9) | Kress Events Center (1,902) Green Bay, WI |
| February 8, 2025 3:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Milwaukee | L 56–61 | 9–15 (4–10) | Klotsche Center (606) Milwaukee, WI |
| February 13, 2025 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Wright State | L 76–78 $^{OT}$ | 9–16 (4–11) | Beeghly Center (1,335) Youngstown, OH |
| February 15, 2025 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | IU Indy | L 68–73 | 9–17 (4–12) | Beeghly Center (1,491) Youngstown, OH |
| February 20, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Detroit Mercy | W 67–59 | 10–17 (5–12) | Calihan Hall (325) Detroit, MI |
| February 22, 2025 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Oakland | W 52–51 | 11–17 (6–12) | OU Credit Union O'rena (521) Auburn Hills, MI |
| February 26, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Robert Morris | L 53–76 | 11–18 (6–13) | UPMC Events Center (412) Moon Township, PA |
| March 1, 2025 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Cleveland State | W 73–70 | 12–18 (7–13) | Beeghly Center (1,421) Youngstown, OH |
| Horizon League tournament ||||||
| March 4, 2025 5:30 pm, ESPN+ | (9) | at (8) Wright State First Round | L 58–73 | 12–19 | Nutter Center (943) Fairborn, OH |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. ||||||
Sources: