GAME #25
Cleveland State at Youngstown State
Saturday, February 15 | 1:00 p.m. | Youngstown, Ohio
Live Stats | Live Video
PDF CLEVELAND STATE GAME NOTES
SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State women's basketball team will hit the road for a single game this weekend, traveling to Youngstown State for a 1:00 p.m. contest on Saturday, February 15. The Vikings enter Saturday's game with a 17-7 record on the year, and a 7-6 mark in #HLWBB play, while Youngstown State currently stands at 13-10 overall and 8-4 in league play.
A WIN ON SATURDAY WOULD…
Put the Vikings back in the win column…Give the Vikings a season sweep over Youngstown State…Mark Cleveland State's second straight road win and third out of their last four road games.
THE CLEVELAND STATE/YOUNGSTOWN STATE SERIES
Saturday's contest will be the 75th meeting between the two teams, with Youngstown State owning a 42-32 advantage in the all-time series. Before Cleveland State's 60-52 victory against the Penguins earlier this season, YSU had won five straight against the Vikings, while Cleveland State's last win at the Beeghly Center came as a 53-43 decision during the 2015-16 season.
SCOUTING THE PENGUINS
Youngstown State enters Saturday's game with an 11-13 overall record this season and a 4-9 mark in Horizon League play…The Penguins are currently on a six-game losing skid, with their last #HLWBB win coming in a 62-47 decision at Detroit Mercy in the middle of January…When playing at home, YSU has posted a 7-5 record so far this season, with Saturday's game marking the third of a five-game homestand…The Penguins enter the weekend as the best free throw shooting team in the league with a .784 clip, while they are tied for first averaging 7.6 three-pointers per game.
LAST TIME OUT…
Cleveland State dropped a close two-point contest to Wright State, falling to the Raiders by a score of 75-73. Mariah Miller and Jade Ely combined for 46 points on the game, while Miller led the CSU rebounding efforts with 10 boards. As a team, the Vikings posted a .466 clip from the field, including shooting 40-percent from behind-the-arc.
VIKINGS TRACKING 20-WIN SEASON
With at least six 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 17-7 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.
MILLER NOTCHES DOUBLE-DOUBLE AGAINST WSU
Last time out, Mariah Miller recorded her fifth double-double of the season, finishing with 26 points and 10 rebounds against Wright State. Miller, who leads the team averaging 18.3 points and ranks second with 7.5 rebounds so far this season, notched her ninth 20-point game of the year against the Raiders. Through 24 games this year, Miller has posted double-digit points on 22 occasions, including four straight entering Saturday's game at YSU.
…MILLER MOVING UP CSU CAREER RECORD BOOK
Following her 10-rebound performance against Wright State, Mariah Miller eclipsed the 600-rebound mark for her career, entering Saturday's game ranked 18th in the CSU Career Record Book with 604 total boards. Miller has a team-high 181 rebounds this season, and ranks sixth among league players averaging 7.5 boards per game. Miller also earned a spot in the defensive rebounds top-10, currently tied for 10th with 422 defensive boards.
ELY RETURNING TO FORM
After sitting out nearly a year following a season-ending injury last January, senior Jade Ely has been returning to her old form over the last two games, as she averaged 13.5 points, 10.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 3.5 steals during last weekend's games against NKU and WSU. Ely, who earned a spot in the starting lineup in both of these games, finished with a season-high 11 rebounds against the Norse and a season-high 20 points against the Raiders.
CLEVELAND STATE DEFENSIVELY
Entering the eighth week of #HLWBB play, Cleveland State ranks 26th nationally with 247 total steals as one of the best defensive teams in Division I. So far this season, the Vikings have recorded 10+ takeaways during 10 games. Through 24 games, the Vikings have forced their opponents into 424 turnovers, owning a league-best 3.38 turnover margin.
…WHITE ON THE DEFENSIVE END
Mariah White continues to be a major factor in the strong Cleveland State defense this season, as she enters the weekend ranked 10th nationally with 76 total steals on the year. White leads the Horizon League averaging 3.2 steals per game, and has posted at least two steals in 20 games this season.
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.
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 27-27 record at Cleveland State and a 443-143 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 return to the Wolstein Center for their final regular season homestand next weekend, hosting Oakland on Friday, February 21 and Detroit Mercy on Sunday, February 23.
