CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland State women's basketball team opened play in the Hampton Inn Cleveland Downtown Viking Invitational Wednesday, picking up a 57-53 victory over Georgia State. With the win, the Vikings improve to 3-1 on the young season.

GAME STATS
· Destiny Leo led the Viking offense with 23 points, while Brittni Moore added 16 points.
· Brittni Moore grabbed a team-best eight rebounds, while Sara Guerreiro recorded six boards.
· As a team, the Vikings recorded eight blocked shots on the game, including four from Jordana Reisma.
· The Vikings recorded 10 assists on the day, with two assists each from Brittni Moore, Destiny Leo, Barbara Zieniewska.

GAME NOTES
· Destiny Leo recorded her second 20-point game of the season after finishing with 23 against Georgia State.
· Jordana Reisma has now tallied a blocked shot in all four games this season after posting a season-high four on the day.
· Cleveland State notched 10 assists against Georgia State, marking the second straight game that the Vikings have recorded double-digit assists.
· With the win, the Vikings remain perfect in the Wolstein Center this season.
· This marked the first meeting between Cleveland State and Georgia State in program history.

THE GAME
After a strong first half, Cleveland State was able to take a double-digit lead into the third quarter, owning a 32-20 advantage at the halftime break.

The Vikings were able to hold onto their sizeable lead over the first few minutes of the third quarter, as a Destiny Leo three-pointer at the 8:32 mark put the Vikings up 37-24, while back-to-back baskets from Leo and Gabriella Smith a few plays later extended the CSU lead to 14 points at 41-27.

Cleveland State was then able to withstand a 13-4 Georgia State run to close out the frame, holding onto a 45-40 lead heading into the final 10 minutes of action.

During the fourth quarter the Vikings were able to get on the board first with a Brittni Moore and-one play, putting the score at 48-40 less than a minute into the frame. Despite this momentum, Georgia State was able to close the gap to four points midway through the quarter, before another Moore jumper put the score at 50-44 Cleveland State with 3:47 left to play.

The two teams then traded baskets over the next few plays, until a 7-0 run from Georgia State closed the gap to just one point at 54-53 with 41 seconds left on the clock.

The Vikings were able to stop the scoring run with a pair of Moore free throws to give Cleveland State a 56-53 advantage, while another Moore free throw following a Deja Williams steal clinched the 57-53 victory for the Vikings.

UP NEXT
Cleveland State will continue play at the Hampton Inn Cleveland Downtown Viking Invitational on Friday, November 25, hosting Bellarmine at 4:00 p.m. inside the Wolstein Center.