CLEVELAND, Ohio – For the second straight season the Cleveland State women's basketball team was able to pick up an #HLWBB First Round win at the Wolstein Center, as the Vikings earned a 69-43 victory over UIC Thursday evening. With the win, the sixth-seeded Vikings advance to the Quarterfinals of the Progressive Insurance Horizon League Women's Basketball Championship.
PDF BOX SCORE: Cleveland State 69, UIC 43
Game Stats
· Mariah White led the Viking offense with 21 points, while Isabelle Gradwell and Nadia Dumas both added 12 points.
· Nadia Dumas grabbed a team-high eight rebounds, while Barbara Zieniewska added seven boards and Isabelle Gradwell chipped in six.
· The Vikings recorded 11 assists on the night, with four coming from Taylah Levy and three from Barbara Zieniewska.
· As a team, the Vikings posted 12 steals, including three from Taylah Levy and two from Mariah White, Isabella Geraci and Aminata Ly.
· The Cleveland State defense forced UIC into 30 turnovers, turning the miscues into 26 points.
Game Notes
· With the win over UIC, the Vikings advance to the #HLWBB Quarterfinals for the second straight season.
· Cleveland State is now 3-2 in Horizon League Tournament play under head coach Chris Kielsmeier.
· Thursday's win marked Cleveland State's 10th straight victory over the Flames.
· Mariah White notched her seventh 20-point game of the season after finishing with a team-high 21 points against the Flames.
· Isabelle Gradwell's 12-point performance against UIC marked just her third double-digit game of the season.
· Thursday's game marked the eighth time this season that the Vikings posted 10+ steals.
The Game
After holding a slight six-point lead at the halftime break, the Vikings were able to extend their advantage to double-digits over the first minute of the third quarter, as a Nadia Dumas layup and an Isabelle Gradwell jumper put the Vikings up by 10 at 30-20.
The two teams traded baskets over the remainder of the quarter then, with Cleveland State taking an eight-point lead into the final 10 minutes of action at 41-33.
Although the Flames were able to get on the board first during the final frame, the Vikings responded with an 8-0 run that included a pair of three-pointers from Gradwell and Taylah Levy to put the lead at 49-35 with 7:06 left on the clock.
Four minutes later the Vikings were able to extend their lead to 21 points following a pair of Barbara Zieniewska free throws, and would go on to hold a sizeable lead for the remainder of the contest.
After regaining a 20-point lead late in the frame on a Destiny Leo free throw, the Vikings went on to close the contest with six straight points coming from Raevyn Harris, Julia Hintz and Hannah White to secure the 69-43 #HLWBB First Round victory.
Up Next
The sixth-seeded Vikings will now travel to No. 3 Green Bay for a Quarterfinal contest on Tuesday, March 2.
