GAME #8
Kent State | Sunday, Dec. 7 | 3:30 p.m. | Wolstein Center
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Cleveland State vs. Kent State
SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State women's basketball team will continue its four-game homestand Sunday afternoon (Dec. 7), hosting the Kent State Golden Flashes at 3:30 p.m. The Vikings enter Sunday's contest with a 4-3 record, while Kent State is 1-6 on the season. Sunday's contest will be the 28th meeting between the two teams - and the first since the 2009-10 season - with KSU owning a 16-11 advantage.
A WIN SUNDAY WOULD…
Give the Vikings consecutive wins for the second time this season…Keep Cleveland State perfect at home this season…Give Kate Peterson Abiad the 150th win of her career…Snap a seven-game KSU win streak in the overall series.
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN FLASHES
Kent State enters Sunday's contest with a 1-6 record on the season, picking up its lone win against Belmont (58-55)…The duo of Krista White and Larissa Lurken have started all seven games for KSU, with both players averaging double-digit points - White; 11.1 ppg & Lurken; 11.0 ppg…As of Dec. 2, Mikell Chinn led the MAC averaging 5.5 assists per game, while CiCi Shannon led the MAC averaging 3.0 blocks per game…As a team, the Golden Flashes have grabbed 108 offensive rebounds this season, leading the MAC with a .398 offensive rebounding percentage.
LAST TIME OUT
The Vikings upended East Carolina Thursday evening, picking up a 59-57 victory against the Pirates. CSU used a strong second half surge to came away with the win - their first against ECU in program history. Cori Coleman led the Vikings with 21 points and eight rebounds, while Imani Gordon tallied 15 points and seven boards.
HOME-SWEET-HOME
The Vikings will be trying to keep their record perfect at home on Sunday, as the Vikings enter the contest with a 3-0 record at the Wolstein Center this season. Cleveland State has a total of 15 regular season home games during the 2014-15 season, and will be trying for its fourth perfect season at home in program history, and the first under head coach Kate Peterson Abiad.
DOUBLE THE FUN
Sunday marks the first of two doubleheaders for the Cleveland State basketball teams this season, as the men's team will host Western Illinois at 1:00 p.m. prior to the women's matchup. Over the past six years CSU has notched 16 sweeps in 25 twinbills, as the men and women have matching 20-5 records in doubleheaders. The second doubleheader of the 2014-15 season will happen on January 8, 2015 when the women host Valparaiso (5:00 p.m.) and the men host Oakland (7:30 p.m.).
QUICK TURNAROUND
The Vikings have been making the most of their time this season, playing three games over a six-day span multiple times throughout the year. CSU is currently in the midst of one of those stretches - as the Vikings played at Eastern Michigan on Tuesday, Dec. 2 and hosted East Carolina on Thursday, Dec. 4 and will now face Kent State on Sunday, Dec. 7. Cleveland State's busiest stretch of the season came two weeks ago, when the Vikings traveled 3,784 roundtrip to face Minnesota, Florida Atlantic, and FIU (Nov. 19 - 23).
BROOKE SMITH PICKS UP FIRST CAREER START
Sophomore Brooke Smith picked up her first career start against East Carolina Thursday evening, starting in place of Adesuwa Aideyman. Smith played 20 minutes against the Pirates, notching four points, one assist, and one steal. Throughout her first two seasons Smith has played in 34 contests, averaging 11.5 minutes per game. She ranks second on the team with a .475 field goal percentage (19-for-40) and ranks ninth among Horizon League players.
ECKLES EFFICIENT FROM THE FLOOR
Alexis Eckles has been efficient from the field this season, owning a league-best .571 field goal percentage (32-for-56) after the first seven games. Eckles has shot over 70-percent from the floor three times this season, including a season-best clip of .818 (9-for-11) against Notre Dame (OH). She is just shy of averaging double-digit points this season - entering Sunday's contest averaging 9.9 points per game.
COLEMAN FROM THE FREE THROW LINE
Senior Cori Coleman has been Cleveland State's top free throw shooter through the first part of the season, converting 14 of her 15 attempts. Coleman leads the league with a .933 free throw percentage this year, and has been perfect from the charity stripe during 20 games throughout her career (including 5 this season).
GORDON CLOSING IN ON 600 BOARDS
Senior Imani Gordon is quickly closing in on 600 rebounds for her career, entering Sunday's contest with 586 boards. Gordon, who leads the team averaging 6.7 rebounds per game this season, would become just the 15th Viking all-time to reach 600 career rebounds. After the first three weeks of the 2014-15 season, Gordon ranks 15th all-time at Cleveland State with her 579 boards.
…GORDON ON THE OFFENSIVE END
Imani Gordon is also closing in on the top-20 career scoring list at CSU, entering Thursday's game with 898 career points. For the second straight season Gordon is averaging double-digit points, posting 12.9 points per game through the first seven contests this year. With 102 more points and 14 more rebounds, Gordon would become the 13th Viking all-time to notch 1,000 points and 600 rebounds on their career.
VIKINGS WITH THE HELPING HAND
Entering Sunday's contest against Kent State, Cleveland State continues to lead the Horizon League averaging 17.4 assists per game. Through the first seven games, the Vikings have notched 122 total assists, including a season-high 26 against Notre Dame (OH) last Saturday (Nov. 29). Every Viking who has been in a game this season has posted an assist, with five Vikings notching 15 or more. Cori Coleman has a team-high 22 helpers on the year, while Imani Gordon has added 20 assists.
VIKINGS AMONG LEAGUE LEADERS
After the first three weeks of the season Cleveland State leads the Horizon League in two statistical categories, and ranks in the top-5 in four others. The Vikings lead the league in assists (17.4) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.3), while they rank second in scoring offense (73.4) and blocked shots (3.9).
COLEMAN FROM BEHIND-THE-ARC
Following her 3-for-5 performance from three-point against East Carolina last time out, Cori Coleman now ranks second all-time at CSU with 168 career three-pointers. Coleman ranks second in the Horizon League averaging 2.3 three-pointers per game, and has a team-high 16 total shots from behind-the-arc this season. Coleman is now 23 three-pointers shy of breaking the current CSU record of 190 which was set by Erika Roudebush (1999-03).
TRACKING 1,000 POINTS
Imani Gordon and Kiersten Green are both closing in on 1,000 career points as they continue their senior seasons - as Green currently has 920 points and Gordon has 898 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.
