SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State women's basketball team will return to non-league action this week, beginning with an 11:00 a.m. contest at Central Michigan on Thursday, December 8. Entering the week, Cleveland State stands at 7-1 overall this season, while Central Michigan currently owns a 1-6 record.

A WIN ON THURSDAY WOULD…
Extend Cleveland State's current win streak to eight straight games…Keep the Vikings perfect during the month of December…Mark the first win against Central Michigan since the 2002-03 campaign.

THE CLEVELAND STATE/CENTRAL MICHIGAN SERIES
Thursday's game will mark just the seventh meeting between the two teams in program history, with Central Michigan owning a 4-2 edge in the all-time series. The last time the two teams matched up against each other was during the 2005-06 campaign, when the Chippewas picked up a 66-44 victory. Cleveland State's two wins in the series came during the 2000-01 and 2002-03 seasons. 

SCOUTING THE CHIPPEWAS
Central Michigan enters Thursday's game standing at 1-6 overall this season, picking up a 66-65 victory against North Dakota State for its first win of the season last time out…Cleveland State will be CMU's second Horizon League opponent of the year, as the Chippewas fell to Oakland back in November…Earlier this season, Central Michigan was selected to finish 12th in the MAC Preseason Poll…Through seven games, Sydney Harris leads CMU averaging 15.0 points per game, while Jahari Smith is averaging a team-best 6.8 rebounds per game.

LAST TIME OUT…
Cleveland State opened its #HLWBB slate with a pair of wins over Oakland (77-54) and Detroit Mercy (86-30), posting a 2-0 record over the first week of league play for the second straight season and third time under head coach Chris Kielsmeier. Cleveland State combined for a .540 clip from the field on the two games, and held a +9.5 rebounding advantage combined for the week. The Vikings are now 14-6 in regular season Horizon League play over the last two years.

CLEVELAND STATE IN KIDS DAY GAMES
Thursday's contest at Central Michigan will be the second of three Kids Day Games for the Vikings this season, as Cleveland State opened the year in a Kids Day Game at Iowa State and the Vikings will host their own Kids Day Game when the they welcome Robert Morris in February. 

LEO NAMED #HLWBB PLAYER OF THE WEEK
For the second straight week junior Destiny Leo was named the #HLWBB Player of the Week, picking up the honor on Monday after helping the Vikings open league play with a 2-0 record. Leo averaged 21.5 points per game on a .600 clip from the field on the week, posting 19 points against Oakland and 24 points against Detroit Mercy. Leo knocked down eight three pointers in the two games, while also combining for five steals, three assists and one blocked shot. 

…LEO IN THE CSU RECORD BOOK
Entering Thursday's game, Destiny Leo currently ranks in the top-10 in three CSU Career Record Book categories; Three-Point Field Goal Percentage (.390), Free Throw Percentage (.904) and Three-Point Field Goals Made (148). Leo is currently first in three-point field goal percentage and free throw percentage, while she sits 10th in three-point field goals made, needing just three shots from behind-the-arc to move into ninth place.

REISMA NAMED #HLWBB FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
For the second time this season Jordana Reisma was honored as the #HLWBB Freshman of the Week, picking up the honor after helping Cleveland State to a 2-0 week last time out. Reisma opened league play averaging 6.5 points and 2.0 rebounds per game, including an eight-point game against Detroit Mercy on a perfect 4-for-4 performance from the field. In addition, she also recorded two blocked shots on the week. 

VIKINGS FIRING ON ALL CYLINDERS
Last time out, Cleveland State had one of its best offensive performances in recent history, shooting 60.3-percent from the field against Detroit Mercy. The Vikings posted a .530 clip or higher in all four quarters against the Titans, including a .688 clip during the first 10 minutes of action (11-for-16). In addition, the Vikings recorded 23 assists on 35 made field goals, with all 12 available players getting into the scoring or assist column. Cleveland State's .603 clip from the field marked a single-game high among #HLWBB teams this season, while the 23 assists is the second highest total among league teams. 

CLEVELAND STATE WITH THE BLOCK
Over the first four weeks of the 2022-23 campaign Cleveland State has been one of the best shot blocking teams in the country, entering Thursday's game averaging 6.38 blocks per game to rank sixth among Division I schools. The Vikings have notched 3+ blocks in all eight games so far this season, including a season-high nine at DePaul (11/15) and against Oakland (12/2). Individually, Jordana Reisma has a team-best 13 blocked shots, while Amele Ngwafang has nine and a quartet of Vikings have five.

ROAD WARRIORS
Thursday's game at Central Michigan will be the first of six straight road games for the Vikings, as they will close out the calendar year away from home. So far this season, Cleveland State owns a 1-1 record when playing on the road, picking up an overtime win at DePaul and falling in the season opener at Iowa State who was ranked No. 8 to begin the season. 

VIKINGS MOVE UP MID-MAJOR RANKINGS
Earlier this week, Cleveland State moved up the College Insider Women's Mid-Major Top-25 poll once again, entering Thursday's game ranked 10th after going 2-0 to begin #HLWBB play. The Vikings are the only #HLWBB team to be ranked in the top-25, while Youngstown State, Green Bay and Northern Kentucky are all receiving votes.

VIKINGS EXTEND WIN STREAK
With the 2-0 start to #HLWBB play last weekend, Cleveland State extended its win streak to seven straight games, marking the fourth straight year that the Vikings have had a win streak of seven or more games. The seven consecutive wins is tied for the fourth most in program history. As of December 7, Cleveland State is one of 20 Division I teams with a current win streak of seven+ games on the season.

FINDING THE RIGHT COMBINATION
Through the first eight games of the year, Cleveland State has used three different starting lineups, as head coach Chris Kielsmeier is trying to find the right rotation on an extremely deep team. The quartet of Destiny Leo, Brittni Moore, Gabriella Smith, and Amele Ngwafang have appeared in the starting five during all eight games this year, while Carmen Villalobos, Barbara Zieniewska and Sara Guerreiro have also earned a spot in the starting lineup at least once. 

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 73-50 record at Cleveland State and a 489-166 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 close out the week with a 5:00 p.m. contest at Akron on Sunday, December 11.