The Cleveland State women's basketball team will begin postseason play this weekend, participating in the 2022 Women's Basketball Invitational. Cleveland State will face Northeastern in the WBI First Round on Friday, March 18, with the Semifinals and Championship games taking place on Saturday, March 19 and Sunday, March 20. The Vikings, who enter tournament play as the reigning WBI Champions, currently stand at 21-8 overall this season. 

 

The Vikings will be making their sixth postseason appearance in program history, and second straight…Cleveland State will be making its third trip to the WBI…The Vikings will be one of four Horizon League teams competing in the postseason.

 

This year's 2022 Women's Basketball Invitational features an eight-team field, that will compete in a three-day tournament on the campus of Transylvania University. This year's field features Bowling Green, Furman, Saint Mary's, Austin Peay, Davidson, Nevada, Northeastern, and the Vikings. Four First Round games will take place on Friday, March 18, followed by two Semifinals on Saturday, March 19 and the Championship game on Sunday, March 20. There will also be two rounds of consolation games on Saturday and Sunday. 

 

Out of the seven other teams in the 2022 WBI field, Cleveland State has faced just three of them in program history. The Vikings own a 2-0 record against Austin Peay (last meeting; 1993-94), while Cleveland State also stands at 0-1 against Nevada (last meeting; 2012-13) and 5-10 against Bowling Green (last meeting; 2019-20). Furman, Saint Mary's, Davidson, and Northeastern will all be first time opponents for the Vikings. 

 

Friday's game against Northeastern will mark the ninth postseason game for the Vikings in program history, as they stand at 4-4 all-time in postseason play. Cleveland State's previous postseason apperances came during the 2020-21 (WBI), 2014-15 (WNIT), 2010-11 (WBI), 2009-10 (NCAA), and 2007-08 (NCAA) seasons. This marks the second time in program history that the Vikings will be making back-to-back postseason appearances.

 

All four of Cleveland State's postseason victories have come during WBI play, including a perfect 3-0 record last season as the Vikings claimed the 2021 WBI Championship with wins over Manhattan, Stetson and Portland to earn the program's first-ever postseason title. Cleveland State's first postseason win came during the 2010-11 season, when the Vikings picked up a WBI First Round victory over IPFW.

 

Last time out, the Vikings made their first appearance in the #HLWBB Championship game since the 2009-10 campaign, earning a spot in the finals following a 69-42 Semifinal victory over Green Bay and a 59-51 Quarterfinal win over Northern Kentucky. The Championship game appearance marked just the third time in program history that the Vikings have made it to the title game, while the Vikings made their third straight appearance in the #HLWBB Semifinals. 

 

After leading Cleveland State to the #HLWBB Championship for the first time since 2010, the duo of Destiny Leo and Gabriella Smith was named to the 2022 Horizon League All-Tournament Team. Through three #HLWBB Tournament games, Leo averaged 12.3 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game, while playing 107 of a possible 120 minutes. Smith averaged 12.0 points, 3.3 steals, 2.6 assists, and 2.3 rebounds per game, shooting 50-percent from the floor during #HLWBB Tournament play. 

 

After using six different starting lineups through the first part of the 2021-22 campaign, the Vikings have settled on the same starting five of Isabelle Gradwell, Nadia Dumas, Destiny Leo, Barbara Zieniewska, and Gabriella Smith over the last eight contests. Dumas is the only Viking to start in all 27 games this season, while Leo has started every game she has played in (26 games).

 

Earlier this season, the trio of Isabelle Gradwell, Nadia Dumas and Isabella Geraci recorded their 100th games played at Cleveland State. Entering the weekend, Gradwell has played in 112 games during her CSU career, while Dumas has appeared in 110 games, and Geraci has played in 105 games as a Viking. This trio has also combined for 144 starting appearances, with 90 coming from Dumas. 

 

Cleveland State enters WBI Tournament play averaging a Horizon League-best 9.67 steals per game. Through three #HLWBB Tournament games, the Vikings combined for 32 steals, including 13 against top-seeded IUPUI in the championship game. The Vikings have posted 10+ steals in 12 games this season, including a season-high 16 against LIU earlier this year. As a team, the Vikings have 261 total takeaways on the year, led by Gabriella Smith with 53 steals to rank third among league players averaging 2.0 takeaways per game. 

 

Through 27 games played this season, Cleveland State is averaging 40.9 rebounds per game to lead all Horizon League teams. The Vikings have outrebounded their opponent in 17 games so far this year, including a season-high 63 boards against Wright State earlier this year. Entering WBI Tournament play, the Vikings own a 4.4 rebounding margin, a mark that ranks first in the CSU Single-Season Record Book. Individually, Amele Ngwafang leads the Vikings with 7.8 rebounds per game, while Nadia Dumas is averaging 5.9 boards and Barbara Zieniewska is averaging 5.6 rebounds per contest, with all three Vikings ranking in the top-15 among Horizon League players.  

 

Earlier this season, sophomore Destiny Leo was named to the All-Horizon League First Team, picking up league honors for the second straight season. Leo spent the majority of the season leading the league in scoring, and currently ranks second averaging 17.9 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 66 assists on the year, along with 34 steals and 15 blocked shots, ranking in the top-15 among Horizon League players in all three categories.

 

Entering WBI 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 .911 from the free throw line (112-for-123), 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 .392 clip from three-point range (110-for-280), including 59 three-pointers through the first 26 games played this year. 

 

Earlier this season, 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 this weekend's WBI Tournament, Dumas has tallied double-digit points in 16 of the last 21 games, including back-to-back 20-point performances against RMU and Oakland last month. 

 

After posting three blocked shots against Northern Kentucky in Cleveland State's #HLWBB quarterfinal matchup, Nadia Dumas moved into seventh place in the CSU Career Record Book with 85 career blocks. For the season, Dumas has 33 blocks, ranking fifth among league players averaging 1.2 blocks per game. Earlier this year, Dumas became just the ninth Viking all-time to reach 80 career blocks, and needs just five more blocks to move into a tie for sixth place on the top-10 list.

 

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.

 

Chris Kielsmeier is in his fourth season at the helm of the Vikings, and owns a 480-164 career record, including a 64-48 mark at Cleveland State. Kielsmeier has helped the Vikings to three straight winning seasons, including a pair of 20-win campaigns in 2019-20 and 2021-22. After joining the Vikings as the seventh head coach in program history prior to the 2018-19 campaign, Kielsmeier notched his 450th career win last season, becoming just the second active Horizon League coach to reach the milestone. 

 

With the 2021 Fall Semester in the books, the Vikings had another strong performance in the classroom, finishing with a 3.26 Team GPA for the term. In addition, nine vikings earned a spot on the Cleveland State University Dean's List; Faith Burch, Barbara Zieniewska, Nadia Dumas, Destiny Leo, Brittni Moore, Julia Hintz, Isabella Geraci, Deja Williams, and Elie Smith.