GAME #19 | #HLWBB QUARTERFINALS
No. 6 Cleveland State at No. 3 Green Bay
Tuesday, March 2 | 8:00 pm EST | Green Bay, Wis.
Live Stats | Live Video
PDF CLEVELAND STATE GAME NOTES | 2021 #HLWBB TOURNAMENT BRACKET
SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State women's basketball team will continue postseason play on Tuesday, March 2, traveling to Green Bay for a Quarterfinal matchup in the 2021 Progressive Insurance Horizon League Basketball Championships. Entering Tuesday's game, CSU stands at 10-8 overall this year and earned the No. 6 seed in this year's tournament, while Green Bay is currently 15-6 on the year and is playing as the No. 3 seed.
A WIN ON TUESDAY WOULD…
Put the Vikings into the Semifinals of the 2021 Progressive Insurance Horizon League Basketball Championship…Make the Vikings 4-2 in #HLWBB Tournament play under head coach Chris Kielsmeier…Put Cleveland State at 9-1 over the last 10 games.
THE CLEVELAND STATE/GREEN BAY SERIES
Tuesday's game will be the 76th meeting between the two teams, with Green Bay owning a 68-7 advantage in the all-time series. Although Green Bay has won six of the last seven matchups, the Vikings picked up a 60-48 victory in the most recent meeting. In #HLWBB Tournament play the two teams are tied at 2-2, with both of Cleveland State's tournament victories coming during years that the Vikings captured the #HLWBB Tournament title (2007-08 & 2009-10).
…AGAINST GREEN BAY THIS SEASON
This will be the third meeting between the Vikings and Phoenix during the 2020-21 campaign, with the two teams splitting the regular season series. Green Bay picked up a 71-62 win during the first meeting of the season (Jan. 22), while the Vikings earned a 60-48 win in the series finale (Jan. 23). The 60-48 victory over Green Bay marked head coach Chris Kielsmeier's 450th win of his head coaching career, while it also marked the first win over the Phoenix during his three-year tenure.
SCOUTING THE PHOENIX
Green Bay enters the Horizon League Tournament as the No. 3 seed, finishing regular season play with a 15-6 overall record and a 14-4 mark in Horizon League play…After finishing as one of the top-five teams in the #HLWBB standings, the Phoenix received a bye into the Quarterfinals…Green Bay enters Tuesday's game having won six straight contests to close out regular season play…Caitlyn Hibner was Green Bay's lone All-League honoree, as she was named to the Second Team after leading the team with 15.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, while ranking second with 47 assists and 30 steals.
2021 PROGRESSIVE INSURANCE HORIZON LEAGUE BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
This year's #HLWBB Tournament began with three First Round games on Thursday, February 25 with the winners advancing to Tuesday's Quarterfinal games - No. 6 Cleveland State, No. 7 Youngstown State and No. 8 Northern Kentucky. After earning byes into the Quarterfinals, the league's top-five teams will also be in action on Tuesday. 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 entered 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 now own a 3-2 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.
#HLWBB FIRST ROUND RECAP
For the second straight season the Vikings were able to pick up a First Round win on their home court, as they posted a 69-43 victory over No. 11 UIC to earn a trip to Tuesday's quarterfinals. Mariah White led the Viking offense with 21 points, while Nadia Dumas grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. Cleveland State recorded 12 steals on the game, and forced UIC into 30 turnovers.
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
Last 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 19.5 points per game. So far this season, White has posted double-digit points in 15 of 17 games, including seven 20-point efforts, while she has also recorded two or more steals in all but three games.
…WHITE IN THE CSU RECORD BOOK
Entering Tuesday's Quarterfinal contest at Green Bay, Mariah White is ranked in the CSU Career Record Book in two categories - scoring and steals. White became the 17th Viking all-time to eclipse 1,200 career points against UIC last time out, and is currently 17th on the All-Time Scoring List with 1,220 points. White is also ranked eighth on the career steals list with 211 total takeaways on her career.
LEO NAMED #HLWBB SIXTH PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Last 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, finished the regular season averaging 11.1 points off the bench as Cleveland State's second leading scorer. Leo currently ranks 18th among league players in scoring, while she leads all #HLWBB freshmen averaging 2.0 three-pointers per game and has a team-high 36 total three-pointers on the year.
DUMAS ON BOTH ENDS OF THE FLOOR
So far this season, Nadia Dumas has been one of Cleveland State's top scorers averaging 10.9 points per game, while she is CSU's top rebounder averaging 6.2 boards per game. Dumas, who averaged just 3.8 points per game last year, has finished with 10+ points in 11 games this year, including 12 points against UIC in last week's First Round game. Through 16 games so far this season, Dumas is shooting a team-best 56-percent from the floor (71-for-125).
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
Last 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.
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.
