GAME #16
Cleveland State at Youngstown State
Friday, February 19 | 2:00 pm | Youngstown, Ohio
Live Stats | Live Video
GAME #17
Cleveland State at Youngstown State
Satuday, February 20 | 2:00 pm | Youngstown, Ohio
Live Stats | Live Video
PDF CLEVELAND STATE GAME NOTES
SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State women's basketball team will finish out the regular season this weekend, traveling to Youngstown State for a pair of games on Friday, February 19 and Saturday, February 20. Entering the weekend, the Vikings stand at 8-7 overall this year and 7-7 in league play, while Youngstown State is 8-6 on the season in #HLWBB action.
ENTERING THE WEEKEND…
Cleveland State will be looking to extend its current six-game winstreak…The Vikings will be trying for their fourth series sweep of the season…Cleveland State will be looking to stay unbeaten during the month of February.
THE CLEVELAND STATE/YOUNGSTOWN STATE SERIES
This weekend's games will be the 77th and 78th meetings between the two teams in program history, with Youngstown State owning a 43-33 edge in the overall series. Last season, the Vikings won two out of the three meetings, including an 84-48 victory in the First Round of the Horizon League Tournament.
SCOUTING THE PENGUINS
Youngstown State enters the weekend with an 8-6 record on the season, most recently dropping a pair of games at IUPUI…Prior to the IUPUI series, YSU had won three straight games over Purdue Fort Wayne and Robert Morris…The Penguins are currently on a five-game winstreak when playing at home…YSU is one of the best shooting teams in the Horizon League, as they rank second with a .449 clip from the field, while also ranking second with a .339 clip from behind-the-arc…Individually, Chelsea Olson leads the league averaging 4.7 assists per game, while Mary Dunn ranks seventh as YSU's leading scorer with 15.2 points per game.
LAST TIME OUT
The Vikings picked up their third series sweep of the year, earning back-to-back wins over Purdue Fort Wayne to close out their regular season home slate. This marked the second weekend series against the Mastodons for the Vikings this year, as CSU finished the weekend with a perfect 4-0 mark against Purdue Fort Wayne this season.
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 are under the direction of third-year head coach Chris Kielsmeier during the 2020-21 campaign. Earlier this season, 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 EXTEND WIN STREAK
Cleveland State enters Friday's game at Youngstown State on a six-game win streak that dates back to a 60-48 victory over Green Bay on January 23. During this stretch, the Vikings have picked up wins against Green Bay, Oakland, Mercyhurst, and Purdue Fort Wayne. The six-game win streak is tied for the seventh longest win streak in program history, with last year's 11-game win streak marking the program record.
WHITE NOTCHES BACK-TO-BACK 20-POINT GAMES
Last time out, senior Mariah White led the Viking offense with back-to-back 20-point games against Purdue Fort Wayne, finishing with 20 points in Friday's game and following that up with 27 points in the weekend finale. White, who leads the Horizon League averaging 20.1 points per game this season, has notched 20 or more points during six games this year and has reached the plateau 16 times on her career.
…WHITE IN THE CSU RECORD BOOK
Entering this weekend's series at Youngstown State, Mariah White is ranked in the CSU Career Record Book in two categories - scoring and steals. White moved into 18th place on the All-Time Scoring List after combining for 47 points last weekend, entering Friday's game with 1,170 career points. White is currently just 17 points shy of moving up the scoring list, while she is just 30 points shy of becoming the 17th Viking all-time with 1,200 points on their career. White also moved into a tie for eighth on the career steals list following last weekend's games against the Mastodons with 206 total takeaways on her career.
VIKINGS WITH THE TAKEAWAY
After combining for 20 steals against Purdue Fort Wayne last weekend, Cleveland State regained its top spot in the Horizon League standings averaging 10.0 steals per game this season. The Vikings have notched double-digit takeaways in seven games this year, including a season-high 15 against Mercyhurst in their only non-league game. Individually, Mariah White has recorded a team-high 35 steals this year, while Barbara Zieniewska has added 29 and Isabella Geraci has added 22.
LEO FROM BEHIND-THE-ARC
Entering the week, Destiny Leo leads all #HLWBB freshmen averaging 2.3 three-pointers per game, and owns a team-high 34 three-pointers on the year. Leo has converted three or more shots from behind-the-arc in six of the last seven games, and is shooting 42-percent from three-point range on the season (34-for-81). Leo enters the weekend as one of three Vikings to average 10.0+ points this season, and ranks 14th in the league standings with 11.5 ppg.
DUMAS ON THE OFFENSIVE END
Offensively, Nadia Dumas has been Cleveland State's second leading scorer so far this season, averaging 12.0 points per game. Dumas, who averaged just 3.8 points per game last year, has finished with 10+ points in all but three games this year, including a career-high 19-point performance against Oakland earlier this season. Through 13 games so far this season, Dumas is shooting a team-best 57-percent from the floor (63-for-109).
VIKINGS ON THE GLASS
For the sixth and seventh consecutive games, Cleveland State was able to outrebound its opponent last time out, posting 35-33 and 45-43 advantages on the glass over Purdue Fort Wayne. After averaging just 29.6 rebounds per game and outrebounding their opponent just once through the first eight games, the Vikings have been averaging 43.2 boards over the last seven games - outrebounding their opponent in all seven contests. So far this season, Nadia Dumas leads the team averaging 6.5 boards per game, while Isabelle Gradwell is averaging 5.7 and Barbara Zieniewska is averaging 5.1 rebounds.
STARTING LINEUP
Through the first 15 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 15 starting lineups, while Mariah White (14) and Nadia Dumas (13) have started every game they have played in so far this season.
WHITE NAMED SENIOR CLASS AWARD CANDIDATE
Last week, senior Mariah White was named one of 30 candidates for the Senior CLASS Award for her accomplishments in the four C's of Community, Classroom, Character, and Competition. White is one of 16 mid-major players to be named a top-30 candidate, while she is the only representative from the Horizon League. White has played in over 100 games during her time at Cleveland State, and is an active member of the CSU SAAC Board and the CSU Athletics Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee.
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 get set for a First Round Horizon League Tournament contest on Thursday, February 25. First Round games will be hosted on campus sites, while the #HLWBB Tournament Bracket being announced Saturday evening.
