OMAHA, Neb. – The Cleveland State women's basketball team improved to 9-1 Sunday afternoon, picking up a 79-66 victory at Omaha, marking the Vikings' ninth straight win of the season. Cleveland State's nine straight wins ties the program record for consecutive wins, which was last set during the 1982-83 campaign.
Game Stats
· Four Vikings finished the game with double-digit points; Mariah Miller (18 pts), Mariah White (17), Savanna Crockett (15), and JaMiya Braxton (15).
· Savanna Crockett led the Vikings with seven total rebounds on the game.
· As a team, the Vikings recorded 15 assists on the day, including five from Mariah White and three from Dana DeGraffenreid.
· CSU finished with 12 steals against Omaha, including six from Mariah White.
· As a team, the Vikings shot 50-percent from the floor (32-for-63), and posted a .467 clip from three-point range (7-for-15).
· The Viking defense forced Omaha into 19 turnovers, turning these miscues into 16 points.
Game Notes
· The 79-66 victory over Omaha marked the ninth straight win for the Vikings, tying the program record for consecutive wins which was set during the 1982-83 campaign.
· The Vikings improved on their program-best start, with the 9-1 mark over the first 10 games setting a CSU record.
· Jade Ely returned to the lineup at Omaha, appearing in her first collegiate game since the midway point of last season.
· Sunday's game marked the eighth and final road game for the Vikings during the non-league slate, closing out a road schedule that had CSU covering over 5,200 miles.
· Sunday's game marked the first meeting between the two teams.
PDF BOX SCORE: Cleveland State 79, Omaha 66
The Vikings were able to take a five-point advantage into the halftime break Sunday, owning a 36-31 lead after the first 20 minutes of action.
Cleveland State then extended its lead to double-digits over the first part of the third quarter, posting a 13-8 run over the first five minutes of the frame to gain a 49-39 advantage. During this stretch, the Vikings had nine points from JaMiya Braxton, who converted a trio of three-pointers, along with baskets from Nadia Dumas and Savanna Crockett.
Although the Vikings were able to extend their run to 17-8 on the next two possessions, the lead wouldn't last long, as Omaha posted 10 straight points to cut into the CSU lead before an Isabelle Gradwell free throw put a stop to the Maverick run. Despite the Omaha run, the Vikings were still able to head into the fourth quarter with a 58-51 lead.
The Vikings were then able to swing the momentum back in their favor at the start of the final quarter, with back-to-back Crockett layups putting the Vikings up by 11 at 62-51 with 8:45 left to play.
Cleveland State was then able to hold a sizeable advantage throughout the rest of the frame – and gained its largest lead of the contest at the 77-60 mark on another Braxton three-pointer – before pulling away with the 79-66 victory.
Up Next
Cleveland State will close out its non-league slate at home, hosting Lake Erie at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, December 20.