GAME #4
@ FIU | Sunday, November 23 | 2:00 p.m. | Miami, Fla.
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Cleveland State @ FIU
SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State women's basketball team will close out its first roadswing of the 2014-15 season on Sunday (Nov. 23), traveling to FIU for a 2:00 p.m. contest. Sunday's game will be just the fourth meeting between the two teams, but the first since the 1997-98 season. Entering Sunday's game, CSU stands at 1-2 on the season, while FIU is 0-2.
A WIN SUNDAY WOULD…
Put the Vikings back on the winning track…Bring Kate Peterson Abiad within three wins of the 150th of her career…Give Cleveland State its first victory against FIU in program history.
LAST TIME OUT
The Vikings dropped their second game of the season last time out, falling at Florida Atlantic, 79-74. CSU had four players finish with double-figure points, led by Alexis Eckles with a career-high 17 points. The Vikings also had two players finish with double-digit rebounds - Eckles (11 rbs) and Imani Gordon (10 rbs) - the first double-digit rebound performances of the season.
SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
FIU enters Sunday's contest trying for their first win of the season, as the Panthers stand at 0-2 with losses against Tennessee Tech (73-56) and Florida Gulf Coast (97-49)…The Panthers have three players averaging double-digit points after the first two games; Taylor Shade (14.0), Tynia McKinzie (12.5), and Marita Davydova (10.0)…Sunday's contest will be the fourth meeting between the two teams, but the first since the 1997-98 season…FIU owns a 3-0 record in the overall series…For the 2014-15 season, FIU returns eight letterwinners and two starters, and will be under the direction of 36-year head coach Cindy Russo.
BUSY WEEK AHEAD
Sunday's game at FIU will mark CSU's third of three games over a five-day span, as Cleveland State played at Minnesota on Wednesday (Nov. 19) and at Florida Atlantic on Friday (Nov. 21). 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.
ECKLES DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Sophomore Alexis Eckles posted the first double-double of her career, and the first of the season for the Vikings, with 17 points and 11 rebounds against Florida Atlantic last time out. Eckles went 8-for-11 from the field recording her career-high 17 points, while she grabbed nine defensive boards and two offensive boards to record her career-high 11 rebounds. Eckles is now averaging 8.7 points per game and 7.7 rebounds per game.
…THE REST OF ECKLES' LINE
Along with Eckles' double-double, she completed her box score line with a career-high five blocks, three assists, and one steal. The five blocks marked a single-game high among Horizon League players this season, while it is also tied for the seventh best single-game total in program history.
SMITH RECORDS CAREER-HIGH
Brooke Smith was one of four players to record double-digit points at Florida Atlantic Friday evening, posting a career-high 13 points on a 5-for-8 performance from the field. This was Smith's first double-figure game of her career, while she also added a career-high five assists. Through the first three games, Smith is averaging 7.3 points per game and has a team-best .529 field goal percentage (9-for-17).
GORDON NOTCHES DOUBLE-DIGIT REBOUNDS
Imani Gordon recorded her first double-digit rebound game of the season at Florida Atlantic last time out, grabbing 10 boards on the game. Gordon, who ranks ninth in the Horizon League averaging 8.3 rebounds per game, recorded seven defensive rebounds and three offensive boards. Gordon enters Sunday's contest ranked 16th on the CSU career rebound list with 564 boards, needing just two more rebounds to move into 15th place.
COLEMAN MOVES UP SCORING LIST
With her 18-point performance against Minnesota (Nov. 19), Cori Coleman moved up the CSU career scoring list, and enters Sunday's game ranked 18th with 1,121 career points. Coleman, who ranks third among Horizon League players averaging 17.0 points per game, is the 18th Viking all-time to record 1,100 career points. She is now just 13 points shy of moving into 17th place on the list.
VIKINGS FROM BEHIND-THE-ARC
After the first three games of the season, Cleveland State leads the Horizon League averaging 10.7 three-pointers per game. The Vikings have notched at least 10 three-pointers in two of the three games this season, notching a league-high 32 total shots from behind-the-arc. Cleveland State also ranks third among league teams with a .395 three-point field goal percentage.
…COLEMAN FROM BEHIND-THE-ARC
Cori Coleman has once again been Cleveland State's top three-point shooter, recording 10 three-pointers through the first three games. Coleman leads the Horizon League averaging 3.3 three-pointers per game, and enters Sunday's contest with 162 career three-pointers. She is tied for fourth on the CSU record list, needing just one more three-pointer to move into third place and four more three-pointers to move into second place all-time.
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 879 points and Gordon has 847 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.
