GAME #22
Cleveland State @ UIC
Thursday, February 2 | 8:00 p.m. EST | Chicago, Ill.
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Cleveland State @ UIC
SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State women's basketball team will begin a four-game roadswing on Thursday, kicking off its final Horizon League regular season roadtrip at UIC on Thursday, February 2. Entering the 8:00 p.m. EST contest, the Vikings stand at 10-11 overall this season and 5-5 in league action. UIC enters the week with a 4-17 overall mark and a 1-9 record against league opponents.
A WIN SATURDAY WOULD…
Move the Vikings back to .500 for the season (11-11)…Mark the season sweep of UIC…Give the Vikings a victory to start the month for the second straight month…Snap a three-game losing skid for Cleveland State.
THE CLEVELAND STATE/UIC SERIES
This will be the 72nd meeting between the two teams, with Cleveland State owning a 38-33 advantage in the overall series. The Vikings have picked up five wins out of the last six meetings, including a 77-59 victory in the first meeting earlier this season.
SCOUTING THE FLAMES
UIC enters Thursday's game with a 4-17 overall record and a 1-9 mark in Horizon League play, ranking ninth in the league standings…Last time out, the Flames picked up a 74-60 victory over Valparaiso, marking their first league victory of the season…This win also snapped a 10-game losing streak for the Flames…As a team, UIC leads the league averaging 15.3 offensive rebounds per game, while the Flames are tied for second averaging 10.0 steals per contest…Individually, Terri Bender ranks fifth in steals (1.9 spg), while Gabryelle Johnson is tied for seventh in offensive boards (2.4).
LAST TIME OUT…
The Vikings fell to nationally ranked Green Bay, 65-51. Ashanti Abshaw (21 pts) and Khayla Livingston (18 pts) combined for 39 of Cleveland State's 51 points, with Abshaw notching her eighth 20-point game of the season. As a team, the Vikings grabbed eight steals, and forced the Phoenix into 20 turnovers.
VIKINGS ON THE ROAD
Thursday's contest at UIC will mark the start of a four-game roadswing for the Vikings – their final roadtrip during Horizon League regular season play. Cleveland State will also travel to Valparaiso (Feb. 4), Green Bay (Feb. 9), and Milwaukee (Feb. 11) during this stretch. During the month of February, the Vikings will split time at home and on the road, playing four games away from the Wolstein Center before returning home for four straight games to close out their regular season slate.
ABSHAW REACHES 900-POINT PLATEAU
Following a 21-point performance against Green Bay last time out – her eighth 20-point game of the season – redshirt sophomore Ashanti Abshaw eclipsed the 900-point mark for her career, finishing the game right on the number. Abshaw, who ranks second in the Horizon League averaging 18.1 points per game, has recorded double-digit points in all but two games this season and has a team-high 381 total points. Abshaw leads all current Vikings with her 900 career points and is on track to become one of the fastest Cleveland State players to reach the 1,000-point milestone.
…ABSHAW IN THE STARTING LINEUP
Redshirt sophomore Ashanti Abshaw is the only Viking to be a part of the starting five during every game this season, and marked her 50th consecutive start for the Vikings against Green Bay last time out. Abshaw, who played just six games as a freshman before tearing her ACL, returned to start all 29 games as a redshirt freshman and has started all 21 games this year. Abshaw's 50 career starts leads all current Vikings.
BOSLEY ON CSU CAREER BLOCKED SHOTS LIST
After notching three blocked shots against Green Bay last time out, junior Shadae Bosley moved into a tie for eighth place in the CSU Career Record book, finishing the game with 72 career blocks. Bosley, who is one of just nine Vikings to record 70 career blocked shots, has tallied 26 total blocks this season and ranks second in the Horizon League averaging 1.4 blocks per game. Bosley enters Thursday's game at UIC nine blocks shy of moving into seventh place on the list.
…VOSKUHL CLOSING IN ON 50 CAREER BLOCKED SHOTS
Entering Thursday's contest against the Flames, Olivia Voskuhl is closing in on becoming the seventh player under head coach Kate Peterson Abiad to record 50 blocked shots, entering the game with 46 career blocks. Voskuhl, who has 15 total blocks this season, ranks 10th among Horizon League players averaging 0.7 blocks per contest, and has notched three blocked shots over the last three games.
LIVINGSTON IN HORIZON LEAGUE PLAY
Over the first 10 Horizon League contests of the season Khayla Livingston has really stepped up her offensive performance, averaging 17.5 points per game against league opponents, compared to her 11.2 point per game average that she had during non-league play. Livingston, who enters Thursday's game as one of just two current Vikings to have 750+ points on their careers, has tallied double-digit points in all but one league game this season, including a trio of 20-point performances against Valparaiso (20 pts), Oakland (28 pts), and Milwaukee (20 pts).
BUTLER CONTINUES TO MAKE MOST OF STARTING LINEUP SPOT
After earning a spot in the starting lineup for the fourth straight game against Green Bay last time out, senior Chrishna Butler continues to make the most of her starting nod. Over the last four games, Butler has been averaging 9.3 points on a .588 field goal percentage, 2.5 rebounds, and 34.8 minutes played, while committing just two turnovers throughout the four games. Butler's first collegiate start came at Oakland last month, and she followed that up with a career-high game at Detroit (17 pts, 5 fg, 3 3fg). Prior to the game at Oakland, Butler was averaging just 1.9 points and 0.5 rebounds per game.
LIVINGSTON FROM BEHIND-THE-ARC
Junior Khayla Livingston returns as one of the top three-point shooters in the Horizon League, as she led all players with a .420 clip from behind-the-arc last season (60-for-143). Livingston, who has a team-best 41 three-pointers so far this season, is now just five three-pointers shy of earning a spot in the top-10 in the CSU Career Record book for three-pointers made. Entering Thursday's game at UIC, Livingston continues to sit at the top of the CSU Career Record book with a .381 clip from three-point for her career (125-for-328).
