SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State women's basketball team will close out its current homestand this weekend, beginning with a 7:00 p.m. contest against Milwaukee on Thursday, January 12. Entering Thursday's matchup, Cleveland State stands at 15-1 overall this year and 6-0 in #HLWBB play, while Milwaukee is currently 6-8 overall and 4-2 in Horizon League action.

A WIN ON THURSDAY WOULD…
Extend Cleveland State's current win streak to 16 straight games…Keep the Vikings perfect in #HLWBB play…Move Cleveland State to 9-0 when playing inside the Wolstein Center this season.

THE CLEVELAND STATE/MILWAUKEE SERIES
Thursday's game will mark the 63rd meeting between the two teams, with Milwaukee owning a 36-26 edge in the all-time series. Cleveland State swept the season series last year, picking up a 66-57 victory at Milwaukee and earning a 67-55 win at home. 

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
Milwaukee enters Thursday's game with a 6-8 overall record this season, including a 4-2 mark against Horizon League opponents…The Panthers have won three out of their last four games, including a 72-61 victory at Wright State last time out…When playing on the road this season, Milwaukee stands at 1-6, with its lone victory coming against the Raiders…Earlier this year, Milwaukee was selected to finish fifth in the #HLWBB Preseason Poll, while Megan Walstad was named Preseason First Team…Milwaukee currently ranks second among league teams with a .723 free throw percentage, while Megan Walstad ranks second averaging 1.3 blocked shots per game.

LAST TIME OUT…
Cleveland State remained perfect at the Wolstein Center this season, earning a 92-59 victory over IUPUI. Amele Ngwafang and Destiny Leo both notched 20-point games against the Jaguars, while Brittni Moore added 15 points. The Vikings outrebounded IUPUI 36-29, while they held a 46-26 advantage in points in the paint. Cleveland State forced the Jaguars into 20 turnovers, turning these miscues into 25 points.

VIKINGS EXTEND PROGRAM RECORD WITH 15-GAME WIN STREAK
After continuing its winning ways with a 92-59 victory over IUPUI last time out, Cleveland State extended its program record win streak to 15 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 15+ games (South Carolina, Ohio State, LSU).

VIKINGS STAY PERFECT IN #HLWBB PLAY
Following Sunday's 92-59 victory over IUPUI, Cleveland State improved to 6-0 in #HLWBB play this season - marking the first time in program history that the Vikings are off to a 6-0 start in Horizon League play. Entering the fourth week of league play, Cleveland State is the only team to be undefeated in #HLWBB action, while a win against Milwaukee on Thursday would extend the Vikings' #HLWBB start to 7-0 for the first time in program history.

HOME-SWEET-HOME
Cleveland State will close out its current four-game homestand this weekend, beginning with Thursday's matchup against Milwaukee. Thursday's game against the Panthers will be the ninth of 15 scheduled home games for the Vikings this season. 

…VIKINGS IN THE WOLSTEIN CENTER
So far this season Cleveland State owns a perfect 8-0 record inside the Wolstein Center, including a 4-0 mark in #HLWBB play. Over the last two seasons, the Vikings have posted a 20-4 record when playing at home, and own an overall record of 44-17 inside the Wolstein Center during head coach Chris Kielsmeier's tenure.

VIKINGS IN THE MID-MAJOR RANKINGS
Entering the weekend, Cleveland State is ranked fifth in the College Insider Women's Mid-Major Top-25 Poll, moving up one spot after going 2-0 against Purdue Fort Wayne and IUPUI last weekend. The Vikings are one of three Horizon League teams to be ranked in the top-25, as Green Bay (12) and Youngstown State (19) are also ranked this week.

…AND RECEIVING VOTES IN WBCA TOP-25
Cleveland State also enters this weekend's games receiving votes in the most recent USA Today/WBCA Coaches Poll. The Vikings are one of 18 teams to be receiving votes in this week's poll, while they are the lone Horizon League team to appear in the rankings.

NGWAFANG PICKS UP #HLWBB WEEKLY HONORS
arlier this week Amele Ngwafang picked up the first weekly honor of her career, as she was named the Horizon League Player of the Week. Ngwafang averaged a double-double on the week with 20.5 points and 11.0 rebounds, shooting 78-percent from the floor (15-for-19). She opened the week with a 16-point, 25-rebound double-double against Purdue Fort Wayne and followed that up with a career-high tying 25-point effort against IUPUI. Ngwafang is now one of three Vikings to pick up #HLWBB Player of the Week honors this season.

CLEVELAND STATE ON THE DEFENSIVE END
Sixteen games into the 2022-23 campaign Cleveland State leads the Horizon League in rebounding (42.0) and blocked shots (4.63) and ranks second in steals (9.88), serving as one of the best defensive teams in the league. Through the first nine 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 and Deja Williams are tied for sixth averaging a team-best 1.5 steals per game.

LEO NOTCHES 20-POINT GAME AGAINST IUPUI
Last time out Destiny Leo notched her sixth 20-point game of the season, posting 21 points against IUPUI. Leo, who is averaging a team-best 17.1 points per game, has tallied double-digit points in all but one contest this season and ranks third among #HLWBB players in scoring. Earlier this year, Leo recorded her 1,000th career point against Campbell, and enters Thursday's game with 1,079 total points on her career.

…LEO IN THE RECORD BOOK
Destiny Leo currently sits at the top of the CSU Career Record Book with an .899 free throw percentage, entering Thursday's game shooting 223-for-248 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 .387 three-point field goal percentage and tied for sixth with 166 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.

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 81-50 record at Cleveland State and a 497-166 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 their current homestand on Saturday, January 14, hosting Green Bay at 2:00 p.m.