Posted: Jan 23, 2020
GAME #19
Cleveland State vs. Milwaukee
Friday, January 24 | 11:00 a.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 brief two-game homestand this weekend, beginning with an 11:00 a.m. contest against Milwaukee on Friday, January 24. The Vikings enter Friday's game with a 14-4 record on the year and a 4-3 mark in #HLWBB play, while Milwaukee currently stands at 6-12 overall and has a 3-4 record in league play.
A WIN ON FRIDAY WOULD…
Put the Vikings on a two-game winstreak…Mark CSU's first win over Milwaukee since the 2014-15 season…Improve the Vikings to 15-4 on the year and 6-1 at the Wolstein Center.
THE CLEVELAND STATE/MILWAUKEE SERIES
Friday's contest will be the 57th meeting between the two teams, with Milwaukee owning a 33-23 advantage in the all-time series. The Panthers have won nine straight entering Friday's match, with Cleveland State's last victory coming in a 67-58 decision during the 2014-15 campaign.
SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
Milwaukee enters Friday's game with a 6-12 overall record on the season, including a 3-4 mark against Horizon League opponents…The Panthers split their #HLWBB homestand last time out, picking up a 71-55 victory over UIC and dropping a 75-52 contest against league-leading IUPUI…With the 3-4 record, the Panthers are tied for sixth in the Horizon League standings…Friday's game will mark the first of a four-game roadswing for Milwaukee…Milwaukee's Brandi Bisping currently leads the league with a .881 free throw percentage (52-for-59), while Sydney Levy ranks fourth averaging 2.2 three-pointers per game.
LAST TIME OUT…
The Vikings got back in the win column with a 79-58 victory at Oakland, picking up their third win out of their last four contests. Mariah Miller recorded a team-high 24 points, while Savanna Crockett grabbed a team-best nine boards, and Taylah Levy posted six assists. As a team, the Vikings recorded 16 total assists and 11 total steals, and outscored the Grizzlies 31-12 during the fourth quarter.
FRIDAY MARKS ANNUAL KIDS DAY GAME
Friday's contest against Milwaukee will serve as Cleveland State's annual Kids Day Game, with over 2,000 Cleveland area grade school kids in attendance. Prior to tipoff, the Cleveland State Athletic Department will provide multiple stations and activities for all kids in attendance to participate in which focus on promoting healthy living through sport and exercise. This will be Cleveland State's first of three Kids Day Games this year, as the Vikings will also play in early morning contests at IUPUI (1/30) and Green Bay (2/27).
MILLER NOTCHES EIGHTH 20-POINT GAME
Last time out, senior Mariah Miller recorded her eighth 20-point game of the season, finishing with 24 points in the win at Oakland. Miller, who leads the Horizon League and ranks 26th nationally averaging 19.4 points per game this season, has tallied double-digit points in all but one game this year. Miller is the only #HLWBB player with eight or more 20-point performances this year, including two in league play.
…CHASING DOWN 1,000 CAREER POINTS
Entering Friday's contest against Milwaukee, Mariah Miller is closing in on recording her 1,000th career point, currently owning 971 points. Miller, who would become the 30th Viking all-time with 1,000 career points, would become the first active Viking to reach the milestone. Miller has 349 total points so far this season, and has recorded 325+ points in each of the last two years.
…AND IN THE CSU CAREER RECORD BOOK
With her season-high 16 rebounds at Detroit Mercy last week, Mariah Miller earned a spot in the CSU Career Record Book, and enters Friday's game ranked 19th with 561 career boards. Miller, who is the 20th Viking all-time to surpass 550 career rebounds, has a team-high 138 boards so far this year. Miller enters the weekend needing just five more rebounds to move into 18th place in the CSU Career Record Book.
CROCKETT CLOSING IN ON BLOCKED SHOTS TOP-10
Entering Friday's game against Milwaukee, sophomore Savanna Crockett is just one blocked shot shy of earning a spot in the top-10 in the CSU Career Record Book in the category. Crockett, who is the only active Viking with 60+ blocks on their career, owns 17 blocks on the season, and set a CSU freshman class record last year with 46 blocked shots.
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 14th nationally with 202 total steals this year. Through 18 games, the Vikings have forced their opponents into 330 turnovers, owning a league-best 4.2 turnover margin. The Vikings have posted double-digit steals in each of their last two games, grabbing 14 at Detroit Mercy and 11 at Oakland.
…WHITE LEADING THE WAY
Mariah White has been a major factor in this strong Cleveland State defense, as she ranks eighth nationally with 63 total takeaways this year. White enters Friday's contest as the league-leader averaging 3.5 steals per game, and has posted five or more takeaways during six games this season. For her career, White has a team-best 138 total steals.
BRAXTON FROM BEHIND-THE-ARC
Sophomore JaMiya Braxton has been Cleveland State's top three-point shooter this season, entering Friday's game with 41 made three-pointers. Braxton leads the league and ranks 24th nationally with a .432 clip from behind-the-arc, while she also leads all #HLWBB players averaging 2.4 three-pointers per game.
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 sixth 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 win against Oakland last time out, Cleveland State is now receiving votes (11).
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 24-24 record at Cleveland State and a 440-140 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 close out its current homestand with a 2:00 p.m. contest against Green Bay on Sunday, January 26.
