GAME #3
Cleveland State at Purdue Fort Wayne
Friday, January 1 | 7:00 pm | Fort Wayne, Ind.
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GAME #4
Cleveland State at Purdue Fort Wayne
Saturday, January 2 | 7:00 pm | Fort Wayne, Ind.
Live Stats | Live Video
PDF CLEVELAND STATE GAME NOTES
SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State women's basketball team will return to action this weekend, traveling to Purdue Fort Wayne for a pair of games on Friday, January 1 and Saturday, January 2. The Vikings, who have been idle for the last two weeks, will be playing in just their third and fourth games of the 2020-21 season when they take the court against the Mastodons.
ENTERING THE WEEKEND…
The Vikings will be trying to even their #HLWBB record on the season…Cleveland State will be facing Purdue Fort Wayne for the first time as Horizon League opponents…Head coach Chris Kielsmeier owns 447 career wins, needing just three more victories to reach the 450-win milestone.
THE CLEVELAND STATE/PURDUE FORT WAYNE SERIES
This weekend's games will be the seventh and eighth meetings between the two teams in program history, with Cleveland State owning a 5-1 edge in the overall series. This will be the first meeting between the two teams since the 2010-11 season, while it will also be the first matchup as Horizon League opponents.
SCOUTING THE MASTODONS
Purdue Fort Wayne enters the weekend with an 0-6 overall record on the season, including an 0-4 mark in #HLWBB play…PFW opened their first season in the Horizon League with a weekend series at IUPUI, and most recently hosted Northern Kentucky…Riley Ott has been Purdue Fort Wayne's leading scorer so far this season, ranking ninth among league players averaging 12.8 points per game…Shayla Sellers ranks second in the #HLWBB stats averaging 1.7 blocked shots per game, while Hannah Hess ranks fourth with 2.3 steals per game.
THE VIKINGS
Cleveland State returns eight letterwinners from last season's squad, including the duo of Mariah White and Nadia Dumas who appeared in the starting lineup in all but one game for the Vikings last year. This duo is joined by Isabelle Gradwell and Taylah Levy who played significant time for the Vikings last year, along with Isabella Geraci, Aminata Ly and Julia Hintz. This experienced group will be joined by five true freshmen and two junior transfers to give head coach Chris Kielsmeier a well-rounded roster for the season.
…HEAD COACH CHRIS KIELSMEIER
The Vikings will be under the direction of third-year head coach Chris Kielsmeier during the 2020-21 campaign. Kielsmeier enters the season with 447 career victories, needing just three more wins to reach the 450-win milestone. Kielsmeier, who has recorded 31 of his wins with the Vikings - including a 21-win campaign last year - would become the second active #HLWBB coach with 450 career victories.
VIKINGS WITH THE TAKEAWAY
After the first two games of the season the Vikings are picking up right where they left off last year, averaging 10.0 steals per game as a team. Entering the weekend, Cleveland State ranks second in the league as one of only two #HLWBB teams to be averaging double-digit takeaways on the year. During the first weekend of play, the Vikings grabbed nine steals in game one at IUPUI, and followed that up with 11 steals in game two against the Jaguars.
GERACI FROM BEHIND-THE-ARC
Through two games so far this season, junior Isabella Geraci has been on fire from behind-the-arc, going 5-for-7 from three-point in two games against IUPUI. Entering the weekend, Geraci leads the Horizon League with a .714 clip from behind-the-arc, and ranks fourth averaging 2.5 three-pointers per game. In the season opener, Geraci notched a career-high three three-pointers, while she was a perfect 2-for-2 from three-point range in the second game of the weekend.
FRESH FACES IN THE GREEN & WHITE
During the season opener at IUPUI on December 19, all seven of Cleveland State's newcomers made their first appearances in a Viking uniform, including Destiny Leo and Barbara Zieniewska who earned a spot in the starting lineup. Leo (7 pts) and classmate Raevyn Harris (4 pts) recorded their first collegiate points in the season opener, while junior transfer ZaMaria Polk (5 pts) posted her first points as a Viking against IUPUI.
STARTING LINEUP
Through the first two games of the 2020-21 campaign the Vikings have used two different starting lineups, with Aminata Ly and Taylah Levy earning a spot in the starting five during both contests. This marked the first time that Ly appeared in the starting lineup during her time at Cleveland State, while Levy was making her third and fourth career starts.
WHITE NAMED #HLWBB PRESEASON FIRST TEAM
Following an excellent junior season, Mariah White was named to the #HLWBB Preseason First Team earlier this year, becoming the third Viking to earn a spot on a preseason team under head coach Chris Kielsmeier. Last year, White was named the Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year after leading the league with 3.0 steals per game and ranking 10th nationally with 96 total steals. White was also one of Cleveland State's top offensive players, averaging 15.7 points per game along with 3.2 assists per game to earn a spot on the #HLWBB Second Team.
…AND RETURNING TO FORM DURING 2020-21
Last time out, senior Mariah White picked up where she left off, leading the Vikings with 19 points, three assists and three steals against IUPUI in her first game of the 2020-21 season. White, who eclipsed the 900-point mark for her career last time out, enters the weekend with 908 career points. The reigning #HLWBB Defensive Player of the Year is also closing in on the CSU Career Record Book top-10 steals list, as her three takeaways against the Jaguars put her at 174 steals for her career. White would be the first Viking to earn a spot on the top-10 steals list since Cori Coleman during the 2014-15 season.
2020-21 #HLWBB PLAY
This year's Horizon League schedule will have a different look to it, as the Vikings will face the same opponent in back-to-back games each weekend. Cleveland State is still scheduled to host four #HLWBB series against Wright State, Green Bay, Oakland, and Purdue Fort Wayne, while the Vikings will travel to Purdue Fort Wayne, Milwaukee, Detroit Mercy, and Youngstown State throughout the rest of the 2020-21 campaign.
VIKINGS ON THE DEAN'S LIST
With the 2020 Fall Semester in the books, the Vikings posted one of their best semesters in program history, finishing with a 3.50 Team GPA for the term. In addition, 10 Vikings earned a spot on the Cleveland State University Dean's List (Dana DeGraffenreid, Nadia Dumas, Isabella Geraci, Isabelle Gradwell, Meghan Kenefick, Destiny Leo, Elie Smith, Julia Hintz, Mariah White, Barbara Zieniewska), while Taylah Levy was named to the Cleveland State University President's List.
UP NEXT
Cleveland State will have home court advantage for the first time this season next weekend, when the Vikings host Wright State on Friday, January 8 and Saturday, January 9.
