GAME #11
Cleveland State vs. Oakland
Friday, January 29 | 1:00 pm | Wolstein Center
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GAME #12
Cleveland State vs. Oakland
Saturday, January 30 | 1:00 pm | Wolstein Center
Live Stats | Live Video

PDF CLEVELAND STATE GAME NOTES

SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State women's basketball team will close out their current four-game homestand this weekend, hosting Oakland on Friday, January 29 and Saturday, January 30. Entering the weekend, the Vikings stand at 3-7 on the year, while Oakland is 8-7 overall and 8-4 in Horizon League play.

ENTERING THE WEEKEND…
The Vikings will be trying to win back-to-back games for the second time this season…Cleveland State will be looking to even their #HLWBB record at home to 3-3…The Vikings will be trying to extend their current six-game winstreak against Oakland.

THE CLEVELAND STATE/OAKLAND SERIES
This weekend's games will be the 16th and 17th meetings between the two teams in program history, with Cleveland State owning a 10-5 advantage in the overall series. Entering Friday's game, the Vikings have won six straight against Oakland and 10 of the last 12 meetings.

SCOUTING THE GRIZZLIES
Oakland enters the weekend with an 8-7 overall record this season and an 8-4 mark in #HLWBB play…The Grizzlies are currently sixth in the league standings after winning four straight games against Purdue Fort Wayne and Detroit Mercy…Oakland has the second highest scoring offense among league teams (67.0 ppg), with Kahlaijah Dean (4th-15.9 ppg) and Alona Blackwell (18th-10.7 ppg) ranking in the top-20 individually…As a team, the Grizzlies are averaging a league-best 15.4 assists per game, while Kahlaijah Dean leads the individual category with 70 total assists on the year.

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. Last time out, Kielsmeier notched the 450th win of his head coaching career, becoming just the second active #HLWBB coach with 450 career victories. Kielsmeier's 450th win came in a 60-48 decision against Green Bay, marking just the seventh victory over the Phoenix is program history and the first during his tenure.

VIKINGS ON THE GLASS
After entering the weekend averaging just 29.6 rebounds per game and outrebounding their opponent just once through the first eight games, the Vikings picked up their performance on the glass last weekend, averaging 45.5 boards against Green Bay, outrebounding the Phoenix in both games. The quartet of Nadia Dumas, Mariah White, Barbara Zieniewska, and Isabelle Gradwell combined for 56 of Cleveland State's 91 total boards on the weekend, including 21 of the Vikings' 32 offensive rebounds.

WHITE RECORDS FIRST CAREER DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Last weekend, senior Mariah White recorded the first double-double of her collegiate career, finishing with 23 points and 11 rebounds in the first game against Green Bay. White's 23 points marked her third 20-point game of the season and 13th of her career, while the 11 boards marked a career-high. 

…WHITE IN THE #HLWBB STANDINGS
Entering the weekend, Mariah White leads the Horizon League in scoring and steals, averaging 19.4 points and 2.4 steals per game. White, who recorded her 1,000th career point earlier this season, is closing in on the CSU Career Top-10 List in both categories, currently owning 1,064 career points and 193 career takeaways. So far this season, White has posted double-digit points and two or more steals in seven of the nine games she has played in.

DUMAS ON THE OFFENSIVE END
Offensively, Nadia Dumas has been Cleveland State's second leading scorer so far this season, averaging 11.3 points per game. Dumas, who averaged just 3.8 points per game last year, has finished with double-digit points five times so far this season, including a career-high 15 points in back-to-back games at Purdue Fort Wayne. Dumas is shooting 61-percent from the floor (36-for-59) on the year, and most recently finished with a .647 clip in the weekend series against Green Bay (11-for-17). 

LEO FINDING HER RHYTHM
Freshman Destiny Leo had her most complete weekend in a Viking uniform last time out, averaging 14.5 points on a .524 shooting percentage and 4.5 rebounds in the two games against Green Bay. Leo opened the weekend with 14 points and two rebounds in Friday's game, and followed that up with a team-high 15 points and seven boards in Saturday's victory over the Phoenix. Leo combined for seven three-pointers on the weekend, and currently leads all #HLWBB freshman averaging 1.9 three-pointers per game.

GRADWELL FROM BEHIND-THE-ARC
Last time out Isabelle Gradwell finished with a team-high 13 points against Green Bay, helping the Vikings pick up just their seventh victory against the Phoenix in program history. Twelve of Gradwell's 13 points came on four three-pointers, as she was 4-for-6 from behind-the-arc on the game. Gradwell, who earned a spot in the starting lineup against the Phoenix, had combined for just two three-pointers through the first nine games of the season.

VIKINGS WITH THE TAKEAWAY
After the first 10 games of the season the Vikings continue to lead the Horizon League in takeaways, averaging 9.90 steals per game as a team. Through the first 10 games, the Vikings have recorded double-digit steals in five games, including a season-high 14 against Purdue Fort Wayne earlier this season. Mariah White leads the Vikings with 22 total takeaways on the year, while Taylah Levy and Barbara Zieniewska have both recorded 16 steals through the first 10 games.

STARTING LINEUP
Through the first 10 games of the 2020-21 campaign the Vikings have used five different starting lineups with nine different players appearing in the starting five at least once. So far this season, Levy is the only Viking to appear in all 10 starting lineups, while Mariah White (9) and Nadia Dumas (8) have started every game they have played in so far this 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 two #HLWBB series against Oakland and Purdue Fort Wayne, while the Vikings will travel to 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.