GAME #27 {#HLWBB Quarterfinals}
No. 4 Cleveland State vs. No. 5 Northern Kentucky
Thursday, March 3 | 5:30 p.m. | Wolstein Center
Live Stats | Live Video | CSU Game Notes
SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State women's basketball team will begin postseason play this week, hosting Northern Kentucky on Thursday, March 3 in a Quarterfinal game in the 2022 KEEPS Horizon League Basketball Championship. Entering Thursday's game, CSU stands at 19-7 overall this year and finished the regular season with a 14-6 record in #HLWBB play, while NKU is currently 21-7 on the year and notched a matching 14-6 record against league opponents during the regular season.
A WIN ON THURSDAY WOULD…
Put the Vikings into the semifinals of the 2022 KEEPS Horizon League Basketball Championship…Make the Vikings 5-3 in #HLWBB Tournament play under head coach Chris Kielsmeier…Give Cleveland State its third straight postseason victory when playing at home over the last three seasons.
THE CLEVELAND STATE/NORTHERN KENTUCKY SERIES
Thursday's game will mark the 15th meeting between the two teams, with Cleveland State holding a 10-4 edge in the all-time series. The Vikings swept both games this year, picking up a 63-52 victory at NKU and earning a 59-56 win at home. This will be just the second meeting between the two teams in #HLWBB Tournament play, with NKU picking up a 71-59 first round victory during the 2015-16 season.
…AGAINST NKU THIS SEASON
Cleveland State picked up wins in both meetings during the regular season, earning a 63-52 victory on the road and a 59-56 win at home. This was one of five season sweeps for the Vikings in league play this year.
SCOUTING THE NORSE
Northern Kentucky enters #HLWBB Tournament play as the No. 5 seed, and picked up a 73-50 victory over Detroit Mercy in their first round game on Tuesday…The Norse currently stand at 21-7 overall this year and posted a 14-6 record in league play…NKU enters Thursday's game having won four straight, with wins over UDM (twice), Oakland the RMU during this stretch…NKU's Grayson Rose was named the #HLWBB Defensive Player of the Year, while Lindsey Duvall and Ivy Turner both earned a spot on the Second Team and Khamari Mitchell-Steen was named All-Freshman.
2022 KEEPS HORIZON LEAGUE BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
This year's #HLWBB Tournament began with four First Round games on Tuesday, March 1 with the winners advancing to Thursday's Quarterfinal games. After earning byes into the Quarterfinals, the league's top-four teams will begin tournament play on Thursday. The Semifinals are slated for Monday, March 7 and the Championship will be held Tuesday, March 8 - with both the semifinals and championship games 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 enters the #HLWBB Tournament as the No. 4 seed after finishing the regular season with a 14-6 mark against league opponents. CSU's 14 league wins marked a program-best for league wins in a single-season, while the 14 wins also included two forfeit wins against IUPUI and Wright State.
…VIKINGS IN THE #HLWBB TOURNAMENT
Under head coach Chris Kielsmeier the Vikings own a 4-3 record in the Horizon League tournament, including matching 2-1 records the last two years - advancing to the semifinals in both seasons. Cleveland State has earned a spot in the semifinals eight times in program history, while the Vikings have made two appearances in the championship game - during the 2007-08 and 2009-10 seasons - capturing the title both times.
…VIKINGS AS THE NO. 4 SEED
This marks the sixth time in program history that the Vikings will be playing as the No. 4 seed in the Horizon League Tournament (2009-10, 2007-08, 2003-04, 2000-01, 1998-99), with both Horizon League titles coming when Cleveland State was playing as a No. 4 seed - 2009-10 & 2007-08. This also marks the ninth time in program history that the Vikings are a top-four seed, as they were a No. 3 seed during the 2014-15, 2010-11 and 2008-09 campaigns.
HOME-SWEET-HOME
Thursday's game against NKU will mark the 15th home game for the Vikings this season, marking the most home games played during head coach Chris Kielsmeier's tenure. So far this year, the Vikings own an 11-4 record when playing at home (including a forfeit win against IUPUI).
LEO NAMED #HLWBB ALL-LEAGUE FIRST TEAM
Earlier this week, sophomore Destiny Leo was named to the All-Horizon League First Team, picking up league honors for the second straight season. Leo currently leads the league averaging 18.6 points per game, and has notched 10 20-point performances so far this season, including a pair of 30-point efforts. In addition, Leo has also combined for a team-best 56 assists on the year, along with 32 steals and 15 blocked shots, ranking in the top-15 among league players in all three categories.
…LEO IN THE RECORD BOOKS
Entering tournament play, Destiny Leo currently holds program records in single-season free throw percentage and career three-point percentage. So far this season, Leo is shooting .908 from the free throw line (109-for-120), a mark that is tops in the CSU Single-Season Record Book. Leo also sits at the top of the CSU Career Record Book with a .393 clip from three-point range (104-for-264), including 53 three-pointers through the first 23 games played this year.
DUMAS NAMED #HLWBB ALL-LEAGUE THIRD TEAM
Earlier this week, redshirt-senior Nadia Dumas was named to the All-Horizon League Third Team, picking up league honors for the first time in her career. Dumas finished regular season play averaging 12.0 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.2 blocked shots per game, ranking in the top-15 among league players in all three categories. Entering tournament play, Dumas has tallied double-digit points in 15 of the last 18 games, including back-to-back 20-point performances against RMU and Oakland last month.
…DUMAS ON THE CSU BLOCKED SHOTS TOP-10 LIST
Entering Thursday's game against Northern Kentucky, Nadia Dumas ranks eighth in the CSU Career Record Book with 82 total blocked shots. For the season, Dumas has 30 blocks, ranking fifth among league players averaging 1.3 blocks per game. After recording two blocks at Detroit Mercy last week, Dumas became just the ninth Viking all-time to reach 80 career blocks, while she needs just one more blocked shot to move into seventh place on the top-10 list.
NGWAFANG NOTCHES DOUBLE-DOUBLE AGAINST GREEN BAY
Last time out, Amele Ngwafang recorded her fourth double-double of the season, finishing with 16 points and a season-high 17 rebounds against Green Bay. This marked her second double-double over the last three games, while the 17 rebounds marked her seventh 10+ rebound performance over the last eight outings. On the season, Ngwafang is averaging 9.2 points and a team-high 8.0 rebounds per game, ranking sixth among league players with her 8.0 boards per game.
VIKINGS POST 7-0 START TO THE 2021-22 CAMPAIGN
For just the second time in program history the Vikings went 7-0 to start the season (excluding the forfeit wins over IUPUI & Wright State), picking up wins against ETSU, St. Bonaventure, Quincy, UIC, LIU, Northern Kentucky, and Ohio Christian. Cleveland State's 7-0 start tied the program record for the best start to a season, which was first set during the 1974-75 campaign.
HEAD COACH CHRIS KIELSMEIER
The Vikings will be under the direction of fourth-year head coach Chris Kielsmeier during the 2021-22 campaign, who owns a 62-47 record at Cleveland State and a 478-163 overall record in 21 seasons as a head coach. Kielsmeier, who joined the Vikings as the seventh head coach in program history prior to the 2018-19 season, notched his 450th career win last year in a 60-48 victory over Green Bay, becoming just the second active #HLWBB coach to reach the milestone.
