GAME #29
@ Youngstown State
2:05 p.m. | Sat., March 8
Beeghly Center | Youngstown, Ohio
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SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State women's basketball team will close out the regular season this weekend, traveling to Youngstown State for a 2:05 p.m. contest on Saturday, March 8. This will be a crucial matchup for both teams, as they are both fighting for a top-four seed in the upcoming Horizon League Tournament. Entering the weekend the Vikings stand at 14-14 overall and 9-6 in league play, while the Penguins are 13-15 overall and 9-6 in the league. Saturday's contest will be the 63rd meeting between the two teams, with YSU owning a slight 35-27 advantage in the overall series.
A WIN SATURDAY WOULD…
Mark a season sweep over YSU for the Vikings…Give CSU 10 wins in league play for the first time in the past three seasons, and the fifth time overall…Put the Vikings above .500 for the season (15-14) entering the league tournament…Mark CSU's seventh win out of its last 10 games.
SCOUTING THE PENGUINS
Youngstown State enters Saturday's game with a 13-15 overall record and a 9-6 league mark - tied with Cleveland State and UIC for third place in the HL standings…After going 6-0 to start league play, the Penguins have picked up just three wins over their last nine games, and are currently on a three-game losing skid…YSU is one of the best three-point shooting teams in the league, ranking second behind CSU with a .343 clip from behind-the-arc (211-for-615)…Individually, Liz Hornberger ranks second in the league averaging 2.5 three-pointers per game and has a team-high 70 three-pointers this season…Heidi Schlegel is one of just two league players averaging at least 20.0 ppg, leading YSU with 20.1 points per contest…Schlegel also leads the Penguins and ranks fifth in the league with 7.9 rebounds per game…YSU is one of three teams in the league to average at least 40 boards per game, ranking third with 40.2 rpg.
VIKING OFFENSE ON A ROLL
Through the first 28 games, Cleveland State has been averaging 75.1 points per game - a mark that ranks fourth on the CSU single-season record list. The Vikings rank second among Horizon League teams with their 75.1 ppg average, and are just the fourth team to average at least 75 points per game in program history. Under head coach Kate Peterson Abiad, the 2013-14 Vikings are the first team to average better than 70.0 points per game.
…CSU'S JUNIOR TRIO
A large portion of CSU's offense has come from the junior trio of Imani Gordon, Cori Coleman, and Kiersten Green, as they have combined for 1,301 points this season - accounting for 61-percent of Cleveland State's points. All three of the juniors have notched 400 points on the season - Gordon; 468, Coleman; 427, Green; 405 - one of three league teams with three 400-point scorers. This marks the first time that three Vikings have scored 400 points in the same season during Peterson Abiad's tenure.
LENDING A HELPING HAND
Entering the final weekend of regular season play, Cleveland State has three players ranked in the top-15 in the league in assists, led by Kiersten Green who ranks 10th with 3.4 assists per game. Joining Green among the league's best helpers are Cori Coleman (14th-2.6 apg) and Imani Gordon (15th-2.5 apg). The Vikings are one of just two league teams with three players ranked in the top-15 (Youngstown State), and rank fourth as a team averaging 14.1 assists per game.
GORDON ON THE REBOUNDING CHART
Earlier this season Imani Gordon cracked the top-20 career rebounding list, and enters Saturday's contest ranked 18th with 524 career boards. Gordon, who has tallied 11 double-digit rebound games this season, ranks second in the league with 268 total rebounds on the year, averaging 9.6 rebounds per game. Gordon's 268 boards also puts her seventh on the single-season rebound chart, needing 32 more rebounds to move into sixth place and to become the sixth Viking all-time to notch 300 rebounds in a single season.
VIKING OFFENSE VS. OAKLAND
For the first time this season the Vikings had six players finish in double-figures, as Khayla Livingston, Kiersten Green, Imani Gordon, Adesuwa Aideyman, Cori Coleman, and Haley Schmitt did so against Oakland last Thursday (Feb. 27). Livingston led the group with 16 points, while Green added 12, Gordon, Aideyman, and Coleman tallied 11 and Schmitt notched 10. This also marked the second time this year that all five starters finished with double-digit points (YSU, Feb. 1).
VIKINGS SET SEASON 3-PT RECORD
Following its five three-pointers against Milwaukee (Feb. 23) earlier this season, Cleveland State set a program record with 232 three-pointers on the season. The Vikings also became just the fifth team in program history to knock down 200 three-pointers in a single season against Valparaiso (Feb. 13). On the year, the Vikings lead the league with a .352 clip from three-point, and average a league-leading 8.8 three-pointers per game.
…VIKINGS ADD TO SEASON TOTAL AGAINST UIC
Although the Vikings managed just three shots from behind-the-arc against the Flames last time out, they still enter Saturday's contest with a league-leading 247 three-pointers on the season. Through the first 28 games, CSU has notched at least 10 three-pointers 13 times, including a program record of 17 against Valparaiso (Feb. 13).
COLEMAN NOTCHES 1,000TH POINT
With a three-pointer at the 18:12 mark of the second half at Green Bay (Feb. 21), Cori Coleman became the 24th Viking to record 1,000 career points. Coleman, who has tallied double-digit points in 23 games this season, enters Saturday's game with 1,045 career points. Coleman is just the fifth player to reach 1,000 career points as a junior, and the eighth to reach 1,000 points under head coach Kate Peterson Abiad.
…COLEMAN ON THE 3-POINT TOP-10 LIST
A large portion of Coleman's points have come from behind-the-arc this season, as she has tallied multiple three-pointers in 12 of the last 14 games. Coleman enters Saturday's contest ranked sixth on the CSU career three-point list with 147 converted shots from behind-the-arc, while she ranks fifth on the single-season list with 62 three-pointers so far this season. For the year, Coleman ranks fifth among league players averaging 2.2 three-pointers per game.