GAME #24
Cleveland State @ Youngstown State
Saturday, February 20| 1:00 p.m. | Youngstown, Ohio
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Cleveland State @ Youngstown State
SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State women's basketball team will close out its current three-game roadswing this Saturday (February 20), traveling to Youngstown State for a 1:00 p.m. contest. Entering Saturday's matchup, the Vikings are 5-18 on the season and 2-11 in Horizon League play, while Youngstown State stands at 16-8 overall and 7-6 in league action.
A WIN SATURDAY WOULD…
Put the Vikings back on the winning track…Give Cleveland State the season sweep over the Penguins…Bring Kate Peterson Abiad within six wins of the 175th of her head coaching career.
THE CLEVELAND STATE/YOUNGSTOWN STATE SERIES
This will be the 66th meeting between the two teams, with Youngstown State owning a 36-29 edge in the overall series. The Vikings have won two straight meetings heading into Saturday's contest, and three of the last five.
…THE FIRST TIME AROUND
Earlier this season Cleveland State picked up its first Horizon League win of 2015-16 against the Penguins at the Wolstein Center, earning a 75-68 victory. The win against YSU also snapped a six-match losing skid for the Vikings. Ashanti Abshaw led the Vikings with 23 points and 10 rebounds, while three other Vikings also finished with double-figure points; Olivia Voskuhl (16 pts), Nicolete Newman (11), and Khayla Livingston (10).
SCOUTING THE PENGUINS
Youngstown State enters the weekend with a 16-8 overall record and a 7-6 mark against Horizon League opponents…The Penguins currently sit in fifth place in the league standings…Youngstown State owns a 10-3 record when playing at home this season, one of just two league teams to have double-digit victories on their home court…During the month of February YSU has gone 2-2, picking up wins against Oakland (67-63) and Milwaukee (70-62)…As a team, Youngstown State leads the league averaging 9.2 three-pointers per game, as they have tallied 220 total three-pointers on the year…The Penguins also rank second in assist/turnover ratio (1.1)…Individually, Sarah Cash leads all league players with a .634 field goal percentage, while Indiya Benjamin ranks second averaging 5.3 assists per game.
BOSLEY BLOCK PARTY
Over the last two weeks Shadae Bosley has put on a blocking clinic, averaging 3.0 blocked shots per game during this stretch. Bosley, who has 31 total blocks this season, notched a career-high seven blocked shots against Oakland (Feb. 6), marking the highest single-game block total among league players this season. Bosley currently ranks fifth among league players averaging 1.4 blocks per game on the year, and is 10 blocked shots shy of cracking the top-10 on the CSU single-season record list.
ABSHAW CLOSING IN ON FRESHMAN CLASS RECORDS
Entering the final weeks of the regular season, redshirt freshman Ashanti Abshaw is closing in on a couple Cleveland State Freshman Class Records - total points and total rebounds. Abshaw currently has 366 points and 208 rebounds on the year, and is just shy of breaking both freshman records which currently stand at 387 points (Debra Taylor, 1987-88) and 250 rebounds (Dianne Foster, 1979-80). With at least six games left this season, Abshaw would need to average 3.5 points per game and 7.0 rebounds per game to etch her name in the record book.
…ABSHAW AMONG LEAGUE PLAYERS
Throughout the season Ashanti Abshaw has been Cleveland State's top scorer and top rebounder, while also ranking in the top-10 in both categories among Horizon League players. Entering Saturday's contest against the Penguins, Abshaw ranks fifth in the league averaging 15.9 points per game and ranks second averaging 9.0 rebounds per contest. Abshaw is one of three league players to rank in the top-five in both categories (Ruvanna Campbell, UIC & Olivia Nash, OAK), but is the only freshman/redshirt freshman to rank in the top five in either category.
VOSKUHL PICKS UP OFFENSIVE PLAY
After picking up her offensive play over the last two weeks, Olivia Voskuhl enters Saturday's contest at Youngstown State as the third Viking to average double-digit points on the year, standing at 10.0 points per contest. Over the last four games, Voskuhl has been averaging 14.5 points per game, notching double-digits in every game during this stretch. Voskuhl has 231 total points on the season, one of the three Vikings to surpass the 200-point mark.
SMITH ON THE DEFENSIVE END
Entering Saturday's game at Youngstown State, Brooke Smith continues to lead the Horizon League averaging 3.0 steals per game. Smith, who is the only league player to average more than 3.0 steals per game, has notched at least two steals in all but five games this season, and notched a career-high of eight against UNCG and Oakland earlier this year. Nationally, Smith ranks 13th with her 3.0 steals per game, while she also ranks 20th with her 69 total steals this season.
LIVINGSTON FROM BEHIND-THE-ARC
Redshirt sophomore Khayla Livingston currently sits atop the Cleveland State career record book with a .395 three-point field goal percentage (74-for-187), and has been Cleveland State's top three-point shooter this season. For the year, Livingston is 50-for-123 (.407) from behind-the-arc, converting at least one three-pointer in all but one contest this year, including a career-high six at Detroit earlier this season. Among Horizon League players, Livingston ranks fourth with her .407 clip from behind-the-arc and ranks sixth averaging 2.2 three-pointers per game.
AIDEYMAN ECLIPSES 500 CAREER POINTS
Last week, Adesuwa Aideyman eclipsed the 500-point mark for her career, entering Saturday's contest against the Penguins with 509 career points. Aideyman, who has been averaging 10.7 points per game over the last four games, is the first current Viking to reach the milestone. During the last four games, Aideyman has notched 45 points, with 30 of her 45 points coming on three-pointers (10-for-19).
UP NEXT
Cleveland State will return home for the final time during the 2015-16 season next week, hosting UIC (Thursday, February 25) and Valparaiso (Saturday, February 27). Thursday's game against the Flames will be held at the Wolstein Center, while Saturday's game against the Crusaders will be played at Quicken Loans Arena.