SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State women's basketball team will return to the court for the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic this week, facing Lindenwood on Monday, December 19 and Campbell on Tuesday, December 20. Entering the week, Cleveland State stands at 9-1 overall this season, while Lindenwood owns a 1-8 record and Campbell stands at 5-4.

THE CLEVELAND STATE/LINDENWOOD SERIES
Monday's game will mark the first meeting between the two teams in program history.

SCOUTING LINDENWOOD
Lindenwood enters Monday's game with a 1-8 record on the season, picking up a 96-36 victory against Hannibal-LaGrange last time out for its lone win of the year…Earlier this year, Lindenwood, who is playing in its inaugural Division I season, was selected to finish ninth in the OVC Preseason Poll…Emily Benzschawel leads Lindenwood averaging 11.0 ppg, while Mary McGrath is averaging a team-best 5.3 rebounds.

THE CLEVELAND STATE/CAMPBELL SERIES
Tuesday's game will mark the first meeting between the two teams in program history.

SCOUTING CAMPBELL
Campbell enters the week standing at 5-4 on the season, most recently picking up a 101-38 victory against William Pace…Earlier this season, Campbell was selected to finish third in the Big South Preseason Poll, while Shy Tuelle was named Preseason First Team and Brittany Staves was named to the Preseason Second Team…Tuelle leads Campbell averaging 13.0 ppg, while Christabel Ezumah is averaging a team-best 8.3 rebounds.

VIKINGS IN LAS VEGAS
Although this will mark the first time that the Vikings are participating in the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic, it will be the second time that Cleveland State is part of a tournament in Las Vegas. The Vikings also took part in the Southpoint Shootout during the 2017-18 campaign, splitting their games against Saint Louis (L, 80-64) and Louisiana (W, 54-45).

LAST TIME OUT…
Cleveland State headed into its finals week break with a 76-58 victory at Akron, extending its win streak to nine straight games. The Vikings once again had a solid offensive performance, shooting 40-percent from the floor with 16 assists on 28 made field goals. The Vikings were able to hold a 36-10 advantage in points in the paint, while also holding the 22-11 edge in points off turnovers against the Zips.

MOORE NAMED #HLWBB PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Earlier this week, Brittni Moore was named the Horizon League Player of the Week, marking the third straight week that a Viking picked up the honor. Moore  averaged 21.0 points per game on a .515 field goal clip in a pair of wins against Central Michigan and Akron last week, including a career-high 26-point performance on 10-for-15 from the field against CMU. Through the first 10 games, Moore has recorded double-digit points seven times, and is averaging 12.8 ppg on a .439 field goal percentage.

LEO CLOSING IN ON 1,000 CAREER POINTS
Junior Destiny Leo enters the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic just 16 points shy of 1,000 points for her career, currently sitting at 984 total points. Leo, who leads the team averaging 17.9 points per game so far this season, would become the 32nd Viking all-time to eclipse 1,000 career points and just the eighth to do so in three seasons. So far this year, Leo has posted four 20-point games, with a season-high 24 point effort coming against Detroit Mercy earlier this month.

…LEO IN THE CSU RECORD BOOK
Entering the week, Destiny Leo currently ranks in the top-10 in three CSU Career Record Book categories; Three-Point Field Goal Percentage (.392), Free Throw Percentage (.896) and Three-Point Field Goals Made (155). Leo is currently first in three-point field goal percentage and free throw percentage, while she moved into sole possession of ninth place on the three-point field goal list after converting four shots from behind-the-arc at Akron last time out.

CLEVELAND STATE ON THE BOARDS
Ten games into the 2022-23 campaign Cleveland State leads the Horizon League averaging 42.3 rebounds per game, grabbing 423 total boards through the first five weeks. So far, the Vikings have recorded 50+ rebounds twice this season, while they have outrebounded their opponents during the last six games. Individually, Brittni Moore and Amele Ngwafang are both averaging a team-best 6.0 rebounds per game, while Sara Guerreiro is averaging 4.3 boards and Barbara Zieniewska is averaging 4.0 rpg.

VIKINGS FIRING ON ALL CYLINDERS
Entering the week, Cleveland State leads the Horizon League with a 16.3 ppg scoring margin and has outscored its opponents by 20+ points four of the last five games. During this stretch the Vikings have shot 45-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 70 assists over the last four games, including 14 from Brittni Moore. 

ROAD WARRIORS
This week's games in Las Vegas will be the third and fourth 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 3-1 record when playing on the road, including an overtime win at DePaul and a pair of wins at Central Michigan and Akron. 

VIKINGS MOVE UP MID-MAJOR RANKINGS
Once again, Cleveland State moved up the College Insider Women's Mid-Major Top-25 poll earlier this week, currently sitting ninth after extending its win streak to nine straight games with a win at Akron last time out. The Vikings are one of three Horizon League teams to be ranked in the top-25, as Youngstown State (23) and Green Bay (25) both moved into the poll this week. 

VIKINGS EXTEND WIN STREAK
After picking up a 76-58 victory at Akron last time out, Cleveland State extended its win streak to nine straight games, marking the second time over the last four seasons that the Vikings have had a win streak of nine or more games. The nine consecutive wins is tied for the second most in program history. As of December 17, Cleveland State is one of 13 Division I teams with a current win streak of nine+ games on the season.

FINDING THE RIGHT COMBINATION
Through the first 10 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 75-50 record at Cleveland State and a 491-166 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.

#HLWBB PRESEASON ACCOLADES
Earlier this season, junior Destiny Leo was selected as the Horizon League Preseason Player of the Year, becoming the fourth Viking to earn the accolade and the first since Kailey Klein (2009-10). In addition, Cleveland State was selected to finish third in the #HLWBB Preseason Poll, picking up 102 points and one first-place vote to finish behind Youngstown State and Green Bay.

UP NEXT
The Vikings will be back in action after the Holidays, returning to Horizon League play with a pair of games at Youngstown State (12/29) and Robert Morris (12/31).