DETROIT, Mich. – The Cleveland State women's basketball team picked up its second straight victory on Saturday afternoon, earning a 74-70 win at Detroit Mercy. With the win, the Vikings are now 17-6 overall this season and 12-5 in Horizon League play.

Game Stats
· The Viking offense was led by the trio of Destiny Leo, Gabriella Smith and Isabella Geraci. Leo finished with 22 points, while Smith and Geraci both posted 12 points.
· Amele Ngwafang grabbed a team-high 13 rebounds, while Isabella Geraci tallied seven boards.
· Cleveland State finished with 13 assists, including four from Destiny Leo and three from Gabriella Smith.
· As a team, Cleveland State shot 45-percent from the floor on the game, including a .588 clip during the second quarter.
· The Viking defense recorded 10 steals, with four coming from Gabriella Smith.

Game Notes
· With her 22 points against Detroit Mercy, Destiny Leo has now tallied 20+ points nine times this season.
· Amele Ngwafang notched her fifth double-digit rebounding game of the season after finishing with 13 boards against the Titans.
· Cleveland State has now shot 45-percent or better from the field six times this year.
· Saturday's game marked the second of a three-game road swing for the Vikings, and the first of a back-to-back series at Detroit Mercy.

The Game
After earning an 18-15 lead at the end of the first quarter, the Vikings were able to distance themselves midway through the second frame, as a 6-0 run over a span of 53 seconds put Cleveland State up 32-21. During this stretch, the Vikings got four points from Brittni Moore and two from Amele Ngwafang, and went on to hold a sizeable advantage throughout the rest of the quarter, taking a 40-29 lead into the halftime break.

The two teams then traded baskets over the opening minutes of the third quarter, until a Barbara Zieniewska three-pointer at the 8:01 mark put the Vikings back up by double-digits at 47-35.

Although the Titans would slowly work their way back into the contest over the next four minutes, five straight points from the Vikings – capped off by a Gabriella Smith layup – kept the CSU lead at 10 points at 54-44 with 3:00 minutes left in the quarter.

Detroit Mercy then closed out the frame on a 7-2 run, putting the score at 56-51 Cleveland State heading into the final 10 minutes of action.

The Vikings were able to get on the board first during the fourth quarter then, as a pair of Smith layups gave the Vikings a nine-point lead at 60-51 with just under nine minutes left to play. After the Titans responded with four points of their own, Cleveland State posted a 10-4 run – with all 10 points coming from Destiny Leo – to gain a 70-59 advantage with 4:19 left on the clock.

Over the final minutes of the contest, the Vikings were able to hold off a late Detroit Mercy run, with a pair of Isabella Geraci free throws with just four seconds left on the clock clinching the 74-70 victory for Cleveland State.

Up Next
The Vikings will close out their final road swing of the regular season on Monday, February 21, facing the Titans again in a 2:00 p.m. contest.