Posted: Jan 25, 2020
GAME #20
Cleveland State vs. Green Bay
Sunday, January 26 | 2:00 p.m. | Wolstein Center
Live Stats | Live Video
PDF CLEVELAND STATE GAME NOTES
SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State women's basketball team will close out its brief two-game homestand on Sunday, January 26, hosting Green Bay in a 2:00 p.m. contest. The Vikings enter Sunday's game with a 15-4 record on the year and a 5-3 mark in #HLWBB play, while Green Bay currently stands at 10-10 overall and has a matching 5-3 record in league play.
A WIN ON FRIDAY WOULD…
Put the Vikings on a three-game winstreak…Mark just the second win over Green Bay in the last 10 seasons …Improve the Vikings to 16-4 on the year and 7-1 at the Wolstein Center.
THE CLEVELAND STATE/GREEN BAY SERIES
Sunday's contest will be the 72nd meeting between the two teams, with Green Bay owning a 65-6 advantage in the all-time series. Cleveland State's last victory over the Phoenix came as a 71-60 decision during the 2017-18 campaign - an upset victory over Green Bay who was ranked in the top-25 nationally at the time.
SCOUTING THE PHOENIX
Green Bay enters Sunday's game with an even 10-10 record overall this season, and stands at 5-3 in Horizon League play…The Phoenix have won two straight entering Sunday's matchup against the Vikings, picking up a 73-36 win over UIC and a 70-63 double-overtime victory at Youngstown State last time out…Green Bay, who was selected to finish in a tie for first place in the #HLWBB Preseason Poll, is currently tied for third place with the Vikings in the league standigns… Green Bay leads the league with a 1.37 assist/turnover ratio, while the Phoenix rank second with a 2.00 turnover margin.
LAST TIME OUT…
The Vikings hosted their annual Kids Day Game with over 1,500 kids in attendance, and picked up a hard fought 58-49 victory over Milwaukee. Mariah White finished with a team-best 16 points, while Savanna Crockett grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds. As a team, the Vikings combined for seven blocked shots, including two each from Nadia Dumas and Isabella Geraci.
MILLER CHASING DOWN 1,000 CAREER POINTS
Entering's Sunday's contest against Green Bay, Mariah Miller is closing in on recording her 1,000th career point, currently standing at 982 points. Miller, who would become the 30th Viking all-time with 1,000 career points, would become the first active Viking to reach the milestone. Miller has 360 total points so far this season, and has recorded 350+ points in each of the last two years.
…AND MOVING UP THE CSU CAREER RECORD BOOK
After grabbing eight rebounds against Milwaukee last time out, Mariah Miller moved into 18th place in the CSU Career Record Book with 569 career boards. Miller, who is the 20th Viking all-time to surpass 550 career rebounds, has a team-high 146 boards so far this year. Miller enters Sunday's game ranked sixth among Horizon League players averaging 7.7 rebounds per game this season.
CROCKETT EARNS SPOT ON BLOCKED SHOTS TOP-10 LIST
With her blocked shot in the third quarter against Milwaukee last time out, sophomore Savanna Crockett is now tied for 10th in the CSU Career Record Book with 64 career blocks. Crockett, who is the only active Viking with 60+ blocks on their career, owns 18 blocks on the season, and set a CSU freshman class record last year with 46 blocked shots.
VIKINGS REACH 15 WIN-MARK
Friday's 58-49 victory over Milwaukee marked Cleveland State's 15th win of the year, becoming the first Horizon League team to reach the 15-win mark this season. This marks the 12th time that the Vikings have recorded 15 or more wins in a single campaign, but the first time that the Vikings have reached the 15-win mark in just 19 games.
THE VIKING DEFENSE
Throughout the first part of the 2019-20 campaign, Cleveland State has been one of the best defensive teams in the country, ranking 18th nationally with 206 total steals this year. Through 19 games, the Vikings have forced their opponents into 345 turnovers, owning a league-best 4.2 turnover margin.
…WHITE LEADING THE WAY
Mariah White has been a major factor in this strong Cleveland State defense, as she ranks eighth nationally with 63 total takeaways this year. White enters Sunday's contest as the league-leader averaging 3.3 steals per game, and has posted five or more takeaways during six games this season. For her career, White has a team-best 138 total steals.
VIKINGS ON THE DEAN'S LIST
With the 2019 Fall Semester in the books, the Vikings posted one of their best semesters in program history, finishing with a 3.08 Team GPA for the term. In addition, four Vikings earned a spot on the Cleveland State University Dean's List - Savanna Crockett, Nadia Dumas, Taylah Levy, and Aminata Ly.
VIKINGS POST RECORD SETTING WINSTREAK
Throughout the first part of the 2019-20 campaign, the Vikings posted an 11-game winstreak, setting a program record for consecutive wins. Cleveland State's winstreak stretched from November 13 through December 28, as the Vikings rattled off a double-digit winstreak for the first time in program history. The 11-game winstreak topped the previous record of nine consecutive wins which was set during the 1982-83 season.
...AND NOTCH BEST START IN PROGRAM HISTORY
Cleveland State's 11-1 start to the 2019-20 campaign marked the best start in program history, bettering the previous mark of 7-1 that was set during the 1974-75 campaign. Ten of Cleveland State's 11 wins came during non-league play, which marked the first time that the Vikings had recorded 10+ wins during non-league play since joining the Horizon League in the 1994-95 season.
CLEVELAND STATE IN THE MID-MAJOR TOP-25 POLL
For the sixth straight week the Vikings have been ranked or receiving votes in the College Insider Mid-Major Top-25 poll, entering the weekend as one of three Horizon League teams to appear in the standings. Following its win against Oakland last week, Cleveland State is now receiving votes (11).
HEAD COACH CHRIS KIELSMEIER
The Vikings are under the direction of second-year head coach Chris Kielsmeier during the 2019-20 campaign, who owns a 25-24 record at Cleveland State and a 441-140 overall record in 20 seasons as a head coach. Kielsmeier, who joined the Vikings as the seventh head coach in program history prior to last season, also had stops at Wayne Sate (NE) and Howard Payne, becoming the all-time winningest coach at both schools. During his time at Howard Payne, Kielsmeier led the program to a Division III National Title.
UP NEXT
The Vikings will return to the road next week, beginning with an 11:00 a.m. contest at IUPUI on Thursday, January 30.