GAME #25
Cleveland State vs. UIC
Friday, February 26 | 5:30 p.m. | Wolstein Center
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Cleveland State vs. UIC
SCHEDULE NOTE
Please note, this game was originally scheduled for Thursday, February 25 @ 5:30 p.m., but due to inclement weather in the Chicago area the game has been moved to Friday, February 26 @ 5:30 p.m.
The weather also affected the Valparaiso game, with the CSU/Valpo game now slated for a 5:30 p.m. start on Monday, February 29.
SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State women's basketball team will begin its final homestand of the 2015-16 season this week, hosting UIC at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, February 26. The Vikings enter the final two weeks of the regular season with a 6-18 overall record, including a 3-11 mark in Horizon League play, while UIC currently stands at 12-14 overall and 3-12 in league play.
A WIN FRIDAY WOULD…
Put the Vikings on a two-game winstreak for the second time this season…Give the two teams a season split in the series…Make Cleveland State 2-1 at home during the month of February…Bring Kate Peterson Abiad within four wins of the 175th of her head coaching career.
THE CLEVELAND STATE/UIC SERIES
This will be the 70th meeting between the two teams, with Cleveland State holding a 36-33 advantage in the overall series. Over the past six seasons the Vikings have picked up nine wins out of 13 meetings between the two teams, including seven straight in the Wolstein Center.
SCOUTING THE FLAMES
UIC enters Friday's contest with a 12-14 overall record and a 3-12 mark in Horizon League play…The Flames currently rank 10th in the league standings, with three games left to play during the regular season…UIC has won just one out of its last six games, picking up a 65-51 victory at Detroit earlier this month (Feb. 11)…As a team, the Flames rank second in the Horizon League averaging 41.7 rebounds per game, while they also rank second with a +6.2 rebounding margin…UIC is one of two teams to average at least 4.0 blocked shots per game, ranking second with 4.0 blocks per contest…Individually, Ruvanna Campbell has been averaging a double-double, leading the league averaging 13.4 rebounds per game and ranking second with 17.8 points per contest…Campbell leads the league in defensive rebounds (8.8) and offensive boards (4.6), while Kendyl Nunn has a league-best .419 three-point field goal percentage on the year.
SENIOR NIGHT CELEBRATION
Friday's contest against UIC will serve as Senior Day for the Vikings, as the team will honor the lone senior - Allison Mitchell - prior to the game. Mitchell has been an integral part of the Vikings over the last four years, helping the team to a 19-win season and a trip to the WNIT as a junior. Mitchell is a two-time Athletic Academic honoree, and will be pursuing nursuing school following graduation from Cleveland State.
SMITH FROM THE FREE THROW LINE
Last time out, Brooke Smith recorded 12 of her 14 points from the free throw line, as she went 12-for-14 from the charity stripe at Youngstown State. Smith's 12 made free throws marked a career-high for the junior, while it is also tied for the ninth best single-game mark in program history. This was the second time that Smith converted 10 or more free throws in a game this season, as she also went 10-for-11 from the free throw line at Valparaiso earlier this year.
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 of Cleveland State Freshman Class Records - total points and total rebounds. Abshaw currently has 373 points and 222 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 five games left this season, Abshaw would need to average 2.8 points per game and 5.6 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 Thursday's contest against the Flames, Abshaw ranks sixth in the league averaging 15.5 points per game and ranks second averaging 9.3 rebounds per contest. Throughout the season, Abshaw has posted double-digit points 22 times and dougle-digit rebounds nine times, ranking third in the league with seven double-doubles on the year.
VOSKUHL PICKS UP OFFENSIVE PLAY
Olivia Voskuhl has been one of Cleveland State's top scoring threats over the last few weeks, and enters Friday's contest against UIC averaging 10.3 points per game. Voskuhl, who has been averaging 14.8 points per game over the last five contests, was averaging just 9.1 ppg throughout the first 19 games of the season. Voskuhl has combined for 74 points over the last five games, notching double-digit points in each contest during this stretch.
BOSLEY BLOCK PARTY
Over the last three weeks Shadae Bosley has put on a blocking clinic, averaging 3.0 blocked shots per game during this stretch. Bosley, who has 34 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 1.5 blocks per game on the year, and is seven blocked shots shy of cracking the top-10 on the CSU single-season record list.
SMITH ON THE DEFENSIVE END
Entering Friday's game against UIC, 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 12th with her 3.0 steals per game, while she also ranks 19th with her 73 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 two contests 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 seventh averaging 2.1 three-pointers per game.
CONGRATULATIONS COACH P!
Last week head coach Kate Peterson Abiad and her husband Phil (Cleveland State assistant volleyball coach) welcomed their second daughter to the world - Remi Hope Abiad. Peterson Abiad and her husband also have a six-year old daughter, Mea. The entire Cleveland State women's basketball family would like to extend congratulations to Kate, Phil, Mea, and Remi!
UP NEXT
Cleveland State will host Valparaiso in its final home game of the 2015-16 season on Monday, February 29, with tipoff set for 5:30 p.m. in the Wolstein Center.
