CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland State women's basketball team got back in the win column Thursday evening, picking up an 85-65 victory over Oakland. With the win, the Vikings improve to 16-6 overall this year and 11-5 in Horizon League play.

Game Stats
· Three Vikings finished the game in double-figures, led by Destiny Leo with 24 and Nadia Dumas with 20. Gabriella Smith added 15 points for the Vikings.
· Amele Ngwafang grabbed a team-high 14 rebounds, while Nadia Dumas posted 10 boards, and Barbara Zieniewska recorded six.
· Destiny Leo finished with a team-high four assists.
· The Vikings shot 45-percent from the floor, including a .500 clip during the fourth quarter.
· As a team, Cleveland State recorded nine steals on the game, with four coming from Gabriella Smith.  

Game Notes
· With her 24 points, Destiny Leo recorded her eighth 20-point game of the season – with 16 of her 24 points coming during the first half.
· Nadia Dumas posted her second double-double of the season with her 20 points and 10 rebounds, notching her second straight 20-point game of the season.
· Amele Ngwafang posted her fourth double-digit rebounding performance over the last five games after finishing with 14 boards against Oakland.
· Thursday's game marked the first of a three-game road swing for the Vikings.

The Game
After taking a 45-36 lead into the halftime break, the Vikings were able to extend their lead to double-digits just a few possessions into the third quarter, as a Destiny Leo layup put the score at 47-36 at the 7:57 mark. The two teams then traded baskets over the next few minutes, until the Vikings were able to string together multiple points on a Nadia Dumas free throw and a Leo layup off of a Gabriella Smith steal.

The teams once again traded baskets over the final possessions of the quarter then, as the Vikings held a nine-point advantage at 59-50 heading into the final 10 minutes of play.

Cleveland State was able to gain some momentum over the first few minutes of the fourth quarter, as a 7-0 run to begin the frame extended the Viking lead to 66-50 on a Smith three-pointer less than two minutes into the quarter.

Although the Grizzlies would snap the CSU scoring run with a layup of their own, the Vikings responded with back-to-back three-pointers from Barbara Zieniewska and Smith, gaining a 20-point lead at 72-52 with 6:37 left to play.

The Vikings would go on to hold a sizeable lead over the next few minutes, including an 81-57 advantage following an Isabelle Gradwell three-pointer and a Zieniewska offensive rebound and put-back.

Cleveland State was then able to hold off a late Oakland run, with an Isabella Geraci layup closing the contest for the Vikings, giving them the 85-65 victory.

Up Next
The Vikings will continue the weekend with a 2:00 p.m. game at Detroit Mercy on Saturday, February 19.