GAME #24
Cleveland State vs. Wright State
Saturday, February 8 | 3:00 p.m. | Wolstein Center
Live Stats | Live Video
PDF CLEVELAND STATE GAME NOTES
SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State women's basketball team will close out its brief two-game homestand on Saturday, February 8, hosting Wright State in a 2:00 p.m. contest. The Vikings enter Saturday's game with a 17-6 record on the year, and a 7-5 mark in #HLWBB play, while Wright State currently stands at 13-10 overall and 8-4 in league play.
A WIN ON SATURDAY WOULD…
Put the Vikings on a three-game winstreak…Give the Vikings a season split against Wright State…Keep CSU perfect during the month of February.
THE CLEVELAND STATE/WRIGHT STATE SERIES
Saturday's contest will be the 77th meeting between the two teams, with Wright State owning a slight 39-37 edge in the all-time series. Wright State has won four straight entering Saturday's contest, including a 78-62 decision earlier this season. Cleveland State's last win over the Raiders came during the 2017-18 campaign, when the Vikings posted a 70-63 win.
SCOUTING THE RAIDERS
Wright State enters Saturday's game with a 13-10 record on the year, including an 8-4 mark in Horizon League play…Last time out, the Raiders snapped a two-game losing skid with a 67-54 win at Youngstown State, moving into second place in the #HLWBB standings…WSU's two games this week mark the Raiders' only road games over a nine-game stretch…Wright State currently leads the league averaging 42.9 rebounds per game, including a league-high 380 total offensive boards…Individually, Tyler Frierson ranks second averaging 8.8 rebounds per game, while Angel Baker sits third averaging 17.0 points per contest.
LAST TIME OUT…
Cleveland State used a 30-point third quarter and a 28-point performance from Mariah White to pick up a 66-62 come-from-behind win against Northern Kentucky. White was 11-for-20 from the field on the game, while the Vikings shot 41-percent as a team (27-for-65). Jade Ely earned a spot in the starting lineup and grabbed a season-high 11 rebounds, while she also tallied a team-best five steals and four assists.
WHITE JUST SHY OF CAREER HIGH AGAINST NKU
Last time out, Mariah White was just shy of tying her career high, finishing with a game-high 28 points in the win over Northern Kentucky. White posted an 11-for-20 performance from the floor, including a 3-for-4 effort from behind-the-arc. This marked the third 20-point game for White this season, as she is now one of nine league players with three or more 20-point games on the year.
…WHITE ON THE DEFENSIVE END
Mariah White also continues to be a major factor in the strong Cleveland State defense this season, as she enters the weekend ranked eighth nationally with 75 total steals on the year. White leads the Horizon League averaging 3.3 steals per game, and has posted at least two steals in 20 games this season.
VIKINGS TRACKING 20-WIN SEASON
With at least seven games left to play this season, Cleveland State is tracking down its first 20-win campaign since 2010-11, entering Saturday's game with a 17-6 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 RECORDS 100th CAREER THREE-POINTER
With a pair of shots from behind-the-arc against Northern Kentucky last time out, sophomore JaMiya Braxton eclipsed the 100 mark for her career, entering Saturday's contest with 101 career three-pointers. For the season, Braxton has converted 52 three-pointers, and leads the Horizon League averaging 2.4 per game. Braxton is also one of the most efficient shooters from behind-the-arc, as she leads the league and ranks 30th nationally with a .419 clip from three-point range this season.
CLEVELAND STATE DEFENSIVELY
Entering the seventh week of #HLWBB play, Cleveland State ranks 18th nationally with 242 total steals as one of the best defensive teams in Division I. Last time out, the Vikings recorded 10 steals against Northern Kentucky, marking the 10th time this season that they have posted 10+ takeaways in a game. Through 23 games, the Vikings have forced their opponents into 409 turnovers, owning a league-best 3.48 turnover margin.
CROCKETT ON BLOCKED SHOTS TOP-10 LIST
Sophomore Savanna Crockett continues to add to her career blocked shot total, as she is currently 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 she has played in, has 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.
…MILLER MOVING UP CSU CAREER RECORD BOOK
Mariah Miller also continues to add to her career rebound total, entering Saturday's game ranked 18th in the CSU Career Record Book with 594 career boards. Miller, who is the 18th Viking all-time to surpass 575 career rebounds, has a team-high 171 boards so far this year. Miller enters Saturday'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 27-26 record at Cleveland State and a 443-142 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
The Vikings will hit the road for a single game next weekend, traveling to Youngstown State for a 1:00 p.m. game on Saturday, February 15.
