GAME #27
Cleveland State vs. Detroit Mercy
Sunday, February 23 | 2:00 p.m. | Wolstein Center
Live Stats | Live Video
PDF CLEVELAND STATE GAME NOTES
SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State women's basketball team will host its final regular season game in the Wolstein Center Sunday afternoon, as the Vikings welcome Detroit Mercy for a 2:00 p.m. game. The Vikings enter Sunday's game with an 18-8 record on the year, and an 8-7 mark in #HLWBB play, while Detroit Mercy currently stands at 3-23 overall and 3-12 in league play.
A WIN ON SUNDAY WOULD…
Give the Vikings back-to-back wins…Give Cleveland State a 9-3 record during regular season play at the Wolstein Center this season…Keep the Vikings in fifth place in the #HLWBB standings entering the final week of regular season play.
THE CLEVELAND STATE/DETROIT MERCY SERIES
Sunday's contest will be the 64th meeting between the two teams, with Detroit Mercy owning a 41-22 advantage in the all-time series. Earlier this season, the Titans were able to claim a 70-59 victory against Cleveland State, snapping a four-game winstreak for the Vikings in the series.
SCOUTING THE TITANS
Detroit Mercy enters Sunday's game with a 3-23 overall record on the year, and owns a 3-12 record in Horizon League play…The Titans are currently on a three-game losing skid, with their last victory coming in a 58-52 decision against UIC earlier this month…Sunday's contest will be the final road game of the regular season for the Titans, as Detroit Mercy will close out the regular season at home against Northern Kentucky and Wright State next weekend…Detroit Mercy's Zoey Oatis ranks among the league's best in steals, as she sits fourth averaging 1.6 takeaways per game.
LAST TIME OUT…
The Vikings got back in the win column with an 83-64 victory over Oakland, led by four players finishing with double-digit points and two players finishing with double-doubles. Savanna Crockett finished with a team-high 21 points, while Mariah Miller grabbed a team-best 14 boards. As a team, the Vikings outrebounded Oakland 54-34, including 22 offensive boards.
VIKINGS TRACKING 20-WIN SEASON
With at least four games left to play this season, Cleveland State is tracking down its first 20-win campaign since 2010-11, entering Sunday's game with an 18-8 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.
2020 SENIOR DAY
Sunday's game against Detroit Mercy will serve as Senior Day for Cleveland State, as the Vikings will be honoring the duo of Jade Ely and Mariah Miller prior to tipoff. This duo has been a key part to the Viking lineup throughout their careers at Cleveland State, and will be trying to help the Vikings reach the 20-win plateau for the first time during their time in the Green & White.
…ELY & MILLER RECORD DOUBLE-DOUBLES AGAINST OAKLAND
In one of their last games in the Wolstein Center, the senior duo of Jade Ely and Mariah Miller both recorded double-doubles against the Grizzlies last time out, as Ely finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds and Miller recorded 11 points and 14 boards. This marked the first time this season that two Vikings posted double-doubles in the same game, while it was the sixth double-double of the season for Miller and first for Ely.
CROCKETT HAS STRONG SHOWING IN RETURN TO LINEUP
After missing a trio of games against Northern Kentucky, Wright State and Youngstown State, sophomore Savanna Crockett returned to the lineup against Oakland last time out and had one of her best games of the season. Crockett finished with a season-high 21 points on a 9-for-16 performance, and grabbed seven rebounds, two blocked shots, one steal, and one assist. Crockett's 21-points marks just the second 20-point game of her career, while she became the fifth Viking to record 20+ points in a single-game this year.
BRAXTON FROM BEHIND-THE-ARC
Sophomore JaMiya Braxton has been Cleveland State's top three-point shooter this season, entering Sunday's game with 59 made three-pointers.Braxton leads the league and ranks 31st nationally with a .418 clip from behind-the-arc, while she is tied for first among #HLWBB players averaging 2.4 three-pointers per game. Entering Sunday's game, Braxton has converted at least one three-pointer in 13 straight games.
MILLER MOVING UP CSU CAREER RECORD BOOK
Senior Mariah Miller continues to move up the CSU Career Rebounding Charts, as she enters Sunday's game ranked 17th with 621 total rebounds and 10th with 430 defensive boards. Miller, who is one of just 18 Vikings all-time to eclipse 600 rebounds, is just eight boards shy of moving into 16th place on the list. Miller has a team-high 198 rebounds this season, and ranks fifth among league players averaging 7.6 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 70 career blocks. Crockett, who recorded a pair of blocked shots against Oakland last time out, has 24 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 two more blocks to move into ninth place on the list.
CLEVELAND STATE DEFENSIVELY
Entering the ninth week of #HLWBB play, Cleveland State ranks 35th nationally with 258 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 26 games, the Vikings have forced their opponents into 453 turnovers, owning a league-best 3.23 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 Sunday's game ranked 12th nationally with 78 total steals on the year. White leads the Horizon League averaging 3.0 steals per game, and has posted at least two steals in 20 games this season.
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 28-28 record at Cleveland State and a 444-144 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
The Vikings will close out the regular season on the road next weekend, traveling to Green Bay (Thursday, February 27) and Milwaukee (Saturday, February 29).
