Posted: Jan 29, 2020
GAME #21
Cleveland State at IUPUI
Thursday, January 30 | 11:00 a.m. | Indianapolis, Ind.
Live Stats | Live Video
PDF CLEVELAND STATE GAME NOTES
SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State women's basketball team will open the second half of Horizon League play with a two-game roadswing this week, beginning with an 11:00 a.m. contest at IUPUI on Thursday, January 30. The Vikings enter Thursday's game with a 15-5 record on the year, and a 5-4 mark in #HLWBB play, while IUPUI currently stands at 14-6 overall and 8-1 in league play.
A WIN ON THURSDAY WOULD…
Put the Vikings back in the win column…Split the season series against IUPUI…Put the Vikings at 2-0 during Kids Day Games this season…Give the Vikings a win to start the second half of #HLWBB play.
THE CLEVELAND STATE/IUPUI SERIES
Thursday's contest will be the 13th meeting between the two teams, with the overall series tied at 6-6. IUPUI picked up a 78-53 victory over the Vikings in the first meeting this season, and has won five straight entering Thursday's matchup. Cleveland State's last victory against the Jaguars came during the 2013-14 season, when the Vikings posted a 63-56 win.
SCOUTING THE JAGUARS
IUPUI enters Thursday's game with a 14-6 record on the season, including an 8-1 record in Horizon League play…The Jaguars finished the first half of #HLWBB play ranked first in the league standings, and have won eight straight entering Thursday's matchup…IUPUI owns a perfect 8-0 record when playing at home this season…The Jaguars lead the league in scoring (72.6 ppg), field goal percentage (.463), three-point field goal percentage (.367), and assists (16.7 apg), while Macee Williams leads the league with a .599 field goal percentage, and ranks second averaging 9.1 rebounds per game this season.
LAST TIME OUT…
Cleveland State closed out its brief two-game homestand by hosting Green Bay, dropping a 74-54 contest against the Phoenix. Jade Ely posted a team-high 15 points, while JaMiya Braxton posted nine points on a trio of three-pointers. As a team, the Vikings recorded 12 assists on 18 made field goals, and grabbed seven steals on the game.
MILLER CHASING DOWN 1,000 CAREER POINTS
Entering's Thursday's contest at IUPUI, Mariah Miller is closing in on recording her 1,000th career point, currently standing at 990 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 368 total points so far this season, and has recorded 350+ points in each of the last two years.
…AND MOVING UP THE CSU CAREER RECORD BOOK
After combining for 16 rebounds against Milwaukee and Green Bay throughout last weekend's homestand, Mariah Miller moved into 18th place in the CSU Career Record Book with 577 career boards. Miller, who is the 20th Viking all-time to surpass 575 career rebounds, has a team-high 154 boards so far this year. Miller enters Thursday's game ranked sixth among Horizon League players averaging 7.7 rebounds per game this season.
CROCKETT ON BLOCKED SHOTS TOP-10 LIST
After recording two blocked shots against Green Bay last time out, sophomore Savanna Crockett is now in sole possession of 10th place in the CSU Career Record Book with 66 career blocks. Crockett, who is the only active Viking with 60+ blocks on their career, owns 20 blocks on the season, and set a CSU freshman class record last year with 46 blocked shots. Entering the second half of #HLWBB play, Crockett is six blocks shy of moving into ninth place on the list.
CSU CLOSES OUT FIRST HALF OF #HLWBB PLAY
Last weekend's homestand against Milwaukee and Green Bay marked the end of the first half of the Horizon League slate for the Vikings, with Cleveland State owning a 5-4 record after the first round of games. Cleveland State's 5-4 #HLWBB record puts them in a tie for fourth place in the league standings, three places higher than the Vikings' preseason selection of seventh.
…VIKINGS TRACKING 20-WIN SEASON
With at least 10 games left to play this season, Cleveland State is tracking down its first 20-win campaign since 2010-11, entering Thursday's game with a 15-5 record on the year. The Vikings were the first Horizon League team to reach the 15-win mark with the 58-49 victory over Milwaukee last weekend, while also marking the 12th time that they have recorded 15 or more wins in a single season.
BRAXTON FROM BEHIND-THE-ARC
Sophomore JaMiya Braxton has been Cleveland State's top three-point shooter this season, entering Thursday's game with 45 made three-pointers. Braxton leads the league and ranks 43rd nationally with a .409 clip from behind-the-arc, while she ranks second among #HLWBB players averaging 2.3 three-pointers per game. For her career, Braxton needs just six more shots from behind-the-arc to reach the 100 mark.
DUMAS IN THE STARTING LINEUP
After the first 20 games of the season, redshirt sophomore Nadia Dumas is the only Viking to have appeared in the starting lineup during all 20 games. Dumas, who became part of the starting five for the first time in her career this season, is one of 17 Horizon League players to appear in the starting lineup during every game. For the season, Dumas is averaging 4.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game, while she is the team's most efficient shooter with a .507 clip from the floor (35-for-69).
WHITE RANKS TOP-10 NATIONALLY
Mariah White continues to be a major factor in the strong Cleveland State defense this season, as she enters the week ranked eighth nationally with 65 total steals on the year. White leads the Horizon League averaging 3.2 steals per game, and has posted at least one takeaway in all but two games this season.
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, Taylah 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.
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 25-25 record at Cleveland State and a 441-141 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 close out their roadswing at UIC on Saturday, February 1, facing the Flames at 3:00 p.m. EST.
