Photo Credit: Robert Hayes

CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland State women's basketball opened the calendar year on Saturday, dropping a 70-59 contest at Youngstown State. With the loss, the Vikings fall to 9-3 overall this season and 4-2 in Horizon League play.

Game Stats
· Destiny Leo led the Viking offense with 16 points against YSU, while Nadia Dumas added 10.
· Isabelle Gradwell grabbed a team-high nine rebounds, while Gabriella Smith chipped in six boards.
· As a team, CSU finished with 14 steals on the game, including four from Nadia Dumas and three from Destiny Leo and Gabriella Smith.
· Amele Ngwafang posted three blocked shots on the game, marking her fifth multi-block game of the season.

The Game
After heading into the halftime break trailing 39-30, the Vikings were able to work their way back into the contest over the opening minutes of the third quarter, as a 7-2 run closed the gap to 41-37 following a Nadia Dumas layup at the 7:28 mark.

YSU responded with a 7-1 run of its own over the next 1:13, extending the Penguin lead to double-digits at the 48-38 mark. Despite the Penguins extending their lead over the last part of the frame, a Deja Williams three-pointer as time expired in the quarter put the score at 53-43 YSU heading into the final 10 minutes of play.

Cleveland State got on the board first during the fourth quarter then, as a Gabriella Smith offensive rebound and putback closed the gap to single-digits once again at 53-45 just over one minute into the frame.

The Penguin defense then held the Vikings to just six points on six free throws over the next portion of the frame, until an Amele Ngwafang and-one play put the score at 65-54 YSU with 1:16 left on the clock.

YSU was then able to control play throughout the remainder of the contest, coming away with the 70-59 victory.

Up Next
Cleveland State is scheduled to continue #HLWBB play at home next week, hosting Detroit Mercy on Thursday, January 6 and Oakland on Saturday, January 8.