GAME #2
@ Minnesota | Wednesday, November 19 | 1:00 p.m. EST | Minneapolis, Minn.
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Cleveland State @ Minnesota
SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State women's basketball team will hit the road for a three-game roadswing this week, beginning with Big Ten opponent Minnesota on Wednesday, November 19 (1:00 p.m. EST). This will be just the second meeting between the two teams all-time, but the first under head coach Kate Peterson Abiad. The Vikings enter the week with a 1-0 record after picking up a 10-point victory against Toledo in the season-opener.
A WIN WEDNESDAY WOULD…
Keep the Vikings perfect on the season…Bring Kate Peterson Abiad within three wins of the 150th of her career…Give Cleveland State its first victory against Minnesota in program history.
LAST TIME OUT
The Vikings picked up an 81-71 victory over Toledo last Friday (Nov. 14), marking the seventh straight season that CSU has won its home-opener. The 10-point victory over the Rockets also marked the fifth time out of the last six seasons that CSU has won its season-opener.
BUSY WEEK AHEAD
Wednesday's game at Minnesota will mark CSU's first of three games over a five-day span, with the Vikings also traveling to Florida Atlantic (Nov. 21) and Florida International (Nov. 23) on the first roadswing of the season. Not only will this be the busiest stretch of the season for the Vikings, it will also be the longest roadtrip, with CSU covering 3,784 miles roundtrip.
SCOUTING THE GOPHERS
Minnesota opened the 2014-15 season with a 109-60 victory over Southeastern Louisiana last Friday…Against Southeastern Louisiana, Minnesota senior Rachel Banham recorded her 2,000th career point - the fourth Gopher to achieve the feat…Three Gophers finished the game with 20-plus points, with junior Kayla Hirt and senior Shae Kelley each notching a team-high 21 points…Kelley (21 pts, 10 rbs) and sophomore Amanda Zahui (20 pts, 12 rbs) each recorded double-doubles…As a team, Minnesota recorded 26 assists, including a team-high nine from junior Shayne Mullaney…For the 2014-15 season, Minnesota returns eight letterwinners and four starters, and will be under the direction of first-year head coach Marlene Stollings.
COLEMAN NOTCHES 20-POINT GAME
Cori Coleman picked up right where she left off last season, recording a team-high 20 points against Toledo last time out. Coleman notched 20-points or more for the 10th time in her career, and enters Wednesday's contest with 1,090 career points - just eight points shy of moving into 18th place in the CSU record book. Coleman was one of six Horizon League players to notch a 20-point game over opening weekend.
VIKINGS FROM BEHIND-THE-ARC
As a team, Cleveland State converted 11 shots from behind-the-arc against Toledo, with five different Vikings recording a three-pointer. CSU was one of three teams in the Horizon League to post 10 or more three-pointers in a single game over opening weekend. Last season, the Vikings posted Cleveland State single-season records in three-pointers made (264) and three-point field goal percentage (.354).
…COLEMAN FROM BEHIND-THE-ARC
Cori Coleman led the Vikings with a 4-for-7 effort from three-point against the Rockets - the ninth time in her career that she has posted at least four three-pointers in a single game. Coleman now has 156 three-pointers on her career, and is just six three-point field goals shy of moving into fourth place in the CSU career record book.
GORDON MOVES UP REBOUNDING LIST
After a nine-rebound performance against Toledo, Imani Gordon moved up the CSU career rebound list, entering Wednesday's game ranked 16th with 548 career boards. Gordon, who averaged a team-high 9.4 rebounds last year, is 52 boards shy of becoming the 15th Viking all-time to record 600 career rebounds. Gordon also cracked the top-10 on the defensive rebounds list, as she enters the week ranked 10th with 369 defensive boards on her career.
SPREADING THE OFFENSE
The Vikings did an excellent job of spreading the offense around in their season-opener, recording 15 assists on the game. All but one Viking who saw action last Friday recorded at least one assist, led by Brooke Smith who posted a career-high tying four helpers.
ABSHAW STELLAR IN DEBUT
Freshman Ashanti Abshaw had an excellent performance in her collegiate debut, recording 12 points, two rebounds, one steal, and one assist in 21 minutes played against Toledo last Friday. Abshaw is the first freshman to notch double-digit points in a season-opener since the 2009-10 season, when Shalonda Winton notched 19 points against Ohio (11/13/09).
TRACKING 1,000 POINTS
Imani Gordon and Kiersten Green are both closing in on 1,000 career points entering their senior seasons - as Green currently has 862 points and Gordon has 824 career points. The duo would become the 25th and 26th Vikings to record 1,000 career points, and the ninth and 10th to do so under head coach Kate Peterson Abiad. They would also be the second and third Vikings on the 2014-15 roster to achieve the feat, as Cori Coleman notched her 1,000th career point last season.
VIKINGS TABBED THIRD IN PRESEASON POLL
Before the season started, Cleveland State was selected to finish third in the Horizon League Preseason Poll - behind league-leader Green Bay and 2014 Tournament Champion Wright State. The Vikings earned 182 points and two first-place votes in the poll, which is voted on by the league's nine head coaches, sports information directors and select media members. This marks the third time out of the last six seasons that the Vikings have been tabbed to finish in the top three in the preseason poll.
GORDON & COLEMAN NAMED PRESEASON ALL-LEAGUE
Along with the preseason poll, the Horizon League also released its Preseason All-League Teams, with Imani Gordon earning a spot on the Preseason All-League First Team and Cori Coleman earning a spot on the Preseason All-League Second Team. Gordon's honor marks the seventh time out of the last eight years that a Viking has been named to the first team, while Coleman picks up second team honors for the second time in her career.