Posted: Dec 26, 2017
GAME #12
Cleveland State vs. Oakland
Thursday, December 28 | 7:00 p.m. | Wolstein Center
Live Stats | Live Video
CLEVELAND STATE vs. OAKLAND GAME NOTES
SETTING THE SCENE
After an 11-game non-league slate, the Cleveland State women's basketball team will begin Horizon League play this week, hosting Oakland in the league-opener on Thursday, December 28. Cleveland State enters Horizon League play with an 8-3 overall record, while Oakland stands at 7-4 overall this year. Thursday's contest is set for a 7:00 p.m. tip from the Wolstein Center.
A WIN THURSDAY WOULD…
Put the Vikings on a three-game winstreak…Mark the seventh win out of the last eight games for Cleveland State…Give the Vikings a 1-0 start to #HLWBB play…Even the overall series against Oakland…Bring head coach Kate Peterson Abiad within four wins of her 200th career victory.
THE CLEVELAND STATE/OAKLAND SERIES
This will mark the 10th meeting in program history, with Oakland owning a slight 5-4 advantage in the overall series. The two teams have split their matchups during the last two seasons, with Cleveland State's last victory coming in a 74-62 decision back in January.
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN GRIZZLIES
Oakland enters Horizon League play with a 7-4 overall record, and finished its non-league slate on a four-game winstreak…Last time out, the Grizzlies picked up a pair of wins over Old Dominion (80-59) and Arkansas Pine Bluff (69-37) at the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic…Oakland will begin #HLWBB play with a pair of road games at Cleveland State (Dec. 28) and Youngstown State (Dec. 30), before returning home to host seven of its next nine games…Five Grizzlies are averaging double-digit points through non-league play, led by Sha'Keya Graves with 14.9 points per game…Leah Somerfield has led the rebounding efforts, averaging 7.4 boards per game, while Taylor Gleason is averaging 5.1 assists per contest…Earlier this season, the Grizzlies were selected to finish third in the Horizon League Preseason Poll.
LAST TIME OUT...
Cleveland State posted back-to-back wins for the third time this season, picking up a 67-65 victory at Bradley. The duo of Khayla Livingston and Ashanti Abshaw combined for 51 of Cleveland State's 67 points, while the Vikings grabbed 39 total rebounds including 15 offensive boards. The Vikings tallied 10 steals on the game, with Abshaw and Livingston both recording four takeways each.
VIKINGS RETURN TO THE WOLSTEIN CENTER
After playing the last four of their five games away from home, Cleveland State will finally return to the Wolstein Center for a four-game homestand to begin Horizon League play. So far this season the Vikings stand at 4-1 when playing at the Wolstein Center, and will be trying for their fifth straight home victory when they take the court against Oakland.
CLEVELAND STATE CLOSES OUT NON-LEAGUE PLAY
The Vikings will be entering #HLWBB play with their best record ever under head coach Kate Peterson Abiad, as they finished non-league play with an 8-3 mark. This marked just the third time under Peterson Abiad that the Vikings have recorded eight wins during non-league action, while the .727 winning percentage marks a program best over the last 15 seasons.
…AND BEGINS HORIZON LEAGUE ACTION
Over the last 10 seasons Cleveland State has posted a 90-84 record in Horizon League regular season play, notching five double-digit win seasons during this span. The Vikings own a 7-7 record in league-openers under head coach Kate Peterson Abiad, and have been victorious in four of the last five league-openers. Thursday's contest against Oakland will mark the second time that the Vikings and the Golden Grizzlies are facing off in the league-opener, also meeting during the 2015-16 season.
LIVINGSTON SET TO PLAY IN 100TH CAREER GAME
Thursday's game will mark the 100th career game for redshirt senior Khayla Livingston, as she will join classmate Olivia Voskuhl as the only two current Vikings to play in 100 career games. Through her four seasons on the floor, Livingston has played in all but one game, averaging 27.8 minutes per game. Livingston has also been a mainstay in the starting lineup throughout her career, picking up a spot in the starting five during 67 contests.
…FOLLOWING CAREER-HIGH GAME AT BRADLEY
Last time out, Khayla Livingston had one of her best offensive games, posting a career-high 30 points at Bradley. Livingston, who tallied the first 30-point game of her career, recorded 18 of her points on three-pointers, a mark that is just shy of her career-best. For the season, Livingston is averaging 14.4 points per game, a mark that ranks second on the team and 10th in the Horizon League.
BOSLEY WITH THE BLOCK
Through non-league play, Shadae Bosley posted 25 total blocked shots, and enters Thursday's #HLWBB opener at the top of the Horizon League standings averaging 2.3 blocks per game. Bosley, who has tallied at least one blocked shot in all but one game this season, ranks fifth in the CSU Career Record Book with 112 total blocks, and with just six more blocked shots, would move into fourth place on the list.
ABSHAW CONTINUES CLIMB UP CSU CAREER RECORD BOOK
Following her seventh 20-point performance of the season at Bradley last time out, redshirt junior Ashanti Abshaw continued her climb up the CSU Career Record Book, entering #HLWBB play ranked 11th with 1,269 career points. Abshaw, who leads the Vikings and ranks second among league players averaging 19.8 points per game this season, is one of just 13 Vikings all-time to reach the 1,250-point milestone.
VIKING STARTING FIVE
So far this season, Cleveland State has used the same starting lineup throughout the entire non-league slate, with Ashanti Abshaw, Khayla Livingston, Olivia Voskuhl, Jade Ely, and Shadae Bosley all earning a spot in the starting five. Abshaw leads this group with 70 career starts, while Livingston (67) and Voskuhl (64) are right behind her.
VOSKUHL ON THE BOARDS
Entering Thursday's game against Oakland, redshirt senior Olivia Voskuhl is just shy of earning a spot on the CSU Career Rebounding chart, while she already ranks ninth in the CSU Career Record Book with 411 defensive boards. Voskuhl, who has 532 career boards, is averaging a team-high 7.9 rebounds per game this season, and ranks fourth among league players. Voskuhl has tallied double-digit rebounds twice over of the last four games, including a season-high 11 boards at Illinois State.
VIKINGS TABBED SIXTH IN PRESEASON POLL
Earlier this season the Vikings were tabbed to finish sixth in the Horizon League Preseason Poll, picking up 117 points. Green Bay (246 pts/21 first place votes) and Wright State (204/4) were the only two teams to earn first place votes in the poll, while Oakland (139), Milwaukee (129) and Detroit Mercy (126) rounded out the top-five. After Cleveland State in the six slot, IUPUI (106), Youngstown State (93), Northern Kentucky (59), and UIC (31) finished out the poll.
DAVIDSON APPOINTED TO CSU BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Junior forward Sierra Davidson is currently serving a two-year term as a student member of the Cleveland State University Board of Trustees after being appointed to the position at the beginning of the 2016-17 academic year. Davidson, who was a three-year class president in high school, carries a 3.93 GPA while pursuing a degree in psychology and is on track to graduate in three years. Davidson is also an active member of the CSU Student-Athlete Advisory Council, serving as the Community Service chair.
2018 HORIZON LEAGUE BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
For the second straight season, the Horizon League men's and women's championships will run concurrently, with 'Motor City Madness' running from March 2 through March 6 at the brand new Little Caesers Arena in downtown Detroit, Mich. The five-day tournament will again feature two first round games, four second round games, two semifinals, and a championship contest. All nine games will be carried on the ESPN network.
UP NEXT
Cleveland State will continue its four-game homestand, and #HLWBB play, on Saturday, December 30, hosting Detroit Mercy at 1:00 p.m.
