Middlebrooks shoots for stars

During her four years at Youngstown State University, senior guard Kenya Middlebrooks was part of a 0-30 season and worked with two different head coaches. 

When Bob Boldon took over for former head coach Cindy Martin, the transition was tough, Middlebrooks said. 

"Coaching style was different. The way they talked about everything and their philosophy about the game was different," Middlebrooks said. "It was a little bit of a difficult transition at the beginning. He wants us to work hard, and we are seeing the results we knew that were good for us."

Senior guard Macey Nortey is the only player left, along with Middlebrooks, from that team. Nortey said they never thought about leaving.

"It was just so much turmoil," Nortey said. "Just thinking about it, we were like, ‘We have to do this.' We thought, ‘We can't leave. We have to stick this out and do this together.'"

Nortey added that Boldon's system has progressed. 

"It was rough, but we knew this is was what we wanted to do, and we stuck it out," she said.

This season, the Penguins have won 10 games, the best since the 2007-2008 season in which they finished with 14 wins.

Middlebrooks said having a year under Boldon has helped the team this season.

"Being there from last year and the experience last year, [Boldon] likes for us to shoot a lot of [3-pointers]," Middlebrooks said. "The coaches have a lot of faith in us to continue to shoot ‘cause they will fall."

In a Jan. 26 home game against the University of Detroit Mercy, Middlebrooks had her best individual performance in a Penguins uniform. She set a career record of 30 points and broke the school record by hitting eight 3-pointers in the 80-67 victory.