SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State women's basketball team will close out its first week of #HLWBB play on Sunday, December 4, welcoming Detroit Mercy to the Wolstein Center for a 2:00 p.m. contest. Entering Sunday's matchup, the Vikings stand at 6-1 overall this season and 1-0 in league play, while the Titans are 1-5 on the year and 0-1 in league action.

A WIN ON SUNDAY WOULD…
Extend Cleveland State's current win streak to seven straight games…Put the Vikings at 2-0 to start #HLWBB play for the third time under head coach Chris Kielsmeier…Mark the seventh straight win for the Vikings inside the Wolstein Center dating back to March 3 of last season.

THE CLEVELAND STATE/DETROIT MERCY SERIES
Sunday's game will mark the 67th meeting between the two teams in program history, with Detroit Mercy owning a 41-25 edge in the all-time series. Despite the Titans holding the lead in the all-time series, the Vikings have won seven of the last eight matchups, including a pair of wins last season. 

SCOUTING THE TITANS
Detroit Mercy enters Sunday's game standing at 1-5 overall this season and 0-1 in Horizon League play after opening its #HLWBB slate with a 58-49 loss at Purdue Fort Wayne…Detroit Mercy's lone victory of the season came in a 70-65 decision against Canisius…Earlier this season, Detroit Mercy was selected to finish 11th in the #HLWBB Preseason Poll…The Titans currently lead the league averaging 45.8 rebounds per game, while they rank second averaging 4.67 blocks per game…Individually, Irene Murua ranks second averaging 10.8 boards per game, while Emma Trawally Porta leads the league with 19 total blocks.

LAST TIME OUT…
Cleveland State picked up a 77-54 victory over Oakland in the #HLWBB opener, extending its current win streak to six straight games. Four Vikings finished the game with double-digit points, while Cleveland State held a 51-38 edge in rebounding. As a team, the Vikings shot 47-percent from the floor, while posting a .500 clip from behind-the-arc. 

VIKINGS LOOK TO CARRY #HLWBB MOMENTUM
After picking up a convincing victory against Oakland in Friday's #HLWBB opener, the Vikings will be looking to carry that momentum into Sunday's contest against Detroit Mercy. With a win on Sunday, the Vikings would open #HLWBB play with a 2-0 record for the second straight season and the third time under head coach Chris Kielsmeier. Under Kielsmeier, the Vikings own a 37-34 record in #HLWBB regular season play, including a 12-6 mark last season, which marked the first time in four years that Cleveland State recorded double-digit league wins. 

CLEVELAND STATE TABBED THIRD IN PRESEASON POLL
Earlier this season the Vikings were tabbed to finish third in the Horizon League Preseason Poll – picking up 102 points and one first-place vote. Last season, the Vikings finished fourth in the league standings with a 14-6 #HLWBB record, and advanced to the championship game of the Horizon League Tournament for the first time since 2010. Youngstown State was picked as the preseason favorite, while Green Bay was selected second. 

LEO NAMED #HLWBB PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR
As a two-time All-League honoree, junior Destiny Leo was named the #HLWBB Preseason Player of the Year, becoming the fourth Viking to be selected as the league's preseason player of the year and the first since Kailey Klein (2009-10). Leo returns as Cleveland State's leading scorer from a season ago, as she averaged 18.7 points per game to lead all league players and rank 38th nationally. In addition, Leo led the Vikings with 73 total three-pointers on a .390 three-point field goal percentage – both of which were tops in the league and top-50 among Division I players.

NGWAFANG TALLIES DOUBLE-DOUBLE IN #HLWBB OPENER
Last time out, Amele Ngwafang recorded her first double-double of the season, finishing with 15 points and 11 rebounds against Oakland. Ngwafang, who is now the third Viking to tally a double-double this season, went 5-for-10 from the field and 5-for-7 from the free throw line on the game, while also adding a blocked shot. For the season, Ngwafang is averaging 6.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per game, and has eight total blocks. 

CLEVELAND STATE WITH THE BLOCK
Over the first three weeks of the 2022-23 campaign Cleveland State has been one of the best shot blocking teams in the country, entering Sunday's game averaging 6.57 blocks per game to rank fourth among Division I schools. The Vikings have notched 3+ blocks in all seven games so far this season, including a season-high nine at DePaul (11/15) and against Oakland last time out. Individually, Jordana Reisma has a team-best 11 blocked shots, while Amele Ngwafang has eight and a trio of Vikings have five.

HOME SWEET HOME
During the 2022-23 season the Vikings will play 14 of their 31 regular season games in the friendly confines of the Wolstein Center - with this week's pair of #HLWBB games marking the first of 10 league contests inside the Wolstein Center this season. Under Chris Kielsmeier, the Vikings have combined for a 40-17 record when playing inside the Wolstein Center following Friday's 77-54 victory over Oakland.

…VIKINGS EXTEND WOLSTEIN CENTER WIN STREAK
With their #HLWBB Opener victory against the Grizzlies last time out, the Vikings extended their current win streak inside the Wolstein Center to six straight games. This run dates back to March 3 of last season, and includes wins over six different teams. 

VIKINGS MOVE UP MID-MAJOR RANKINGS
Entering the weekend, Cleveland State is ranked 14th in the College Insider Women's Mid-Major Top-25 poll, moving up 10 spots after going 3-0 at the Viking Invitational. The Vikings are the only #HLWBB team to be ranked in the top-25, while Green Bay, Youngstown State and Northern Kentucky are all receiving votes.

LEO NAMED #HLWBB PLAYER OF THE WEEK
After leading Cleveland State to a 3-0 week, junior Destiny Leo was named the #HLWBB Player of the Week on Monday, November 28. Leo averaged 16.7 points per game on a .400 field goal percentage for the week - pacing the Viking offense in all three games. In addition, Leo converted 11 three-point field goals, including six against Georgia State which is tied for the highest single-game total so far this season among #HLWBB players.

…LEO IN THE CSU RECORD BOOK
Entering Sunday's game, Destiny Leo currently ranks in the top-10 in three CSU Career Record Book categories; Three-Point Field Goal Percentage (.388), Free Throw Percentage (.902) and Three-Point Field Goals Made (145). Leo is currently first in three-point field goal percentage and free throw percentage, while she moved into 10th place on the three-point field goals made list after converting 11 shots from behind-the-arc in the three games last week. 

MOORE FINDING HER RHYTHM
In her second season as a Viking, senior Brittni Moore is starting to find her rhythm on the court, currently averaging 11.4 points and 6.9 rebounds per game - leading the team with 48 total boards and ranking second in scoring. Through the first seven games, Moore has tallied double-digit points five times, while also notching the first double-double of her career against Hofstra (11 pts, 12 rbs). In addition, Moore has also tallied 13 assists and eight steals on the season.

HEAD COACH CHRIS KIELSMEIER
The Vikings will be under the direction of fifth-year head coach Chris Kielsmeier during the 2022-23 campaign, who owns a 72-50 record at Cleveland State and a 488-166 overall record in 23 seasons as a head coach. Kielsmeier, who joined the Vikings as the seventh head coach in program history prior to the 2018-19 season, is one of just two active #HLWBB coaches to reach the 450-win milestone.

UP NEXT
The Vikings will return to non-league play next week, hitting the road for a pair of games at Central Michigan (Thursday, December 8) and Akron (Sunday, December 11).