GAME #27
Cleveland State vs. Northern Kentucky
Saturday, February 18 | 1:00 p.m. | Wolstein Center
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Cleveland State vs. Northern Kentucky
SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State women's basketball team will continue its four-game homestand to close out the regular season this weekend, hosting Northern Kentucky at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 18. Entering Saturday's game, the Vikings stand at 12-14 overall this season and own a 7-8 record against Horizon League opponents. Northern Kentucky enters the weekend with an 8-18 record and stand at 4-10 in league play.
A WIN SATURDAY WOULD…
Put the Vikings back on the winning track...Give Cleveland State a sweep in the NKU season series...Mark Cleveland State's third win out of its last six games...Put the Vikings back at .500 in league play with an 8-8 record.
THE CLEVELAND STATE/NORTHERN KENTUCKY SERIES
This will be just the sixth meeting between the two teams, with Northern Kentucky owning a slight 3-2 advantage in the overall series. Earlier this season, Cleveland State earned a 58-54 victory over the Norse, marking its second win out of the last three meetings.
SCOUTING THE NORSE
Northern Kentucky enters Saturday's game with an 8-18 overall record and a 4-10 mark in Horizon League play…NKU's 4-10 record puts them eighth in the league standings with four games left to play…Last time out, the Norse dropped a 77-73 overtime contest at Youngstown State…Kasey Uetrecht leads NKU averaging 11.5 points per game, while Rebecca Lyttle is averaging a team-best 8.1 rebounds per game…Lyttle's 8.1 boards per game ranks fifth among league players, while Uetrecht ranks 16th in the league in scoring.
LAST TIME OUT…
Despite holding a double-digit first-half lead, the Vikings fell to league-leader Wright State, 65-60 Thursday evening. Ashanti Abshaw recorded her fifth double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds, while Khayla Livingston chipped in 14 points and seven assists, and Chrishna Butler added 11 points and four rebounds.
VIKINGS RETURN TO THE WOLSTEIN CENTER
After playing the first half of the month away from home, Cleveland State will finally return to the Wolstein Center for a four-game homestand to close out the regular season. The Vikings have been on the road for seven of their last nine contests, and haven't had more than a two-game homestand since non-league play back in November.
DOUBLE THE FUN
Saturday will be the fifth of six doubleheaders for the Cleveland State men's and women's basketball teams this season, as the men will take on Wright State following the women's game versus NKU. So far this season, the women own a 3-1 record when playing on doubleheader dates. All six of the doubleheaders will come during Horizon League play, with the women's team facing Youngstown State (W, 58-54), Valparaiso (W, 71-60), UIC (W, 77-59), Wright State (L, 65-60), Northern Kentucky (Feb. 18), and Oakland (Feb. 25) during the twinbills.
#THINK PINK
For the remainder of the 2016-17 regular season, the Vikings will be trading in their normal green & white jerseys and wearing special pink uniforms in honor of the team's annual #ThinkPink initiative. Throughout all of the games fans will be able to purchase raffle tickets to win one of the pink jerseys, with all funds going to Play4Kay and the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.
ABSHAW CLOSING IN ON 1,000-POINT MILESTONE
Entering Saturday's contest against Northern Kentucky, redshirt sophomore Ashanti Abshaw is just eight points shy of recording her 1,000th career point, entering the game with 992 total points. Abshaw, who leads the Vikings and ranks third in the Horizon League averaging 18.2 points per game this season, has recorded double-digit points in all but two games this season, including 11 20-point games. For the season, Abshaw has 473 points - one of four league players to reach the 450-point mark - and is on track to become one of the fastest Cleveland State players to reach the 1,000-point milestone.
VIKING SCORING DUO
Over the last six games, more than 60-percent of Cleveland State's offense has come from the duo of Ashanti Abshaw and Khayla Livingston, with both players combining for at least half of Cleveland State's points during all five of the six contests. Together, Abshaw and Livingston have recorded 225 total points over the last six games, including a combined seven 20-point performances. The duo's 225 points marks 60-percent of Cleveland State's point total over the last six games, while Abshaw and Livingston are responsible for 50-percent of Cleveland State's offense on the season (854 points out of 1,681 total points).
LIVINGSTON CRACKS TOP-10 ON CAREER 3-POINT LIST
After going 6-for-14 from behind-the-arc during last week's Wisconsin swing, Khayla Livingston cracked the top-10 in three-pointers made in the CSU Career Record book, currently ranking ninth with 136 made three-pointers. Livingston, who has 52 three-pointers this season, has now recorded at least 50 shots from behind-the-arc in back-to-back seasons. Entering Saturday's game against Northern Kentucky, Livingston ranks fourth among Horizon League players averaging 2.1 three-pointers per game.
BOSLEY ON CSU CAREER BLOCKED SHOTS LIST
Entering Saturday's game against NKU, junior Shadae Bosley ranks eighth in the CSU Career Record book with 80 blocked shots. Bosley, who is one of just eight Vikings to record 80 career blocked shots, has tallied 34 total blocks this season and ranks second in the Horizon League averaging 1.4 blocks per game. Bosley enters Saturday's game just one blocks shy of moving into seventh place on the list.
…VOSKUHL CLOSING IN ON 50 CAREER BLOCKED SHOTS
Entering Saturday's contest against the Norse, 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 47 career blocks. Voskuhl, who has 16 total blocks this season, ranks 14th among Horizon League players averaging 0.6 blocks per contest.
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 55th consecutive start for the Vikings against Wright State 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 26 games this year. Abshaw's 55 career starts leads all current Vikings.
UP NEXT
The Vikings will close out the regular season next week, hosting Detroit (Thursday, February 23) and Oakland (Saturday, February 25). Thursday's contest against Detroit will be a 7:00 p.m. tip, while Saturday's game against Oakland will be Senior Day and a doubleheader with the men's team beginning at 1:00 p.m.
