SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State women's basketball team will return to the Wolstein Center for its final homestand of the regular season this weekend, beginning with a 7:00 p.m. contest against Northern Kentucky on Thursday, February 16. Entering Thursday's game, Cleveland State has won seven straight games and stands at 24-3 overall this season and 14-2 in Horizon League play, while Northern Kentucky is currently 15-10 overall and 9-7 in league action.

A WIN ON THURSDAY WOULD…
Give the Vikings eight straight wins...Keep Cleveland State perfect during the second half of #HLWBB play...Put the Vikings at 6-0 during the month of February...Improve Cleveland State to 13-1 when playing at home. 

THE CLEVELAND STATE/NORTHERN KENTUCKY SERIES
Thursday's game will mark the 17th meeting between the two teams, with Cleveland State holding an 11-5 edge in the all-time series. Despite Northern Kentucky claiming a 73-69 victory in the first meeting this season, the Vikings have won five out of the last six matchups.

SCOUTING THE NORSE
Northern Kentucky enters Thursday's game with a 15-10 overall record this season, including a 9-7 record in Horizon League play…The Norse enter Thursday's game having won two out of their last three games, most recently picking up an 81-71 victory at Milwaukee…NKU currently sits fifth in the #HLWBB standings, and is one win away from becoming the fifth team to record 10+ league wins on the year…So far this season the Norse own just a 4-7 record when playing on the road…As a team, NKU ranks second among league teams averaging 38.2 rebounds per game…Individually, Lindsey Duvall also ranks second with 9.6 boards per game, while she ranks third averaging 17.0 points per game. 

LAST TIME OUT…
Cleveland State clinched a top-four seed - and a home quarterfinal contest - in the upcoming 2023 Barbasol Horizon League Championships with a 73-63 victory at Purdue Fort Wayne. Destiny Leo led the Vikings with 31 points, while Amele Ngwafang grabbed 19 of Cleveland State's 52 rebounds on the day. In addition, Brittni Moore recorded her second double-double of the season after finishing with 12 points and 13 boards.

VIKINGS TIED FOR FIRST PLACE IN #HLWBB STANDINGS
Entering the ninth week of Horizon League play, Cleveland State is currently tied for first place in the #HLWBB standings with a 14-2 record. Cleveland State's 14-2 record marks the best 16-game start in league play for the Vikings, while they are tied with Green Bay for the top spot in the standings.

HOME-SWEET-HOME
This weekend's games against Northern Kentucky and Wright State will mark the final regular season games inside the Wolstein Center for the Vikings - a place where Cleveland State owns a 12-1 record this season. Over the last five years the Vikings have combined for a 48-18 record at home during head coach Chris Kielsmeier's tenure.

VIKINGS IN THE MID-MAJOR RANKINGS
Entering the week, Cleveland State is ranked 11th in the lastest College Insider Women's Mid-Major Top-25 Poll. The Vikings are one of three Horizon League teams to be ranked in the top-25, as Green Bay (12) and Youngstown State (21) also continue to be ranked this week.

…AND RECEIVING VOTES IN AP TOP-25
Cleveland State also enters this weekend's games receiving votes in the most recent Associated Press Top-25 Poll, marking the third time this season that the Vikings have appeared in one of the national top-25 polls. The Vikings are one of 13 teams to be receiving votes in this week's poll, while they are the lone Horizon League team to appear in the rankings. 

VIKINGS SET PROGRAM RECORD WITH 24TH WIN OF THE SEASON
Monday's 73-63 victory at Purdue Fort Wayne marked the 24th win of the 2022-23 season for the Vikings, marking a program record for wins in a single-season. The previous record of 23 wins was set back during the 1982-83 campaign. Cleveland State is now one of just six Division I teams with 24+ wins on the year, while the Vikings have eclipsed the 20-win plateau three times over the last four seasons. 

…AND EXTEND CURRENT WIN STREAK
The victory over Purdue Fort Wayne also extended Cleveland State's current win streak to seven straight games, marking the second time this season that the Vikings have won seven consecutive games (set a program record with a 16-game win streak earlier this year). Cleveland State's seven-game win streak is tied for a current league-best, as Green Bay also enters the weekend with seven straight victories.

NGWAFANG GRABS CAREER-HIGH 19 REBOUNDS AT PFW
Last time out, Amele Ngwafang grabbed a career-high 19 rebounds in the win at Purdue Fort Wayne, recording 36-percent of Cleveland State's 52 boards on the night. Ngwafang finished with 12 defensive rebounds and seven offensive boards, with the 19 total boards tied for second among league players for rebounds in a single-game. For the season, Ngwafang leads the team and ranks fifth in the #HLWBB standings averaging 7.9 rebounds per game, and has notched 10+ boards eight times. 

MOORE TALLIES DOUBLE-DOUBLE AGAINST MASTODONS
Brittni Moore recorded her second double-double of the season against the Mastodons last time out, finishing with 12 points and 13 rebounds in the victory. Moore, who ranks second on the team in both scoring (11.9 ppg) and rebounding (5.3 rpg), tallied her 17th double-digit scoring game of the year and her second double-digit rebounding performance. Moore is one of three Vikings to have double-doubles on the season, joining Amele Ngwafang (6 double-doubles) and Barbara Zieniewska (1).

LEO NOTCHES 30-POINT GAME AT PURDUE FORT WAYNE
For the league-leading fourth time this season Destiny Leo eclipsed the 30-point mark last time out, finishing with a team-high 31 points in the win over Purdue Fort Wayne. Leo, who leads all #HLWBB players averaging 18.6 points per game, has posted all four of her 30+ point performances over the last eight games, averaging 24.0 points per game during this stretch. With her 31 points against the Mastodons Leo became just the 14th Viking all-time to eclipse 1,300 career points, entering Thursday's game with 1,306 total points. 

…LEO FROM THE FREE THROW LINE
Entering Thursday's game against Northern Kentucky, Destiny Leo continues to be the top free throw shooter in the Horizon League, owning a .924 clip (134-for-145) from the line on the season. Nationally, Leo ranks fourth among Division I players in free throw percentage (with 60+ more attempts than the three players ahead of her), while she also ranks in the top-15 for free throws made. So far this season, Leo has been perfect from the free throw line in 17 games, including a season-high 13-for-13 effort at RMU earlier this season.

REISMA NAMED #HLWBB FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
For the fourth time this season Jordana Reisma picked up Freshman of the Week honors from the Horizon League, earning the accolade after helping the Vikings a 2-0 week against Chicago State and IUPUI. Reisma averaged 10.5 points and 4.0 rebounds in the two games last week, while shooting 56-percent from the field. Reisma opened the week with seven points and five rebounds against Chicago State, while she tied her season-high with 14 points along 0with three rebounds and two blocked shots in the win at IUPUI. 

VIKINGS SET PROGRAM RECORD WITH 16-GAME WIN STREAK
Earlier this season, Cleveland State set a program record with a 16-game win streak, dating from November 12, 2022 through January 12, 2023. The Vikings, who set the previous record with 11 straight wins during the 2019-20 campaign, were one of just four Division I teams with a win streak of 16+ games at the time (South Carolina, Ohio State, LSU).

HEAD COACH CHRIS KIELSMEIER
The Vikings will be under the direction of fifth-year head coach Chris Kielsmeier during the 2022-23 campaign, who owns a 90-52 record at Cleveland State and a 506-168 overall record in 23 seasons as a head coach. Kielsmeier, who joined the Vikings as the seventh head coach in program history prior to the 2018-19 season, recorded his 500th career head coaching win in a 107-65 decision at Detroit Mercy last time out.

…500 CAREER HEAD COACHING WINS FOR CHRIS KIELSMEIER
With the 107-65 victory at Detroit Mercy earlier this season Chris Kielsmeier recorded the 500th head coaching win of his career, including 84 of which that he recorded during his time at Cleveland State. Prior to joining the Vikings, Kielsmeier earned 179 wins during eight seasons at Howard Payne University and 237 wins during 10 seasons at Wayne State College.