YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) – Lilly Ritz graduated from Cambridge High School with more points and rebounds than any player in school history. She was recruited by Youngstown State, but by the time she decided to play college basketball, there were no scholarships left.
Three years and two colleges later, Ritz would end up at Youngstown State. Now, she’s approaching a major milestone with the Penguins.
“I honestly never thought I would get this far,” Ritz said. “The points have just racked up, and here I am.”
Ritz is just 48 points away from 2,000 in her college career. Half of those came at Wheeling University where she was a Division Two All-American and led the entire nation in rebounding twice.
Although she isn’t big on tracking stats, her father is. Kevin Ritz was a pitcher in Major League baseball for nine years, so competition runs in the family.
“We’re very competitive, even if it’s just playing a game of Euchre,” Lilly said. “I know me and my brothers and sisters were like, ‘Who’s better in college? Who made it to this? Who didn’t?’ So just looking back, the competitiveness is where it’s got me today.”
Ritz was the first player in school history to be named First Team All-Horizon and to the league’s All-Defensive Team in the same season. She’s well on her way to doing it again this year.
She ranks second in the conference in scoring at over 17 points per game and first in rebounds with 10.6 per contest. But according to Ritz, her most impressive number at YSU is wins.
“Winning is everything,” Ritz said. “When I was at Wheeling, I put up the numbers, but we just weren’t winning… It wasn’t as much fun. But coming here and just having such a great team around me and just being able to go out there and win and just being with this team and this coach, these coaches are just really special to me.”
The Penguins will look for their 19th win of the season Friday night. They host Milwaukee at 7 p.m. at the Beeghly Center.
