GAME #18 | #HLWBB FIRST ROUND
No. 6 Cleveland State vs. No. 11 UIC
Thursday, February 25 | 7:00 pm | Wolstein Center
Live Stats | Live Video
PDF CLEVELAND STATE GAME NOTES | 2021 #HLWBB TOURNAMENT BRACKET
SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State women's basketball team will begin postseason play this week, hosting UIC on Thursday, February 25 in a First Round game in the 2021 Progressive Insurance Horizon League Basketball Championship. Entering Thursday's game, CSU stands at 9-8 overall this year and finished the regular season with an even 8-8 record in #HLWBB play, while UIC is currently 3-15 on the year and notched a 1-13 record against league opponents during the regular season.
A WIN ON THURSDAY WOULD…
Put the Vikings into the Quarterfinals of the 2021 Progressive Insurance Horizon League Basketball Championship…Make the Vikings 3-2 in #HLWBB Tournament play under head coach Chris Kielsmeier…Give Cleveland State its second straight postseason victory when playing at home over the last two seasons.
THE CLEVELAND STATE/UIC SERIES
Thursday's game will be the 79th meeting between the two teams, with Cleveland State owning a 45-33 advantage in the all-time series. The Vikings have won nine straight matchups against the Flames dating back to the 2015-16 season, and 12 of the last 13 meetings. In #HLWBB Tournament play the two teams are tied at 4-4, with the most recent matchup being a 76-70 CSU victory in the 2015 Quarterfinals.
…AGAINST UIC THIS SEASON
With the adjusted Horizon League schedule during the 2020-21 campaign, this will be the first meeting between the two teams this year.
SCOUTING THE FLAMES
UIC enters #HLWBB Tournament play as the No. 11 seed and owns a 3-15 overall record this season, including a 1-13 mark in league play…UIC's lone win in #HLWBB action came in a 76-72 overtime victory against Detroit Mercy back in December…The Flames enter Thursday's game on a six-game losing skid…UIC finished the regular season leading the league with 9.94 steals per game, while Kristian Young (2nd) and Keona Schenck (5th) both rank in the top-five individually…Jada Nneji ranks third among league players averaging 1.3 blocked shots per game, while Young also ranks fourth averaging 4.2 assists per game.
2021 PROGRESSIVE INSURANCE HORIZON LEAGUE BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
This year's #HLWBB Tournament will begin with three First Round games on Thursday, February 25 and four Quarterfinal games on Tuesday, March 2 - with both rounds being hosted at campus sites. The league's top five seeds earned byes into the quarterfinals, allowing the No. 6, No. 7 and No. 8 seeds to host First Round games. The Semifinals are slated for Monday, March 8 and the Championship will be held on Tuesday, March 9 - with both the semifinals and championship game being held at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis, Ind. All games will be carried on the ESPN Network.
…VIKINGS IN #HLWBB PLAY
Cleveland State enters the #HLWBB Tournament as the No. 6 seed after finishing the regular season with an 8-8 mark against league opponents. CSU's league wins came as series sweeps over Purdue Fort Wayne and Oakland, while they also split weekend matchups against Green Bay and Youngstown State.
…VIKINGS IN THE #HLWBB TOURNAMENT
Under head coach Chris Kielsmeier the Vikings own a 2-2 record in the Horizon League Tournament, including a 2-1 mark last year after advancing to the semifinals for the seventh time in program history. Cleveland State has made two appearances in the championship game in program history - during the 2007-08 and 2009-10 seasons - capturing the title both times.
VIKINGS NOTCH SEVEN-GAME WINSTREAK
Earlier this season the Vikings posted a seven-game winstreak - dating from January 23 through February 19 - which is tied for the fourth longest winstreak in program history. During this span, the Vikings posted wins over Green Bay, Oakland, Mercyhurst, Purdue Fort Wayne, and Youngstown State. Among Horizon League teams, Cleveland State's seven consecutive wins is tied for the second longest winstreak so far this season.
WHITE NAMED #HLWBB DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Earlier this week, senior Mariah White was honored with #HLWBB postseason awards, as she was named the Defensive Player of the Year along with earning a spot on the All-League First Team and All-Defensive Team. White, who picked up Defensive Player of the Year accolades for the second straight season, leads the league averaging 2.4 steals per game, while she also leads the league averaging 19.4 points per game. So far this season, White has posted double-digit points in 14 of 16 games, including six 20-point efforts, while she has also recorded two or more steals in all but three games.
…WHITE IN THE CSU RECORD BOOK
Entering Thursday's First Round contest against UIC, Mariah White is ranked in the CSU Career Record Book in two categories - scoring and steals. White moved into 17th place on the All-Time Scoring List after combining for 29 points last weekend, entering Thursday's game with 1,199 career points. White is currently just one point shy of becoming the 17th Viking all-time to reach the 1,200-point mark. White also moved into sole possession of eighth place on the career steals list following last weekend's games at Youngstown State with 209 total takeaways on her career.
LEO NAMED #HLWBB SIXTH PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Earlier this week, freshman Destiny Leo was also honored with #HLWBB postseason awards, as she was named the Sixth Player of the Year along with earning a spot on the All-Freshman Team. Leo, who is the first Viking to be named Sixth Player of the Year, is averaging 11.1 points off the bench as Cleveland State's second leading scorer. Leo ranks 13th among league players in scoring, while she leads all #HLWBB freshmen averaging 2.1 three-pointers per game and has a team-high 36 total three-pointers on the year.
LY HAS BREAKOUT SERIES AGAINST YOUNGSTOWN STATE
Last time out, Aminata Ly had her best series of the season, averaging 11.0 points, 9.5 rebounds and 4.0 blocked shots in two games against the Penguins. In Cleveland State's 76-73 come-from-behind victory on Friday, Ly posted the first double-double of her career with 11 points and 10 rebounds, while she followed that up with 11 points and nine boards in the series finale. Ly also recorded eight blocked shots on the series, including a career-high tying five in the first game.
DUMAS ON THE OFFENSIVE END
Offensively, Nadia Dumas has been one of Cleveland State's top scorers this season, averaging 10.8 points per game. Dumas, who averaged just 3.8 points per game last year, has finished with 10+ points in 10 games this year, including a career-high 19-point performance against Oakland earlier this season. Through 15 games so far this season, Dumas is shooting a team-best 56-percent from the floor (66-for-118).
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.
WHITE NAMED SENIOR CLASS AWARD CANDIDATE
Earlier this week, senior Mariah White was named one of 10 finalists for the Senior CLASS Award for her accomplishments in the four C's of Community, Classroom, Character, and Competition. After being named a top-30 candidate for the award earlier this month, White was selected by a committee as a finalist and will now be eligible to be the Senior CLASS Award winner - which will be determined by a nationwide fan vote and media/Division I head coach selection. 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.
Vote Mariah White for the Senior CLASS Award by CLICKING HERE.
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.
