Posted: Feb 26, 2020
GAME #28
Cleveland State at Green Bay
Thursday, February 27 | 12:00 p.m. EST | Green Bay, Wis.
Live Stats | Live Video
PDF CLEVELAND STATE GAME NOTES
SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State women's basketball team will close out the 2019-20 regular season this weekend, beginning with a 12:00 p.m. EST contest at Green Bay on Thursday, February 27. The Vikings enter Thursday's game with a 19-8 record on the year, and a 9-7 mark in #HLWBB play, while Green Bay currently stands at 16-12 overall and 11-5 in league play.
A WIN ON THURSDAY WOULD…
Put the Vikings on a three-game winstreak for the second time this season…Mark the first 20-win campaign for the Vikings since the 2010-11 season…Give Cleveland State double-digit league wins for the first time under head coach Chris Kielsmeier.
THE CLEVELAND STATE/GREEN BAY SERIES
Thursday's contest will be the 73rd meeting between the two teams, with Green Bay owning a 66-6 advantage in the all-time series. Cleveland State's last victory over the Phoenix came as a 71-60 decision during the 2017-18 campaign - an upset victory over Green Bay who was ranked in the top-25 nationally at the time.
SCOUTING THE PHOENIX
Green Bay enters Thursday's contest with a 16-12 overall record on the season, and an 11-5 mark against Horizon League opponents…heading into the final week of regular season play, the Phoenix are tied for second in the #HLWBB standings, fighting for a bye into the semifinals of the upcoming Horizon League Tournament…Green Bay has won four straight entering Thursday's game, including a 61-58 victory over league-leading IUPUI last time out…The Phoenix own a league-best 1.35 assist-to-turnover ratio this season, while they sit right behind the Vikings with a 2.43 turnover margin.
LAST TIME OUT…
The Vikings closed out their regular season home schedule with a 68-63 victory over Detroit Mercy, posting back-to-back wins for the fifth time this season. For the second straight game the Vikings had two players finish with a double-double, as Savanna Crockett recorded 23 points and 13 rebounds and Mariah Miller finished with 14 points and 12 boards. As a team, the Vikings grabbed 17 steals on the game, including five from Jade Ely and four from Mariah White.
VIKINGS CLINCH HOME GAME IN #HLWBB FIRST ROUND
With the back-to-back wins against Oakland and Detroit Mercy last weekend, the Vikings clinched a first round home game in the upcoming Horizon League Tournament. First round games will be held on Tuesday, March 3, with winners advancing to quarterfinal games on Thursday, March 5. This will be the first time since the 2014-15 season that Cleveland State will host a Horizon League Tournament game.
VIKINGS TRACKING 20-WIN SEASON
With at least three 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 19-8 record on the year. This marks the third time over the last six seasons that the Vikings have reached the 19-win mark, while it is the first time under head coach Chris Kielsmeier.
CROCKETT NAMED #HLWBB PLAYER OF THE WEEK
After averaging a double-double with 22.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per game last weekend, Savanna Crockett was named the Horizon League Player of the Week. Crockett posted back-to-back 20-point games - marking just the second and third 20-point performances of her career. Against Oakland, Crockett finished with 21 points and seven boards, while she followed that up with 23 points and 13 rebounds against Detroit Mercy. Crockett is the third Viking to be honored by the Horizon League this season.
…CROCKETT ON BLOCKED SHOTS TOP-10 LIST
Sophomore Savanna Crockett also combined for four blocked shots in the two games last weekend, moving into a tie for ninth place in the CSU Career Record Book with 72 career blocks. Crockett now has 26 blocked shots on the season, and is the only active Viking with 70+ blocks on their career. Entering the final weekend of #HLWBB regular season play, Crockett needs nine more blocks to move into eighth place on the list.
MILLER NOTCHES SECOND STRAIGHT DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Playing in her final regular season home games in the Wolstein Center, senior Mariah Miller posted back-to-back double-doubles against Oakland and Detroit Mercy last time out, including a 14-point, 12-rebound effort against the Titans. Miller has now recorded seven double-doubles on the season - one of just two #HLWBB players to reach that mark - and is tied for second in scoring (17.5 ppg) and tied for fourth in rebounding (7.8 rpg) in the league standings.
…MILLER MOVING UP CSU CAREER RECORD BOOK
Senior Mariah Miller continues to move up the CSU Career Rebounding Charts, as she enters Thursday's game ranked 16th with 633 total rebounds and ninth with 439 defensive boards. Miller, who is one of just 18 Vikings all-time to eclipse 600 rebounds, is now just eight boards shy of moving into 15th place on the list.
DUMAS IN THE STARTING LINEUP
After the first 27 games of the season, redshirt sophomore Nadia Dumas is the only Viking to have appeared in the starting lineup during all 27 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, 3.1 rebounds and 0.8 blocks per game, while she is the team's most efficient shooter with a .500 clip from the floor (45-for-90).
BRAXTON FROM BEHIND-THE-ARC
Sophomore JaMiya Braxton has been Cleveland State's top three-point shooter this season, entering Thursday's game with 61 made three-pointers.Braxton leads the league and ranks 31st nationally with a .418 clip from behind-the-arc, while she ranks second among #HLWBB players averaging 2.3 three-pointers per game. Entering Thursday's game, Braxton has converted at least one three-pointer in 14 straight games, and is just one three-pointer shy of moving into the top-10 list in the CSU Single-Season Record Book.
CLEVELAND STATE DEFENSIVELY
Entering the final week of #HLWBB play, Cleveland State ranks 25th nationally with 275 total steals as one of the best defensive teams in Division I. So far this season, the Vikings have recorded 10+ takeaways during 11 games, including 17 steals against Detroit Mercy last time out. Through 27 games, the Vikings have forced their opponents into 476 turnovers, owning a league-best 3.37 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 Thursday's game ranked 11th nationally with 82 total steals on the year. White leads the Horizon League averaging 3.0 steals per game, and has posted at least two steals in 21 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 29-28 record at Cleveland State and a 445-144 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 travel to Milwaukee for its regular season finale, taking on the Panthers at 2:00 p.m. EST on Saturday, February 29.
