GAME #26
Cleveland State vs. Oakland
Friday, February 21 | 7:00 p.m. | Wolstein Center
Live Stats | Live Video
PDF CLEVELAND STATE GAME NOTES
SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State women's basketball team will return home for the final time during regular season play this weekend, beginning with a 7:00 p.m. contest against Oakland on Friday, February 21. The Vikings enter Friday's game with a 17-8 record on the year, and an even 7-7 mark in #HLWBB play, while Oakland currently stands at 10-15 overall and 5-9 in league play.
A WIN ON FRIDAY WOULD…
Put the Vikings back in the win column…Give the Vikings a season sweep over Oakland…Make CSU the second Horizon League team to reach 18 wins on the season.
THE CLEVELAND STATE/OAKLAND SERIES
Friday's contest will be the 15th meeting between the two teams, with Cleveland State owning a 9-5 advantage in the all-time series. The Vikings picked up a 79-58 victory in the first meeting this year, and have won five straight and seven of the last eight entering Friday's contest.
SCOUTING THE GRIZZLIES
Oakland enters Friday's game with a 10-15 overall record on the season, including a 5-9 mark against Horizon League opponents…The Grizzlies are currently on a three-game losing skid, with their last victory coming in a 63-46 decision over UIC earlier this month…Oakland is in the midst of a four-game roadswing and stands at 3-10 when playing away from home this season…In the #HLWBB standings, Oakland is currently tied for seventh and is just two games out of sixth place…Oakland is one of the better free throw shooting teams in the league, as they rank second with a .749 clip, while Jalisha Terry ranks second individually in the category (.860).
LAST TIME OUT…
The Vikings dropped an 84-72 contest at Youngstown State, marking just the second time this season that they have lost back-to-back games. Mariah White led the Viking offense with a career-high 33 points, while JaMiya Braxton a three-pointer for the 12th straight game. As a team, CSU committed just nine turnovers, marking the fourth time this season that the Vikings have had 10 or fewer turnovers.
VIKINGS TRACKING 20-WIN SEASON
With at least five games left to play this season, Cleveland State is tracking down its first 20-win campaign since 2010-11, entering Friday's game with a 17-8 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.
WHITE NOTCHES CAREER-HIGH AT YOUNGSTOWN STATE
Last time out, Mariah White led the Viking offense with a career-high 33 points at Youngstown State, marking the first 30-point game of her career. White tallied her 33 points on a 12-for-25 shooting night, marking the second time out of the last three games that she has converted 10 or more field goals. White's 33 points marked the most points by an opposing player at the Beeghly Center since the 2010-11 season.
…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 11th nationally with 77 total steals on the year. White leads the Horizon League averaging 3.1 steals per game, and has posted at least two steals in 20 games this season.
DUMAS IN THE STARTING LINEUP
After the first 25 games of the season, redshirt sophomore Nadia Dumas is the only Viking to have appeared in the starting lineup during all 25 games. Dumas, who became part of the starting five for the first time in her career this season, is one of 15 Horizon League players to appear in the starting lineup during every game. For the season, Dumas is averaging 4.0 points, 3.2 rebounds and 0.9 blocks per game, while she is the team's most efficient shooter with a .482 clip from the floor (41-for-85).
BRAXTON FROM BEHIND-THE-ARC
Sophomore JaMiya Braxton has been Cleveland State's top three-point shooter this season, entering Friday's game with 56 made three-pointers.Braxton leads the league and ranks 24th nationally with a .424 clip from behind-the-arc, while she ranks second among #HLWBB players averaging 2.3 three-pointers per game. Entering Friday's game, Braxton has converted at least one three-pointer in 12 straight games.
MILLER MOVING UP CSU CAREER RECORD BOOK
Senior Mariah Miller continues to move up the CSU Career Rebounding Charts, as she enters Friday's game ranked 18th with 607 total rebounds and 10th with 424 defensive boards. Miller, who is one of just 18 Vikings all-time to eclipse 600 rebounds, is just eight boards shy of moving into 17th place on the list. Miller has a team-high 184 rebounds this season, and ranks sixth among league players averaging 7.4 boards per game.
…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.
CLEVELAND STATE DEFENSIVELY
Entering the ninth week of #HLWBB play, Cleveland State ranks 33rd nationally with 252 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 25 games, the Vikings have forced their opponents into 438 turnovers, owning a league-best 3.44 turnover margin.
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 27-28 record at Cleveland State and a 443-144 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 host its final regular season contest on Sunday, February 23, hosting Detroit Mercy at 2:00 p.m. Sunday's game will serve as Senior Day for the Vikings, as the team will honor the senior duo of Jade Ely and Mariah Miller prior to tipoff.
