GAME #12
Cleveland State vs. UIC
Saturday, December 28 | 2:00 p.m. | Cleveland, Ohio
Live Stats | Live Video

PDF CLEVELAND STATE GAME NOTES

SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State women's basketball team will open its 18-game Horizon League slate at home this weekend, beginning with a 2:00 p.m. contest against UIC on Saturday, December 28. The Vikings enter #HLWBB play with a 10-1 record on the year - and on a 10-game winstreak - while UIC currently stands at 1-10 this season.

A WIN ON SATURDAY WOULD…
Put the Vikings on an 11-game winstreak, marking the longest winstreak in program history…Give CSU a 1-0 start to #HLWBB play…Keep Cleveland State perfect during the month of December and at the Wolstein Center this year…Improve the Vikings to 11-1 on the year.

THE CLEVELAND STATE/UIC SERIES
Saturday's contest will be the 77th meeting between the two teams, with Cleveland State owning a 43-33 edge in the overall series. The Vikings have won seven straight against the Flames, and 10 of the last 11 matchups. Last year, CSU picked up a 71-53 victory in the first meeting between the two teams, and then posted a 74-48 win in the second matchup. 

SCOUTING THE FLAMES
UIC enters Saturday's game with a 1-10 record on the season, picking up its lone win on the year with a 73-61 decision at Chicago State…The Flames finished their non-league schedule on a three-game losing skid, and were last in action against Eastern Michigan on Wednesday, December 18…Entering #HLWBB play, Jada Nneji leads the league averaging 3.0 blocked shots per game, while she also ranks second averaging 8.8 rebounds per game…Offensively, Tylah Lampley leads UIC with 11.0 points per game on a .426 field goal percentage, while Abreanna Lake has posted a team-high 35 assists on the year.

LAST TIME OUT…
Cleveland State picked up its 10th straight win, posting a 95-49 victory against Lake Erie to close out non-league play. All 11 Vikings that saw action during the game got in the scoring column, including five players that finished with double-digit points. As a team, the Vikings shot 52-percent from the floor, and had a .538 clip from behind-the-arc. CSU recorded 25 assists on 37 made field goals, and recorded 21 total steals.

...VIKINGS EXTEND WINSTREAK
Last Friday's 95-49 win against the Storm marked Cleveland State's 10th straight victory, setting a program record for consecutive wins. The Vikings, who are one of just 12 Division I teams with an active winstreak of 10+ games, haven't lost a game since the season-opener at Bowling Green last month. Cleveland State's current 10-game winstreak surpassed the previous record of nine games which was set during the 1982-83 campaign.

...AND OFF TO BEST START IN PROGRAM HISTORY
Cleveland State's 10-1 start to the 2019-20 campaign marks the best start in program history, bettering the previous mark of 7-1 that was set during the 1974-75 campaign. This also marks the first time that the Vikings have recorded 10 wins during non-league play since joining the Horizon League in the 1994-95 season.

VIKINGS SET TO BEGIN #HLWBB PLAY
Saturday's game against UIC will mark the #HLWBB opener for both teams, with Cleveland State opening league play at home for the third time over the last four years. Over the last seven seasons, the Vikings have posted a 6-1 record in league openers, and enter Saturday's contest having won three straight #HLWBB openers.

…CLEVELAND STATE TABBED SEVENTH IN PRESEASON POLL
Earlier this season the Vikings were tabbed to finish seventh in the Horizon League Preseason Poll - picking up 37 points. Last season, the Vikings finished seventh in the league standings with a 7-11 #HLWBB record, falling in the quarterfinals of the Horizon League Tournament. Defending champion Wright State and Green Bay were tied at the top of the preseason standings, while IUPUI also earned first-place votes to finish third in the poll. Youngstown State (4th), Milwaukee (5th), Northern Kentucky (6th), Oakland (8th), Detroit Mercy (9th), and UIC (10th) rounded out the 2019-20 poll.

CLEVELAND STATE MOVES UP MID-MAJOR TOP-25 POLL
After earning a spot in the College Insider Mid-Major Top-25 poll last week, the Vikings moved up two spots in this week's rankings and enter the weekend ranked 23rd. Cleveland State is the highest ranked Horizon League team in this week's poll, as IUPUI ranks 24th and Wright State and Green Bay are receiving votes.

VIKINGS AT THE WOLSTEIN CENTER
Saturday's game against UIC will mark just the fourth home game for the Vikings this year, as Cleveland State will be looking to remain perfect at home following wins against Davis & Elkins, Akron and Lake Erie in the Wolstein Center earlier this season. During the non-league slate, Cleveland State played eight true road games - the most among Horizon League teams this year - visiting six different states and traveling over 5,200 miles during the two months of the season.

CLEVELAND STATE IN THE #HLWBB STANDINGS
Entering the first weekend of Horizon League play, the Vikings are tops in the #HLWBB standings in Scoring (73.1 ppg), Field Goal Percentage (.444), Three-Point Field Goal Percentage (.390), Blocked Shots (4.4), and Steals (12.2). Individually, Mariah Miller leads the league averaging 21.4 points per game as the only #HLWBB player to average 20+ points this season, JaMiya Braxton has a league-best .456 three-point field goal percentage and Mariah White is tops in the league in assists (4.2) and steals (4.2).

…MILLER AMONG DIVISION I PLAYERS
Mariah Miller enters Horizon League play ranked ninth nationally with her 21.4 points per game, and ranks 12th with 235 total points so far this season. Through the first 11 games, Miller has recorded 20+ points six times, including a career-high 30-point performance at LIU. The Milwaukee, Wis. native is the only #HLWBB player with six 20-point games this year.

…WHITE ALSO AMONG NATIONS BEST
Junior Mariah White also ranks among the nations best entering Saturday's game against UIC, as she ranks fourth with 46 total steals this year and third with 4.1 steals per game. White, who tallied five takeaways against Lake Erie last time out, has posted five or more steals during five games this year, and leads all current Vikings with 121 steals on her career. White has been a major part of a Viking defense that is averaging 12.2 steals per game this season, and ranks 18th nationally with 134 total takeaways on the year.

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, Tayla Levy, and Aminata Ly.

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 20-21 record at Cleveland State and a 436-137 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
Cleveland State will continue the opening weekend of Horizon League play on Monday, December 30, hosting IUPUI at 7:00 p.m.