CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland State women's basketball team earned its third straight trip to the Horizon League Semifinals Thursday evening, picking up a 59-51 victory over Northern Kentucky in a quarterfinal contest. With the win, the Vikings improved to 20-7 overall this season, and have won five of their last six games.

Game Stats
· The Viking offense was led by Destiny Leo with 18 points, while Isabelle Gradwell and Gabriella Smith both posted 11 points.
· Amele Ngwafang grabbed a team-high nine rebounds, while Isabelle Gradwell recorded seven boards.
· The Vikings finished with 13 assists on the game, including three from Barbara Zieniewska.
· The CSU defense posted 10 steals, including five from Gabriella Smith.
· The Vikings finished with eight blocked shots, with three from Nadia Dumas, two from Barbara Zieniewska and two from Amele Ngwafang.

Game Notes
· With her 18 points on the night, Destiny Leo has now tallied 15+ points in 20 games this season.
· After finishing with three blocked shots against NKU, Nadia Dumas moved into seventh place in the CSU Career Record book with 85 career blocks.
· With the 59-51 victory, the Vikings finished the 2021-22 season with a 3-0 record against NKU.
· Cleveland State is now 6-3 in Horizon League Tournament play under head coach Chris Kielsmeier.
· With Thursday's win, the Vikings will be advancing to the semifinals of the Horizon League Tournament for the third straight year and the ninth time in program history.

The Game
After outscoring NKU 18-6 during the first quarter, the Vikings were able to hold their advantage throughout the second quarter, including an 11-0 run midway through the frame that gave Cleveland State a 31-15 lead following back-to-back three-pointers from Destiny Leo and Isabelle Gradwell.

The Vikings then closed out the frame with a 15-point advantage following back-to-back baskets from Barbara Zieniewska and Gradwell, heading into the halftime break with a 36-21 lead.

Although NKU was able to open the third quarter with an 8-2 run that closed the gap to 38-29, a Leo jumper at the 3:46 mark snapped the NKU scoring run and put the Vikings back up by double-digits at 40-29.

Cleveland State was then able to hold their double-digit lead heading into the final 10 minutes of action, as a pair of Leo free throws and a Brittni Moore layup put the score at 44-33 following the third quarter.

Despite NKU once again opening the frame with a mini scoring run, a Nadia Dumas layup and a Deja Williams three-pointer over the opening minutes of the fourth quarter snapped the run and put the score at 49-39 CSU with 8:41 left on the clock.

The two teams then traded baskets over the next few possessions, until another Leo three-pointer put the Vikings up by 13 points at 54-41 with just over four minutes left to play.

The Vikings were then able to hold off a late Northern Kentucky run over the final minutes of the contest with a pair of baskets from Gabriella Smith and Gradwell, before a Gradwell free throw with just three seconds remaining clinched the 59-51 victory for Cleveland State.

Up Next
The Vikings will now travel to Indianapolis, Ind. for a semifinal contest on Monday, March 7, taking on No. 3 seed Green Bay at 2:30 p.m.