SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State women's basketball team will continue Horizon League play on Sunday, January 8, hosting IUPUI at 2:00 p.m. inside the Wolstein Center. Entering the weekend, Cleveland State stands at 14-1 overall this year and 5-0 in #HLWBB play, while IUPUI is currently 8-6 overall and 4-1 in Horizon League action.

A WIN ON SUNDAY WOULD…
Extend Cleveland State's current win streak to 15 straight games…Keep the Vikings perfect in #HLWBB play…Move Cleveland State to 8-0 when playing inside the Wolstein Center this season.

THE CLEVELAND STATE/IUPUI SERIES
Sunday's game will mark the 20th meeting between the two teams, with IUPUI owning a 12-7 edge in the all-time series. Last season, the Vikings picked up a forfeit win against the Jaguars in the first meeting, while IUPUI earned a win in the second regular season matchup, and a 61-54 victory in the 2022 #HLWBB Championship.

SCOUTING THE JAGUARS
IUPUI enters Sunday's game with an 8-6 overall record this season, including a 4-1 mark against Horizon League opponents…The Jaguars are in the midst of a four-game win streak, most recently earning a 79-71 victory against Purdue Fort Wayne…When playing on the road this season, IUPUI stands at 3-3…Earlier this year, IUPUI was selected to finish sixth in the #HLWBB Preseason Poll, while Rachel Kent was named Preseason Second Team…The Jaguars lead the league with a .363 three-point field goal percentage and average a league-best 8.8 three-pointers per game, while they rank second with a .715 free throw percentage as a team.

LAST TIME OUT…
Cleveland State began the New Year with a 74-56 victory over Purdue Fort Wayne, paced by Destiny Leo and Amele Ngwafang who both finished with 16 points. In addition, Brittni Moore tallied 14 points, while Ngwafang tallied a double-double also notching 15 rebounds. As a team, the Vikings held a 42-14 advantage in points in the paint, while the Cleveland State defense forced the Mastodons into 21 turnovers, turning those miscues into 23 points.

VIKINGS EXTEND PROGRAM RECORD WITH 14-GAME WIN STREAK
After continuing its winning ways with a 74-56 victory over Purdue Fort Wayne last time out, Cleveland State extended its program record win streak to 14 consecutive games. The Vikings, who set the previous record with 11 straight wins during the 2019-20 campaign, are one of just four Division I teams with a current win streak of 14+ games.

VIKINGS STAY PERFECT IN #HLWBB PLAY
Following Friday's 74-56 victory over Purdue Fort Wayne, Cleveland State improved to 5-0 in #HLWBB play this season - marking the first time in program history that the Vikings are off to a 5-0 start in Horizon League play. Currently in the third week of league play, Cleveland State is the only team to be undefeated in #HLWBB action, while a win against IUPUI on Sunday would extend the Vikings' #HLWBB start to 6-0 for the first time in program history.

HOME-SWEET-HOME
Cleveland State will continue its current four-game homestand against IUPUI on Sunday, as the Vikings are playing inside the friendly confines of the Wolstein Center for the first time in three weeks. Sunday's game against the Jaguars will be the eighth of 15 scheduled home games for the Vikings this season.

…VIKINGS IN THE WOLSTEIN CENTER
So far this season Cleveland State owns a perfect 7-0 record inside the Wolstein Center, including a 3-0 mark in #HLWBB play. Over the last two seasons, the Vikings have posted a 19-4 record when playing at home, and own an overall record of 43-17 inside the Wolstein Center during head coach Chris Kielsmeier's tenure.

VIKINGS IN THE MID-MAJOR RANKINGS
Entering the weekend, Cleveland State is ranked sixth in the College Insider Women's Mid-Major Top-25 Poll, moving up three spots after going 2-0 during its YSU/RMU roadswing. The Vikings are one of three Horizon League teams to be ranked in the top-25, as Green Bay (12) and Youngstown State (21) are also ranked this week.

NGWAFANG NOTCHES DOUBLE-DOUBLE AGAINST MASTODONS
Last time out Amele Ngwafang recorded her third double-double of the season, finishing with 16 points and 15 rebounds in the win over Purdue Fort Wayne. Ngwafang recorded her 16 points on 4-for-6 shooting from the floor, along with an 8-for-10 clip from the free throw line. Six of Ngwafang's rebounds came as offensive boards, as she now has a team-best 35 offensive rebounds this season. On the year, Ngwafang is averaging a team-best 6.5 rebounds per game, ranking seventh among league players.

CLEVELAND STATE ON THE DEFENSIVE END
Fifteen games into the 2022-23 campaign Cleveland State leads the Horizon League in rebounding (42.4), steals (10.00) and blocked shots (4.80), serving as one of the best defensive teams in the league. Through the first eight+ weeks, the Vikings have recorded double-digit steals six times and have notched 4+ blocked shots during eight games. Individually, Amele Ngwafang ranks seventh among #HLWBB players averaging 6.5 rebounds per game, while Jordana Reisma is tied for second with 1.3 blocks per game and Destiny Leo is tied for third averaging a team-best 1.6 steals per game.

WILLIAMS & LEO FROM THE FREE THROW LINE
Following Friday's contest, Deja Williams and Destiny Leo continue to be the top two free throw shooters in the Horizon League, Williams with a .950 clip (38-for-40) and Leo with a .921 clip (58-for-63). Nationally, Williams ranks sixth in the category while Leo ranks 11th among Division I players. Over the last two games, this duo has combined for a 19-for-19 effort from the free throw line, while Williams has a stretch of six straight games that she hasn't missed a free throw, going 19-for-19 during this span.

…LEO IN THE RECORD BOOK
Destiny Leo currently sits at the top of the CSU Career Record Book with a .902 free throw percentage, entering Sunday's game shooting 221-for-245 from the line on her career. Leo is currently the only Viking in program history with a .900+ clip from the free throw line (minimum 200 attempts), while she also set a single-season program record with a .906 free throw percentage last year (125-for-138). In addition, Leo is currently first in the CSU Career Record Book with a .385 three-point field goal percentage and tied for seventh with 163 total three-pointers made.

CLEVELAND STATE NOTCHES PERFECT 8-0 RECORD DURING DECEMBER
After picking up a 70-52 victory at RMU to close out the calendar year, the Vikings capped off a perfect 8-0 month of December, marking the second straight season that Cleveland State has gone undefeated during a calendar month (went 5-0 during November last season). This also marked the first time since the 2012-13 campaign that the Vikings posted a perfect record during the month of December specifically, as they went 6-0 during December of 2012.

REISMA PICKS UP #HLWBB FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK HONORS...AGAIN
Earlier this week, forward Jordana Reisma was named the Horizon League Freshman of the Week, earning the honor for a league-leading third time this season. Reisma averaged 9.0 points on a .750 field goal clip in the two games last week, including a season-high 14 points on 5-for-5 from the field at RMU. The 14-point performance marked Reisma's first double-digit scoring game of the season, while she also combined for eight rebounds and one blocked shot on the week.

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 an 80-50 record at Cleveland State and a 496-166 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 stay at home next week, hosting Milwaukee on Thursday, January 12 and Green Bay on Saturday, January 14.