GAME #20 | #HLWBB SEMIFINALS
No. 6 Cleveland State vs. No. 1 Wright State
Monday, March 8 | 11:00 a.m. | Indianapolis, Ind.
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 Monday, March 8, traveling to Indianapolis, Ind. for a Semifinal matchup against Wright State in the 2021 Horizon League Women's Basketball Championship. Entering Monday's game, CSU stands at 11-8 overall this season and is playing as the No. 6 seed in this year's tournament, while Wright State is currently 16-7 and is playing as the No. 1 seed.
A WIN ON MONDAY WOULD…
Put the Vikings into the Championship game of the 2021 Horizon League Women's Basketball Tournament…Make the Vikings 5-2 in #HLWBB Tournament play under head coach Chris Kielsmeier…Give Cleveland State its first #HLWBB Championship appearance since the 2009-10 season…Put Cleveland State at 10-1 over the last 11 games.
THE CLEVELAND STATE/WRIGHT STATE SERIES
Monday's game will be the 81st meeting between the two teams, with Wright State owning a slight 42-38 advantage in the all-time series. In #HLWBB Tournament play the two teams are tied at 2-2, with Cleveland State's most recent tournament win over the Raiders coming last season in the Quarterfinals (63-52). The Vikings also picked up a victory over the Raiders in their first #HLWBB Championship appearance, capturing the 2008 tournament title with a 70-56 win over Wright State.
…AGAINST WRIGHT STATE THIS SEASON
This will be the third meeting between the Vikings and Raiders during the 2020-21 campaign, with Wright State picking up wins in both regular season matchups. The Wright State series marked the home opener for the Vikings during the adjusted 2020-21 campaign back on January 8 & 9.
SCOUTING THE RAIDERS
Wright State entered the Horizon League Tournament as the No. 1 seed, after finishing as Horizon League Regular Season Co-Champions with a 15-5 #HLWBB record…After finishing as one of the top-five teams in the #HLWBB standings, the Raiders received a bye into the Quarterfinals, where they picked up a 74-56 victory over No. 8 Northern Kentucky…Wright State enters Monday's game having won seven of its last nine contests…Four Raiders picked up #HLWBB Postseason honors; Angel Baker (First Team), Tyler Frierson (Third Team, All-Defensive), Emani Jefferson (All-Freshman), Katrina Merriweather (Coach of the Year).
2021 HORIZON LEAGUE BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
This year's #HLWBB Tournament began with three First Round games on Thursday, February 25 and four Quarterfinal games on Tuesday, March 2 with the winners advancing to Monday's Semifinals - No. 1 Wright State, No. 2 Milwaukee, No. 5 IUPUI, and No. 6 Cleveland State. The winners of Monday's semifinal matchups between Wright State/Cleveland State and Milwaukee/IUPUI will advance to Tuesday's Championship game. Both the semifinals and championship game will be held at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis, Ind. and 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 4-2 record in the Horizon League Tournament, and have advanced to the semifinals for the second straight season. This marks the second time that the Vikings have made back-to-back #HLWBB Semifinal appearances in program history, also making four straight trips to the semifinals from 2008-2011. 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 QUARTERFINAL RECAP
For the second straight season the Vikings were able to knock out the No. 3 seed in the Quarterfinals, as Cleveland State held on for a 69-63 victory at Green Bay last time out, ending a streak of 26 straight semifinal appearances for the Phoenix. Offensively, the Vikings were led by Mariah White with 22 points, while Isabelle Gradwell and Nadia Dumas combined for 15 of Cleveland State's 38 rebounds. As a team, the Vikings recorded 10 steals, marking the ninth time that the Vikings have recorded double-digit takeaways this season.
#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 the 2021 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.
WHITE NAMED #HLWBB DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
At the end of regular season play, 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 2.3 steals per game, while she also leads the league averaging 19.6 points per game. So far this season, White has posted double-digit points in 16 of 18 games, including eight 20-point efforts, while she has also recorded two or more steals in all but three games.
…WHITE IN THE CSU RECORD BOOK
Entering Monday's Semifinal contest against Wright State, Mariah White is ranked in the CSU Career Record Book in three categories - scoring, steals and free throws made. After posting her second straight 20-point game with 22 points at Green Bay last time out, White moved into 15th place on the All-Time Scoring List with 1,242 points, while she moved into 10th place with 289 made free throws following the quarterfinal game. White is also ranked eighth on the career steals list with 213 total takeaways on her career.
LEO NAMED #HLWBB SIXTH PLAYER OF THE YEAR
At the end of regular season play, 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 10.8 points off the bench as Cleveland State's second leading scorer. Leo currently ranks 14th among league players in scoring, while she leads all #HLWBB freshmen averaging 2.1 three-pointers per game and has a team-high 40 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 10.5 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 a career-high 19 against Oakland earlier this year. Through 17 games so far this season, Dumas is shooting a team-best 56-percent from the floor (73-for-129).
HEAD COACH CHRIS KIELSMEIER
Chris Kielsmeier is in his third season at the helm of the Vikings, and owns a 458-155 (.747) career record, including a 42-39 mark at Cleveland State. Kielsmeier has helped the Vikings to back-to-back winning seasons, including a 21-11 record last year that marked just the third 20-win season in program history. Earlier this year, 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 (January 23), marking just the seventh victory over the Phoenix is program history at the time and the first during his tenure.
WHITE NAMED SENIOR CLASS AWARD CANDIDATE
Last month, senior Mariah White was named one of 10 national 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.
