GAME #5
Cleveland State vs. Wright State
Friday, January 8 | 1:00 pm | Cleveland, Ohio
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GAME #6
Cleveland State vs. Wright State
Saturday, January 9 | 1:00 pm | Cleveland, Ohio
Live Stats | Live Video

PDF CLEVELAND STATE GAME NOTES

SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State women's basketball team will continue the 2020-21 campaign this weekend, playing at home for the first time when they welcome Wright State for a two-game series at the Wolstein Center on Friday, January 8 and Saturday, January 9. Entering the weekend the Vikings stand at 2-2 on the year, while the Raiders are 5-3 overall and 5-1 in Horizon League play.

ENTERING THE WEEKEND…
The Vikings will be trying to extend their current winstreak to four straight games…Cleveland State will be looking to improve to 12-3 at the Wolstein Center over the last two seasons…Head coach Chris Kielsmeier owns 449 career wins, needing just one more victory to reach the 450-win milestone.

THE CLEVELAND STATE/WRIGHT STATE SERIES
This weekend's games will be the 79th and 80th meetings between the two teams in program history, with Wright State owning a slight 40-38 advantage in the all-time series. The last time these two teams faced off was in the Horizon League Quarterfinals last March, with Cleveland State earning a 63-52 upset victory. This marked the first win for CSU over the last six games against the Raiders.

SCOUTING THE RAIDERS
Wright State enters the weekend with a 5-3 overall record and a 5-1 mark in Horizon League play…Last time out, the Raiders swept the weekend series against Youngstown State, extending their current winstreak to three straight games…Earlier this year, Wright State was selected third in the #HLWBB Preseason Poll, while Angel Baker and Shamarre Hale were named to #HLWBB Preseason Teams…As a team, Wright State leads the league in rebounding (46.0 rpg) and blocked shots (4.1 bpg), while Tyler Frierson (3rd, 8.4 rpg & 5th, 1.1 bpg) is the highest ranked Raider in both individual categories.

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 weekend with 449 career victories, needing just one more win to reach the 450-win milestone. Kielsmeier, who has recorded 33 of his wins with the Vikings - including a 21-win campaign last year - would become the second active #HLWBB coach with 450 career victories.

CSU AT THE WOLSTEIN CENTER
For the first time in over 291 days the Vikings are set to play on their home court this weekend, looking to continue their home court advantage that they held last season when they finished the 2019-20 campaign with a 10-3 mark at the Wolstein Center. Entering the weekend, Cleveland State is on a three-game winstreak inside the friendly confines of the Wolstein Center, including an 84-48 victory over Youngstown State in the First Round of the last year's Horizon League Tournament. Friday's game will be the first of eight scheduled games at the Wolstein Center during the remainder of the 2020-21 campaign.

LEO HAS BREAKOUT GAME AGAINST MASTODONS
Last time out, freshman Destiny Leo posted her best offensive performance of the young season, finishing with 19 points on a .600 clip from the floor (6-for-10). Leo notched 15 of her points on a handful of three-pointers, becoming the only #HLWBB freshman to convert five or more shots from behind-the-arc in a single-game this season. Entering the weekend, Leo is averaging 8.8 points per game, and leads the Vikings with seven total three-pointers.

DUMAS NOTCHES BACK-TO-BACK CAREER-HIGH GAMES
Senior Nadia Dumas made her first appearances of the 2020-21 campaign last time out, posting a career-high 15 points in back-to-back games at Purdue Fort Wayne. Dumas shot 66-percent from the floor in both games, while she added five rebounds and a career-high tying four blocks in game one and nine boards in game two. Entering the weekend, Dumas ranks second on the team averaging 15.0 points per game, while she leads Cleveland State averaging 7.0 rebounds per contest.

WHITE HAS CAREER-HIGH GAME
Senior Mariah White had a career-high game against the Mastodons last weekend, finishing with 36 points at Purdue Fort Wayne on Friday to mark the second 30-point game of her career. White's 36-point performance is tied for the fifth highest single-game total at Cleveland State, while it's the highest single-game total among #HLWBB players this season. Entering the weekend, White has 961 points on her career, needing just 39 more points to become the 31st Viking to eclipse the 1,000-point plateau. 

…WHITE IN THE #HLWBB STANDINGS
Entering the weekend, Mariah White leads the Horizon League in scoring and steals, averaging 24.0 points and 3.0 steals per game. White also ranks in the top-30 nationally in both categories, ranking 11th among Division I scoring leaders and 28th with her 3.0 steals per game. Through her first three games of the 2020-21 season, White has posted 15+ points and two or more steals in every game.

VIKINGS WITH THE TAKEAWAY
After the first four games of the season the Vikings are picking up right where they left off last year, averaging 11.75 steals per game as a team. Entering the weekend, Cleveland State leads the league as one of only two #HLWBB teams to be averaging double-digit takeaways on the year. Through the first four games, the Vikings have recorded double-digit steals in three of the four games, including a season-high 14 against Purdue Fort Wayne in game one of the weekend.

STARTING LINEUP
Through the first four games of the 2020-21 campaign the Vikings have used three different starting lineups with nine different players appearing in the starting five at least once. Last time out, Isabella Geraci, Barbara Zieniewska, Taylah Levy, Mariah White, and Nadia Dumas made up the starting lineup in both games at Purdue Fort Wayne. So far this season, Levy is the only Viking to appear in all four starting lineups. 

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 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 return to the road for a two-game series at Milwaukee, facing the Panthers on Friday, January 15 and Saturday, January 16.