Posted: Feb 02, 2018
GAME #23
Cleveland State @ Oakland
Saturday, February 3 | 3:00 p.m. | Rochester, Mich.
Live Stats | Live Video
CLEVELAND STATE @ OAKLAND GAME NOTES
SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State women's basketball team will continue its current four-game roadswing at Oakland on Saturday, February 3, facing the Golden Grizzlies in a 3:00 p.m. contest. Entering Saturday's game, the Vikings stand at 15-7 overall this season and own a 7-4 mark against Horizon League opponents. Oakland currently sits at 11-10 overall and 4-6 in league play.
A WIN SATURDAY WOULD…
Put the Vikings on a four-game winstreak…Give Cleveland State a 2-0 start to the month of February…Mark the Vikings' fifth win out of their last six games…Give Cleveland State 16 wins for just the second time over the last seven seasons…Mark a season sweep for the Vikings against the Golden Grizzlies.
THE CLEVELAND STATE/OAKLAND SERIES
This will mark the 11th meeting between the two teams, with the series tied at 5-5. Cleveland State picked up a 70-62 victory in the first meeting this season, and has won three out of the last four matchups.
…THE FIRST TIME AROUND
In the first meeting between the two teams, Cleveland State picked up a 70-62 victory in the 2017-18 Horizon League opener. Ashanti Abshaw led all scorers with 26 points, while Olivia Voskuhl added 19. As a team, the Vikings shot 48-percent from the floor and recorded 14 points off of 13 Oakland turnovers.
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN GRIZZLIES
Oakland enters the weekend with an 11-10 overall record on the season and a 4-6 mark against Horizon League opponents…Oakland has lost four of its last five games, including an 86-76 loss against Youngstown State last time out…The Golden Grizzlies currently own a 5-5 record when playing at home, and will be closing out a five-game homestand on Saturday…Entering Saturday's game, Oakland leads the league in three-point field goal percentage (.340), blocked shots (4.0) and steals (10.5)…Individually, Taylor Gleason is tops among league players averaging 5.0 assists per game.
LAST TIME OUT...
Cleveland State completed the season sweep of Detroit Mercy, earning a 90-76 victory against the Titans. The 90 points marked a season-high for the Vikings, while Khayla Livingston scored a career-best 36 points. Ashanti Abshaw added 27 points for the Vikings, while Mariah Miller grabbed a team-best 10 rebounds. As a team, the Vikings recorded 17 assists and grabbed 49 boards. Cleveland State posted a .462 clip from the field, and shot 50-percent from behind-the-arc.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Cleveland State will spend the majority of its time on the road during the second half of Horizon League play this season, beginning with this weekend's roadtrip to Detroit Mercy and Oakland. The Vikings, who will play six of their last eight games on the road, own a 5-3 record on the road this season and will be playing their second game of a four-game roadswing on Saturday afternoon.
VIKINGS REACH 15-WIN MARK
Thursday's victory at Detroit Mercy marked the 15th win of the season for the Vikings, marking just the sixth time under head coach Kate Peterson Abiad that Cleveland State has recorded at least 15 wins in a season. With seven regular season games left to play, this is the earliest that the Vikings have ever reached the 15-win mark.
LIVINGSTON SETS CAREER-HIGH AT DETROIT MERCY
Khayla Livingston had one of her best offensive performances of her career at Detroit Mercy last time out, posting a career-high 36 points. Livingston, who notched her second 30-point game of the season, scored 27 of her points from behind-the-arc, as she converted a Cleveland State Single Game record nine three-pointers. With her 36 points against the Titans, Livingston became just the 12th Viking all-time to eclipse 1,300 career points, finishing the game with 1,306 points.
...AND CLOSES IN ON CSU THREE-POINT RECORD
With her career-high nine three-pointers at Detroit Mercy, Khayla Livingston continued to inch her way closer to setting a Cleveland State record for three-pointers, finishing the game just 10 three-pointers shy of setting the mark. Livingston now has 208 career three-pointers, just the second Viking all-time to eclipse the 200 mark. So far this season, Livingston is averaging a league-best 3.0 three-pointers per game and has 65 total conversions from behind-the-arc on the year - a mark that ranks fifth in the CSU Single-Season Record Book.
ABSHAW CHASING DOWN THE 1,500-POINT MARK
Entering the second half of Horizon League play, Ashanti Abshaw is chasing down the 1,500-point mark, entering Saturday's contest at Oakland ranked seventh on the CSU Scoring Chart with 1,468 career points. Abshaw, who ranks second among league players averaging 19.9 points per game this season, would become the second current Horizon League player to reach the milestone, and just the second Viking all-time to eclipse the 1,500-point mark as a junior (Kailey Klein 2006-10).
VOSKUHL CLOSING IN ON 1,000 CAREER POINTS
After averaging a career-best 12.4 points per game so far this season, redshirt senior Olivia Voskuhl is closing in on joining the 1,000-point club, entering Saturday's contest with 964 career points. Voskuhl, who has tallied double-digit points in all but four games this season, would become the 29th Viking all-time and the third current Viking to join the exclusive club (Ashanti Abshaw & Khayla Livingston). In league games only, Voskuhl is averaging 12.5 ppg, and set a career-high with 21 points against Detroit Mercy in the first meeting between the two teams this year.
BOSLEY WITH THE BLOCK
After posting four blocked shots against the Titans last time out, senior Shadae Bosley added to her career blocks total, finishing the game with 134. Bosley, who ranks third in the CSU Career Record Book, has 47 total blocks on the year, ranking eighth in the CSU Single-Season Record Book. Bosley now enters Saturday's contest at Oakland leading the Horizon League, averaging 2.1 blocks per game this year.
HEAD COACH KATE PETERSON ABIAD
Last week's 70-71 overtime victory against Wright State marked win number 200 for head coach Kate Peterson Abiad, as she eclipsed the coaching milestone on her birthday. Peterson Abiad, who is in her 15th season at the helm of the Vikings, became the fourth active Horizon League coach to record 200 career wins, and just the second to eclipse the milestone at their current school (Kevin Borseth, Green Bay).
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 roadswing at UIC and IUPUI next week, beginning with a 5:00 p.m. EST contest against the Flames on Thursday, February 8.