GAME #16
Cleveland State vs. Youngstown State
Friday, January 10 | 7:00 p.m. | Wolstein Center
Live Stats | Live Video
PDF CLEVELAND STATE GAME NOTES
SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State women's basketball team will return home for a single game this weekend, hosting Youngstown State at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, January 10. The Vikings enter the weekend with a 12-3 record on the year and an even 2-2 mark in #HLWBB play, while Youngstown State currently stands at 9-6 overall and owns a matching 2-2 mark in league play.
A WIN ON FRIDAY WOULD…
Put the Vikings back on a winstreak…Mark CSU's first win over Youngstown State since the 2016-17 season…Improve the Vikings to 13-3 on the year, and 5-1 at the Wolstein Center.
THE CLEVELAND STATE/YOUNGSTOWN STATE SERIES
Friday's contest will be the 74th meeting between the two teams, with Youngstown State owning a 42-31 edge in the all-time series. The Penguins have won five straight matchups, with Cleveland State's last victory coming in a 71-68 decision during the 2016-17 campaign.
SCOUTING THE PENGUINS
Youngstown State enters Friday's contest with a 9-6 overall record this season, and owns an even 2-2 mark in Horizon League play…Last time out, the Penguins dropped a pair of contests at Northern Kentucky (75-56) and Wright State (91-41), snapping their four-game winstreak that they ended the month of December with…After the first two weeks of #HLWBB play, the Penguins are tied for fourth in the league standings…As a team, YSU leads the league averaging 8.3 three-pointers per game, while the Penguins also have a league-best .769 clip from the free throw line…Individually, Chelsea Olson ranks seventh in rebounding (7.4), 11th in scoring (11.0) and ninth in assists (2.7).
LAST TIME OUT…
The Vikings got back in the win column, picking up a 73-68 victory at Northern Kentucky, earning CSU's first win of the 2020 calendar year. Mariah Miller led the offense with 21 points, while Savanna Crockett and Mariah White both chipped in 16 points against the Norse. The Vikings shot 45-percent from the field on the game, while they committed a season-low six turnovers as a team.
MILLER RETURNS TO OFFENSIVE FORM
After struggling on the offensive end of the floor throughout the start of league play, Mariah Miller returned to her old form in the win at Northern Kentucky, finishing with a team-high 21 points. Miller, who combined for just 19 points in CSU's two losses against IUPUI and Wright State, notched her seventh 20-point game of the season and eclipsed the 900-mark for her career against the Norse. For the year, Miller leads the team averaging 19.5 points per game, while she is also one of Cleveland State's more efficient shooters, posting a .456 clip from the field.
…MILLER AMONG DIVISION I PLAYERS
Mariah Miller enters Friday's game against Youngstown State ranked 26th nationally with her 19.5 points per game, and ranks 13th among Division I players with 292 total points so far this season. Through the first 15 games, Miller has recorded 20+ points seven times, including a career-high 30-point performance at LIU. The Milwaukee, Wis. native is the only #HLWBB player with seven 20-point games this year.
BRAXTON FROM BEHIND-THE-ARC
Sophomore JaMiya Braxton has been Cleveland State's top three-point shooter this season, entering Friday's game with 34 made three-pointers. Braxton leads the league and ranks 31st nationally with a .436 clip from behind-the-arc, while she ranks second among #HLWBB players averaging 2.4 three-pointers per game. Braxton has converted three or more three-pointers seven times this season, including against Omaha and Lake Erie when she tied her career-high with five shots from behind-the-arc.
CROCKETT IN #HLWBB PLAY
After averaging just 9.0 points per game through non-league play, Savanna Crockett has stepped up her offensive output during the first four Horizon League contests, averaging 14.0 ppg entering Friday's game against YSU. Last time out, Crockett posted 16 points at Northern Kentucky, marking her third straight double-figure point game. Crockett has also been one of Cleveland State's most efficient shooters during league play, posting a .538 clip from the field (21-for-39).
…CROCKETT CLOSING IN ON BLOCKED SHOTS TOP-10
Savanna Crockett recorded the 61st blocked shot of her career at Northern Kentucky last time out, and is the only active Viking with 60+ blocks on their career. Crockett, who has a team-high 15 blocked shots this year, set a CSU freshman class record with 46 blocks during her rookie campaign. Entering Friday's game against the Penguins, Crockett is just three blocks shy of cracking the top-10 list in the CSU Career Record Book in the category.
CLEVELAND STATE IN THE #HLWBB STANDINGS
Entering the third week of Horizon League play, the Vikings are tops in the #HLWBB standings in Scoring (71.7 ppg), Three-Point Field Goal Percentage (.367), Blocked Shots (4.2), and Steals (11.5). Individually, Mariah Miller leads the league averaging 19.5 points per game, while Mariah White is tops in the league in steals (3.7).
WHITE & 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 13th nationally with 173 total steals this year. Through 15 games, the Vikings have forced their opponents into 272 turnovers, owning a league-best 4.0 turnover margin. Mariah White has been a major factor in this strong CSU defense, as she ranks fourth nationally with 56 total takeaways this year.
…TAKING CARE OF THE BALL
On the other hand, Cleveland State did a great job of taking care of the ball last time out, posting a season-low six turnovers in the win at Northern Kentucky, to mark the third time this season that the Vikings have committed less than 10 miscues. Individually, JaMiya Braxton and Mariah Miller played 30+ minutes without committing a turnover, while Mariah White recorded just one miscue in 25 minutes of action.
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.
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 fourth 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 split at WSU and NKU last time out, Cleveland State is now receiving votes (42).
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 22-23 record at Cleveland State and a 438-139 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 continue the first round of Horizon League play on the road next weekend, traveling to Detroit Mercy on Thursday, January 16 and Oakland on Saturday, January 18.
