GAME #23
Oakland | Saturday, Feb. 14 | 2:00 p.m. | Wolstein Center
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Cleveland State vs. Oakland
SETTING THE SCENE
After spending the last two weeks on the road, the Cleveland State women's basketball team will return to the friendly confines of the Wolstein Center this Saturday (Feb. 14), hosting Oakland at 2:00 p.m. Entering the contest CSU stands at 13-9 overall this season and 5-4 in Horizon League play, while Oakland is 10-13 overall and 4-6 in league action. This will be just the fifth meeting between the two teams, with Oakland owning a 3-1 advantage in the overall series.
A WIN SATURDAY WOULD…
Put Cleveland State back on the winning track, and mark the fourth victory out of the last five contests for the Vikings…Give CSU a season sweep of the Grizzlies, marking back-to-back wins over Oakland for the first time in program history…Improve the Vikings to 10-2 at home this season - and 4-1 in league contests.
SCOUTING THE GRIZZLIES
Oakland enters Saturday's contest with a 10-13 overall record and a 4-6 mark in league contests…The Grizzlies have been victorious in just one of their last five contests - picking up a 70-67 win at league-leading Green Bay…Oakland leads the league in three-point field goal defense (.280) and three-pointers made (7.9), while ranking second in steals (8.8)…Individually, Sinclair Russell ranks second averaging 1.6 blocked shots, Elena Popkey ranks third averaging 4.4 assists per game, and Olivia Nash ranks fourth averaging 8.5 rebounds per game…So far this season, Nash has seven double-doubles, averaging a team-high 14.0 points per game along with her 8.5 boards per game…Popkey eclipsed 100 assists last time out, and is one of just three league players with more than 100 helpers on the season.
LAST TIME OUT
The Vikings snapped their three-game win streak at league-leading Green Bay last Saturday, dropping a 74-50 contest to the Phoenix. The Phoenix held an 11-point lead at the halftime break, and never let Cleveland State get closer than 10 points throughout the second stanza. Cori Coleman tallied a team-high 23 points and seven rebounds, while Imani Gordon notched 10 points - eight of which came from the free throw line.
THE FIRST TIME AROUND
Saturday's contest against Oakland will be the second meeting between the two teams this season, as Cleveland State earned a 72-64 victory in Rochester, Mich. last month. In the first meeting, Kiersten Green tallied a team-high 21 points - including five three-pointers - while Alexis Eckles notched a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. As a team, CSU shot 43-percent from the field (24-for-55) and grabbed 41 rebounds.
VIKINGS WITH THE HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
So far this season Cleveland State has been able to take advantage of its home court, owning a 9-2 record while playing at home this season. The Vikings' nine wins at home this season is tied for seventh most in program history, and with just one more win the 2014-15 team would become just the seventh squad in program history to post double-digit wins at home.
GORDON FROM THE FREE THROW LINE
Last time out, Imani Gordon became the fifth Viking all-time to attempt 500 free throws, going 8-for-12 from the charity stripe against Green Bay. Gordon, who recorded eight of her 10 points from the free throw line against the Phoenix, is one of two Horizon League players to convert at least 100 free throws this season. For her career, Gordon has converted 359 free throws, ranking fifth all-time on the CSU career list. If she is able to convert 41 more free throws this season, Gordon would become just the third Viking all-time to notch 400 free throws.
COLEMAN ON THE SCORING CHART
Entering the week, Cori Coleman ranks fourth among Horizon League players averaging 16.9 points per game, while she also ranks fifth averaging 17.8 points in league games only. Coleman has tallied double-digit points in all but two games this season, and has a team-high five 20-point games. So far this season, Coleman has 372 points, just 28 points shy of notching her second straight 400-point season.
ECKLES ON THE BLOCK
Alexis Eckles added to her blocked shot total last time out, improving her season total to 36 after four blocks at Green Bay. Eckles, who leads the league averaging 1.6 blocked shots per game, now ranks 10th on the single-season record list with her 36 blocked shots, and needs five more to move into ninth place on the list. In addition, Eckles also has the highest amount of career blocks out of all current Vikings - achieving the mark in just one season of play.
SENIOR LEADERSHIP
The Cleveland State senior trio of Cori Coleman (372 pts), Imani Gordon (347), and Kiersten Green (257) has combined for 976 of CSU's 1,546 points so far this season - accounting for 63-percent of CSU's offense. All three seniors are ranked in the top-20 on the CSU career scoring list, Coleman ranking eighth with 1,442 points, Gordon ranking 15th (1,155), and Green ranking 20th (1,113). This trio also represents the first time in program history that three Vikings on the same roster have recorded 1,000 career points.
GORDON ON THE REBOUNDING CHARTS
Senior Imani Gordon continues to improve her standing on the Cleveland State career rebounding charts - entering Saturday's contest ranked 10th with 683 total rebounds, fourth with 462 defensive rebounds, and eighth with 221 offensive boards. So far this season Gordon is averaging 6.5 rebounds per game, and is just 17 rebounds shy of becoming the 10th Viking all-time to record 700 rebounds on their career.