SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State women's basketball team will begin postseason play this week, hosting Milwaukee on Thursday, March 2 in a Quarterfinal game in the 2023 Barbasol Horizon League Basketball Championship. Entering Thursday's game, CSU stands at 27-4 overall this year and finished the regular season with a 17-3 record in #HLWBB play, while the Panthers are currently 11-18 on the year and notched an 8-12 record against league opponents during the regular season. 

A WIN ON THURSDAY WOULD…
Put the Vikings into the semifinals of the 2023 Barbasol Horizon League Basketball Championship…Make the Vikings 7-4 in #HLWBB Tournament play under head coach Chris Kielsmeier…Give Cleveland State its fourth straight postseason victory when playing at home over the last four seasons. 

THE CLEVELAND STATE/MILWAUKEE SERIES
Thursday's game will mark the 65th meeting between the two teams, with Milwuakee owning a 36-28 edge in the all-time series. Despite this advantage, Cleveland State has won four straight against the Panthers. In Horizon League Tournament play, Cleveland State owns a 3-2 record against Milwaukee, with the most recent #HLWBB Tournament meeting coming during the 2008-09 campaign.

AGAINST MILWAUKEE THIS SEASON…
Cleveland State picked up wins in both meetings during the regular season, earning an 81-50 victory at home and a 63-56 win on the road in last weekend's regular season finale. This marked one of eight series sweeps for the Vikings in league play this year.

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
Milwaukee enters Thursday's quarterfinal game with an 11-18 overall record this season and finished regular season play with an 8-12 mark in league play…The Panthers earned the No. 7 seed in the #HLWBB Tournament, and picked up a 64-58 victory against No. 10 RMU in the First Round on Tuesday…Earlier this week Megan Walstad was named to the All-Defensive Team, while Kamy Peppler was named to the All-Freshman Team…As a team, Milwaukee ranks second in the league averaging 3.31 blocked shots per game, while Megan Walstad is tied for second individually with 39 total blocks on the year…In addition, Walstad ranks sixth among league players averaging 7.9 boards per game. 

2023 BARBASOL HORIZON LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP
This year's #HLWBB Tournament began with three First Round games on Tuesday, February 28 with the winners advancing to Thursday's Quarterfinal games. After earning byes into the Quarterfinals, the league's top-five teams will begin tournament play on Thursday. The Semifinals are slated for Monday, March 6 and the Championship will be held Tuesday, March 7 – with both the semifinals and championship game begin held at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis, Ind. All games will be carried on the ESPN Network. 

…VIKINGS IN #HLWBB PLAY
Cleveland State enters the #HLWBB Tournament as the No. 2 seed after finishing the regular season with a 17-3 mark against league opponents. CSU's 17 league wins marked a program-best for league wins in a single-season, while the Vikings finished just one game shy of first place in the #HLWBB standings. 

…VIKINGS IN THE #HLWBB TOURNAMENT
Under head coach Chris Kielsmeier the Vikings own a 6-4 record in the Horizon League Tournament, including matching 2-1 records the last three years – advancing to the semifinals in all three seasons, and earning a spot in the championship game last year. Cleveland State has earned a spot in the semifinals nine times in program history, while the Vikings have made three appearances in the championship game, capturing the #HLWBB Tournament title during the 2007-08 and 2009-10 seasons. 

…VIKINGS AS THE No. 2 SEED
This marks the first time in program history that the Vikings will be playing as the No. 2 seed in the Horizon League Tournament. Overall, the Vikings have been a top-four seed 10 times now, including three years as the No. 3 seed (2014-15, 2010-11, 2008-09) and six years as the No. 4 seed (2021-22, 2009-10, 2007-08, 2003-04, 2000-01, 1998-99).

HOME-SWEET-HOME
Thursday's game against Milwaukee will mark the 16th home game for the Vikings this season, marking the most home games played during head coach Chris Kielsmeier's tenure. So far this year, the Vikings own a 14-1 record when playing at home, with the 14 wins tied for the most home wins in a single-season. 

VIKINGS IN THE MID-MAJOR RANKINGS
Entering Horizon League Tournament play, Cleveland State is ranked 10th in the lastest College Insider Women's Mid-Major Top-25 Poll. The Vikings are one of two Horizon League teams to be ranked in the top-25, as top-seeded Green Bay enters the week ranked seventh.

VIKINGS IMPROVE PROGRAM RECORD WITH 27TH WIN OF THE SEASON
Saturday's 63-56 victory at Milwaukee in the regular season finale marked the 27th win of the 2022-23 season for the Vikings, improving the program record for wins in a single-season. Cleveland State set the program record with 24 wins earlier this season, as a 73-63 victory at Purdue Fort Wayne eclipsed the previous record of 23 wins which was set back during the 1982-83 campaign. Cleveland State is now one of just six Division I teams with 27+ wins on the year. 

LEO NAMED #HLWBB PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Earlier this week junior Destiny Leo was named the Horizon League Player of the Year, becoming just the third Viking in program history to earn Player of the Year honors. Leo, who was also named to the All-League First Team, is averaging a league-best 17.9 points per game, while also notching a league-high .385 three-point field goal percentage and .919 clip from the free throw line. On the year, Leo has posted a league-high 12 20-point games, including four 30-point performances to pace all league players. 

…LEO FROM THE FREE THROW LINE
Entering Thursday's game against Milwaukee, Destiny Leo continues to be the top free throw shooter in the Horizon League, owning a .919 clip (147-for-160) from the line on the season. Nationally, Leo ranks second among Division I players in free throw percentage (with 60+ more attempts than the player 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 19 games, including a 5-for-5 effort against the Panthers last time out.

WILLIAMS NAMED #HLWBB SIXTH PLAYER OF THE YEAR
For the second time over the last three seasons the Vikings earned Horizon League Sixth Player of the Year honors, as senior Deja Williams picked up the award earlier this week. Williams, who came off the bench in all but one game during regular season play, is averaging 6.5 points, 2.0 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Through 31 games this year, Williams has helped the Vikings to a league-best 75.2 points per game, while also helping the Vikings average 9.16 steals on the defensive end of the court to lead all league teams. 

MOORE, NGWAFANG & REISMA EARN ALL-LEAGUE HONORS
In addition to Destiny Leo and Deja Williams, the Vikings earned four additional Horizon League postseason honors, as Brittni Moore was named Second Team All-League, Amele Ngwafang was named to the All-League Third Team and All-Defensive Team, while Jordana Reisma earned a spot on the All-Freshman Team. Cleveland State's five #HLWBB honorees led all league teams. 

…MOORE & NGWAFANG WITH THE DOUBLE-DOUBLES
So far this season Brittni Moore and Amele Ngwafang have combined for 10 double-doubles, including nine against Horizon League opponents. Moore (11.8 ppg - 13th) and Ngwafang (9.9 - 22nd) both rank in the top-25 among league players in scoring so far this season, while the duo ranks in the top-10 in rebounding (Ngwafang - 5th, Moore - 10th). Through regular season play, Ngwafang has a team-best 247 total boards, while Moore has combined for 186 rebounds.

…REISMA WITH THE BLOCK
Through 31 regular season games, freshman Jordana Reisma has combined for a team-high 39 blocked shots, which ties her for second among league players this season. Reisma has tallied two or more blocks in 12 games this year, including a season-high six-block effort at Northern Kentucky. As a team, the Vikings are leading the league averaging 3.87 blocks per game. 

CLEVELAND STATE ON THE DEFENSIVE END
Thirty-one games into the 2022-23 campaign Cleveland State leads the Horizon League in rebounding (42.5), blocked shots (3.87) and is tied for the league-lead in steals (9.16), serving as one of the best defensive teams in the league. Through the first 15 weeks, the Vikings have recorded double-digit steals 12 times and four+ blocked shots 13 times, including 10 steals against Milwaukee in the regular season finale and five blocked shots against Green Bay last weekend.

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 93-53 record at Cleveland State and a 509-169 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 earlier this season.