GAME #14
Valparaiso | Thurs., Jan. 8 | 5:00 p.m. | Wolstein Center
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Cleveland State vs. Valparaiso
SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State women's basketball team will open up Horizon League play Thursday evening (Jan. 8), hosting Valparaiso at 5:00 p.m. The Vikings finished the non-league portion of their schedule with an 8-5 record, while Valparaiso enters the contest standing at 4-9. This will be the 27th meeting between the two teams, with Cleveland State coming out victorious in eight of the last 10 contests.
A WIN THURSDAY WOULD…
Mark the third straight season that CSU opened Horizon League play with a victory…Improve the Vikings to 7-1 at home this season…Give Cleveland State four straight victories over Valparaiso.
SCOUTING THE CRUSADERS
Valparaiso enters Thursday's contest with a 4-9 overall record, winning just one game over their last nine matchups…Thursday will also mark the Horizon League opener for the Crusaders…Valparaiso leads the league averaging 30.9 defensive rebounds per game, while the Crusaders rank second among league teams with a .370 three-point field goal percentage…Dani Franklin has been Valpo's most efficient scorer this season, ranking third among league players with a .489 field goal percentage and first with a .477 three-point field goal percentage…Franklin is the only Crusader to average double-digit points on the season (13.3 ppg), while Jessica Carr is just shy (9.3 ppg)…Jasmyn Walker is Valpo's top rebounder, averaging 6.6 boards per game, while Franklin is averaging 6.2 rebounds per game.
LAST TIME OUT
The Vikings wrapped up their non-league schedule with a 77-74 victory over Bluefield State, moving to 6-1 at home this season. Four players finished in double-figures for the Vikings, led by Imani Gordon who tallied 23 points off of 10 made field goals. As a team, CSU shot 45-percent from the floor (31-for-68) and 46-percent from three-point (7-for-15).
DOUBLE THE FUN
Thursday marks the second doubleheader for the Cleveland State basketball teams this season, as the men's team will host Oakland following the women's matchup against Valparaiso. Over the past six years CSU has notched 17 sweeps in 26 twinbills, as the men and women have matching 21-5 records in doubleheaders. Earlier this season (Dec. 7) the women defeated Kent State and the men defeated Western Illinois in the first twinbill of the year.
GORDON NOTCHES 1,000 CAREER POINTS
Imani Gordon became the 26th Viking to record 1,000 career points last time out, achieving the feat at the 4:35 mark of the second half against Bluefield State. Gordon, who finished the contest with a team-high 23 points, enters Thursday's contest with 1,005 points on her career. This is just the fourth time in program history that a pair of teammates recorded their 1,000th point in the same season, as Kiersten Green recorded her 1,000th point at Ohio last week.
…GORDON NOW WITH 1,000 POINTS & 600 REBOUNDS
Following her 23-point performance against Bluefield State, Imani Gordon also became the 13th Viking to notch 1,000 points and 600 rebounds on their career, entering Thursday's contest with 1,005 points and 623 rebounds. Gordon, who is averaging 15.2 points per game and 6.5 rebounds per game, is the first Viking to achieve the feat since Shalonda Winton (2009-13) who finished her career with 1,840 points and 1,086 rebounds.
TRIO OF VIKINGS IN THE 1,000 POINT CLUB
For the first time in program history, three Vikings on the same roster have recorded 1,000 career points, as the senior trio of Cori Coleman, Imani Gordon, and Kiersten Green have all achieved the feat. Coleman, who recorded her 1,000th career point as a junior, ranks ninth on the all-time scoring list with 1,282 points, while Green (1,014) and Gordon (1,005) are just shy of the top-20.
CSU WRAPS UP NON-LEAGUE ACTION
The Vikings finished the non-league portion of their regular season schedule last time out, finishing with an 8-5 record - including a 6-1 mark at home. This is just the second time that CSU has recorded eight wins prior to Horizon League play under head coach Kate Peterson Abiad, also posting an 8-5 record during the 2012-13 season.
LEAGUE LEADERS
Heading into Horizon League play, the Vikings lead the league in three statistical categories - field goal percentage (.433), three-point field goal percentage (.372), and assists (16.6). All five Viking starters are shooting at least 41-percent from the floor - the only league school to do so - while two starters are shooting 42-percent from behind-the-arc and four have notched at least 35 assists on the season.
FLASH BACK…PRESEASON HORIZON LEAGUE 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 marked the third time out of the last six seasons that the Vikings were tabbed to finish in the top three in the preseason poll.
…CLEVELAND STATE IN LEAGUE PLAY
Over the past seven seasons Cleveland State has posted a 65-57 record in Horizon League regular season play, including a program-best 12 league wins during the 2010-11 and 2008-09 seasons. The Vikings own a 5-6 record in league-openers under head coach Kate Peterson Abiad, and have won two straight entering Thursday's contest against Valparaiso.
GREEN NOTCHES 1,000 CAREER POINTS AT OHIO
Kiersten Green became the 25th Viking to record 1,000 career points last week, achieving the feat with a 19-point performance at Ohio (Dec. 29). Green, who is averaging 15.6 points per game over the last six contests, is just 45 points shy of cracking the top-20 on the CSU career scoring list with 1,014 points.
GORDON ON THE REBOUNDING CHARTS
Senior Imani Gordon continues to improve her standing on the Cleveland State career rebounding charts - entering Thursday's contest ranked 14th with 623 total rebounds, seventh with 423 defensive rebounds, and just shy of the top-10 with 200 offensive boards. So far this season Gordon is averaging 6.5 rebounds per game, and has recorded double-digit rebounds three times (Ohio, Morehead State & Florida Atlantic).
COLEMAN CLOSING IN ON THREE-POINT RECORD
Cori Coleman is closing in on the Cleveland State career three-point record, entering Thursday's contest with 180 career three-pointers, just 11 shy of breaking the current record of 190 which is held by Erika Roudebush (1999-03). Coleman has 28 three-pointers so far this season, and ranks third among Horizon League players averaging 2.2 three-pointers per game. Coleman would become the first current Viking to own a CSU career record.
