SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State women's basketball team will continue its non-league slate this weekend, traveling to Akron for a 5:00 p.m. contest on Sunday, December 11. Entering the weekend, the Vikings stand at 8-1 overall this season, while Akron currently owns a 5-1 record.

A WIN ON SUNDAY WOULD…
Extend Cleveland State's current win streak to nine straight games…Keep the Vikings perfect during the month of December…Put the Vikings at 2-0 against MAC teams this season. 

THE CLEVELAND STATE/AKRON SERIES
Sunday's game will mark the 44th meeting between the two teams, with Cleveland State owning a 26-17 advantage in the overall series. After last year's game was cancelled due to COVID-19 implications, the last meeting between the two teams came during the 2019-20 campaign when Cleveland State picked up a 66-62 victory against the Zips. 

SCOUTING THE ZIPS
Akron enters Sunday's game standing at 5-1 overall this season, entering Sunday's contest on a five-game win streak, most recently picking up a 101-46 victory against Point Park…Sunday's game will be the second in a three-game homestand for the Zips…Cleveland State will be Akron's fifth Horizon League opponent of the year, as the Zips also faced Oakland, Youngstown State, Robert Morris, and Northern Kentucky…Earlier this season, Akron was selected to finish eighth in the MAC Preseason Poll, while Reagan Bass was named to the MAC Preseason Second Team.

LAST TIME OUT…
Cleveland State returned to non-league play and began a six-game roadswing by picking up an 86-55 victory at Central Michigan. The Vikings were paced offensively by the trio of Brittni Moore (26 pts), Destiny Leo (16) and Amele Ngwafang (16), while Ngwafang also grabbed a team-best 10 rebounds. As a team, the Vikings recorded 48 of their 56 points in the paint, while they notched 23 points off of 19 CMU turnovers.

MOORE FINDING HER RHYTHM
In her second season as a Viking, senior Brittni Moore is starting to find her rhythm on the court, entering Sunday's game averaging 12.4 points and 6.3 rebounds per game - leading the team with 57 total boards and ranking second in scoring. Last time out, Moore posted a career-high 26-point performance at Central Michigan, going 10-for-15 from the floor while also adding a perfect 5-for-5 effort from the free throw line. In addition to her scoring and rebounding, Moore has also combined for 10 assists, 10 steals and six blocked shots on the season.

NGWAFANG NOTCHES DOUBLE-DOUBLE AT CMU
Last time out, Amele Ngwafang recorded her second double-double of the season, finishing with 16 points and 10 rebounds at Central Michigan. Ngwafang, who is averaging 8.0 points and 5.9 rebounds per game on the season, went 6-for-11 from the floor in 22 minutes played against the Chippewas, marking her third double-digit scoring effort of the season. Among Horizon League players, Ngwafang is one of just five to have multiple double-doubles on the year.

VIKINGS FIRING ON ALL CYLINDERS
Entering Sunday's game, Cleveland State leads the Horizon League with a 16.1 ppg scoring margin and has outscored its opponents by 20+ points over the last four games. During this stretch the Vikings have shot 47-percent from the field, including a .603 clip against Detroit Mercy (35-for-58) which marked the highest single-game total among #HLWBB teams this season. Cleveland State has also combined for 54 assists over the last four games, including 12 from Brittni Moore. 

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 Sunday'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 (.902) and Three-Point Field Goals Made (151). Leo is currently first in three-point field goal percentage and free throw percentage, while she is tied for ninth in three-point field goals made after knocking down three shots from behind-the-arc at Central Michigan last time out. 

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. 

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 Sunday's game averaging 5.9 blocks per game to rank ninth among Division I schools. The Vikings have notched 3+ blocks in eight of nine 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 Brittni Moore has six.

ROAD WARRIORS
Sunday's game at Akron will be the second 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 2-1 record when playing on the road, including an overtime win at DePaul and a 31-point victory at Central Michigan last time out. 

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
After picking up an 86-55 victory at Central Michigan last time out, Cleveland State extended its win streak to eight straight games, marking the second time over the last four seasons that the Vikings have had a win streak of eight or more games. The eight consecutive wins is tied for the third most in program history. As of December 9, Cleveland State is one of 14 Division I teams with a current win streak of eight+ games on the season.

FINDING THE RIGHT COMBINATION
Through the first nine 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 74-50 record at Cleveland State and a 490-166 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 take a week off from competition, returning to action at the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic when they face Lindenwood and Campbell.