GAME #23
Cleveland State vs. Northern Kentucky
Thursday, February 6 | 7:00 p.m. EST | 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 stint this weekend, beginning with a 7:00 p.m. contest against Northern Kentucky on Thursday, February 6. The Vikings enter Thursday's game with a 16-6 record on the year, and a 6-5 mark in #HLWBB play, while NKU currently stands at 13-9 overall and 7-4 in league play.
A WIN ON SATURDAY WOULD…
Put the Vikings on a two-game winstreak…Give the Vikings the season sweep over Northern Kentucky…Keep CSU perfect during the month of February.
THE CLEVELAND STATE/NORTHERN KENTUCKY SERIES
Thursday's contest will be the 12th meeting between the two teams, with Cleveland State owning a 7-4 advantage in the all-time series. The Vikings picked up a 73-68 victory over Northern Kentucky in the first meeting earlier this season, and have now won six of the last seven matchups.
SCOUTING THE NORSE
Northern Kentucky enters Thursday's game with a 13-9 overall record this season, and a 7-4 mark in Horizon League play…The Norse are currently on a four-game winstreak, and are tied for second place in the #HLWBB standings…Thursday's game will be the first of a two-game roadswing for NKU, as the Norse own a 4-5 record on the road this year…Ally Niece ranks second among league players averaging 3.8 assists per game, while Kailey Coffey ranks fifth with 7.9 rebounds per game, and Molly Glick ranks seventh averaging 12.3 points per game.
LAST TIME OUT…
Cleveland State got back in the win column, picking up an 83-43 victory at UIC to improve to 16-6 on the year. Savanna Crockett led the Vikings with 14 points and 12 rebounds, while Mariah White added 16 points and six assists. As a team, the Vikings shot 43-percent from the floor, and converted 10 three-pointers on the game. CSU recorded 21 assists on 31 made field goals, and notched 11 steals and seven blocked shots.
CROCKETT NOTCHES DOUBLE-DOUBLE AT UIC
Last time out, Savanna Crockett recorded her third double-double of the season, finishing with 14 points and 12 rebounds in the win at UIC. This marked Crockett's second double-double during #HLWBB play, and first since late December when she tallied 15 points and 11 rebounds against IUPUI (12/30/19). So far this season, Crockett is one of six league players to post three or more double-doubles, and has recorded 14 on her career.
…CROCKETT ON BLOCKED SHOTS TOP-10 LIST
Sophomore Savanna Crockett also continues to add to her career blocked shot total, as she enters Thursday's game ranked 10th in the CSU Career Record Book with 68 career blocks. Crockett, who has tallied a block in each of the last four games, has a team-high 22 blocked shots on the year, and is the only active Viking with 60+ blocks on their career. Entering the final stretch of #HLWBB play, Crockett needs just four more blocks to move into ninth place on the list.
VIKINGS TRACKING 20-WIN SEASON
With at least eight 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 16-6 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 earlier this season, while it also marked 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 50 made three-pointers. Braxton leads the league and ranks 33rd nationally with a .420 clip from behind-the-arc, while she also leads #HLWBB players averaging 2.4 three-pointers per game. For her career, Braxton needs just one more shot from behind-the-arc to reach the 100 mark.
CLEVELAND STATE DEFENSIVELY
Entering the seventh week of #HLWBB play, Cleveland State ranks 18th nationally with 232 total steals as one of the best defensive teams in Division I. Last time out, the Vikings recorded 11 steals at UIC, marking the ninth time this season that they have posted 10+ takeaways in a game. Through 22 games, the Vikings have forced their opponents into 389 turnovers, owning a league-best 3.27 turnover margin.
…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 weekend ranked eighth nationally with 73 total steals on the year. White leads the Horizon League averaging 3.3 steals per game, and has posted four takeaways in each of the last two games.
MILLER RECORDS 1,000TH CAREER POINT
Last week, senior Mariah Miller eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for her career, becoming the 30th Viking all-time to reach the milestone. Following a 19-point game at IUPUI and a 13-point game at UIC, Miller currently has 1,022 points on her career. For the season, Miller has posted an even 400 points, and continues to lead the Horizon League averaging 18.2 points per game.
…AND MOVING UP THE CSU CAREER RECORD BOOK
Mariah Miller also continues to add to her career rebound total, entering Thursday's game ranked 18th in the CSU Career Record Book with 586 career boards. Miller, who is the 18th Viking all-time to surpass 575 career rebounds, has a team-high 163 boards so far this year. Miller enters Thursday's game ranked sixth among Horizon League players averaging 7.4 rebounds per game 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 26-26 record at Cleveland State and a 442-142 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 the weekend on Saturday, February 8, hosting Wright State at 2:00 p.m.
