Posted: Feb 28, 2020
GAME #29
Cleveland State at Milwaukee
Saturday, February 29 | 2:00 p.m. EST | Milwaukee, 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 on Saturday, February 29, traveling to Milwaukee for a 2:00 p.m. EST contest. The Vikings enter Saturday's game with a 19-9 record on the year, and a 9-8 mark in #HLWBB play, while Milwaukee currently stands at 13-15 overall and 10-7 in league play.
A WIN ON SATURDAY WOULD…
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…Give the Vikings a victory in the 2020 regular season finale.
THE CLEVELAND STATE/MILWAUKEE SERIES
Saturday's contest will be the 58th meeting between the two teams, with Milwaukee owning a 33-24 advantage in the all-time series. Cleveland State picked up a 58-49 victory against the Panthers in the first meeting earlier this year, snapping a nine-game winstreak that Milwaukee had in the series.
SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
Milwaukee enters Saturday's game with a 13-15 overall record, including a 10-7 mark against Horizon League opponents…The Panthers have won two straight games entering Saturday's contest, picking up wins over Youngstown State (59-54) and UIC (66-60)…So far this season, the Panthers have posted a 9-5 record when playing at home…Milwaukee currently sits in fifth place in the league standings, as the Panthers are one of five teams to reach double-digit #HLWBB wins this season…The Panthers are one of the best free throw shooting teams in the league, while Brandi Bisping leads the league individually with a .898 free throw percentage.
LAST TIME OUT…
The Vikings played in their third Kids Day Game of the season at Green Bay on Thursday, dropping an 81-51 contest against the Phoenix. Mariah White finished with a team-high 15 points, while JaMiya Braxton and Isabelle Gradwell both converted four three-pointers to finish with 12 points each. As a team, the Vikings recorded seven steals on the game, including five from 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. Cleveland State's First Round opponent will be determined on Saturday, February 29 following the conclusion of regular season play.
VIKINGS TRACKING 20-WIN SEASON
With at least two 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 19-9 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.
DUMAS IN THE STARTING LINEUP
After the first 28 games of the season, redshirt sophomore Nadia Dumas is the only Viking to have appeared in the starting lineup during all 28 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 3.9 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 Saturday's game with 65 made three-pointers.Braxton leads the league and ranks 29th nationally with a .419 clip from behind-the-arc, while she also leads #HLWBB players averaging 2.4 three-pointers per game. Entering Saturday's game, Braxton has converted at least one three-pointer in 15 straight games, and is now tied for sixth in the CSU Single-Season Record Book with her 65 three-pointers on the year.
CLEVELAND STATE DEFENSIVELY
Entering the regular season finale, Cleveland State ranks 25th nationally with 282 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. Through 28 games, the Vikings have forced their opponents into 491 turnovers, owning a league-best 3.21 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 Saturday's game ranked 10th nationally with 87 total steals on the year. White leads the Horizon League averaging 3.1 steals per game, and is just four steals shy of moving into the top-10 in the CSU Single-Season Record Book with her 87 takeaways on the year.
MILLER MOVING UP CSU CAREER RECORD BOOK
Senior Mariah Miller continues to move up the CSU Career Rebounding Charts, as she enters Saturday's game ranked 16th with 637 total rebounds and ninth with 443 defensive boards. Miller, who is one of just 18 Vikings all-time to eclipse 600 rebounds, is now just four boards shy of moving into 15th place on the list.
…CROCKETT ON BLOCKED SHOTS TOP-10 LIST
Sophomore Savanna Crockett also continues to climb the CSU Career Record Book, as she moved into a tie for ninth place after last weekend's games 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.
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 29-29 record at Cleveland State and a 445-145 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 begin the 2020 Horizon League Tournament with a First Round game on Tuesday, March 3. Tuesday's game will take place at the Wolstein Center, with their opponent to be determined based on Saturday's results.
