SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State women's basketball team will close out its current homestand on Saturday, January 14, hosting Green Bay in a critical mid-season #HLWBB matchup. Tip-off against the Phoenix is slated for 2:00 p.m. inside the Wolstein Center. Entering Saturday's matchup, Cleveland State stands at 16-1 overall this year and 7-0 in #HLWBB play, while Green Bay is currently 13-3 overall and 6-1 in Horizon League action.

SATURDAY IS KIDS DAY!
Saturday's game against Green Bay will be Kids Day, featuring pre-game inflatables and games, poster making stations and post-game autographs on an official team poster. Admission is free for all to attend, with doors opening at 1:00 p.m.

A WIN ON SATURDAY WOULD…
Extend Cleveland State's current win streak to 17 straight games…Keep the Vikings perfect in #HLWBB play…Move Cleveland State to 10-0 when playing inside the Wolstein Center this season.

THE CLEVELAND STATE/GREEN BAY SERIES
Saturday's game will mark the 79th meeting between the two teams, with Green Bay owning a 69-9 advantage in the all-time series. Despite this advantage, the Vikings have picked up wins in three of the last five meetings, including a convincing 69-42 victory in the 2022 #HLWBB Semifinals the last time these two teams played.

SCOUTING THE PHOENIX
Green Bay enters Saturday's game with a 13-3 overall record this season, including a 6-1 mark against Horizon League opponents…The Phoenix have won 10 straight games, with their last loss coming in a 59-52 decision at Milwaukee to open #HLWBB play…With the 6-1 league mark, Green Bay is currently tied for second in the #HLWBB standings…Earlier this year, Green Bay was selected to finish second in the #HLWBB Preseason Poll…The Phoenix currently lead the league with a .433 field goal percentage and a .790 free throw clip, while also sitting at the top of the standings with a 1.25 assist/turnover ratio.

LAST TIME OUT…
Cleveland State remained perfect at the Wolstein Center this season, earning an 81-50 victory over Milwaukee. Amele Ngwafang notched a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double, while Carmen Villalobos (13 points) and Deja Williams (12) both tallied double-digit scoring efforts. The Vikings recorded 12 steals and forced Milwaukee into 21 turnovers, holding a 31-8 advantage in points off turnovers. Cleveland State also held a slim 36-34 edge in rebounding, marking the 13th straight game that the Vikings have outrebounded their opponent. 

VIKINGS EXTEND PROGRAM RECORD WITH 16-GAME WIN STREAK
After continuing its winning ways with an 81-50 victory over Milwaukee last time out, Cleveland State extended its program record win streak to 16 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 16+ games (South Carolina, Ohio State, LSU).

VIKINGS STAY PERFECT IN #HLWBB PLAY
Following Thursday's 81-50 victory over Milwaukee, Cleveland State improved to 7-0 in #HLWBB play this season - marking the first time in program history that the Vikings are off to a 7-0 start in Horizon League play. Currently in the fourth week of league play, Cleveland State is the only team to be undefeated in #HLWBB action, while a win against Green Bay on Saturday would extend the Vikings' #HLWBB start to 8-0 for the first time in program history.

HOME-SWEET-HOME
Cleveland State will close out its current four-game homestand this weekend, as Saturday's game against Green Bay will be the final contest for the Vikings inside the Wolstein Center until the first week of February. Saturday's game marks the 10th of 15 scheduled home games for the Vikings this season.

…VIKINGS IN THE WOLSTEIN CENTER
So far this season Cleveland State owns a perfect 9-0 record inside the Wolstein Center, including a 5-0 mark in #HLWBB play. Over the last two seasons, the Vikings have posted a 21-4 record when playing at home, and own an overall record of 45-17 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 entered 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 NOTCHES DOUBLE-DOUBLE AGAINST MILWAUKEE
Last time out, Amele Ngwafang recorded her fourth double-double of the season, finishing with 14 points and 10 rebounds against Milwaukee. Six of Ngwafang's 10 boards came as offensive rebounds, while she recorded 11 of her 14 points during the second half of action. For the season, Ngwafang is averaging 9.4 points and 6.7 rebounds per game, ranking third on the team in scoring and leading the Vikings with 114 total boards. 

…NGWAFANG PICKS UP #HLWBB WEEKLY HONORS
Earlier 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, 15-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.

BENCH COMES UP BIG AGAINST MILWAUKEE
Cleveland State had excellent support from its bench last time out, as the Vikings outscored Milwaukee 43-25 in bench points. Of the 12 players that saw action against the Panthers, 11 got in the scoring column, including a pair of double-digit efforts from Carmen Villalobos (13 points) and Deja Williams (12). The bench went 16-for-27 from the field on the game, while Villalobos, Williams and Sara Guerreiro combined for five of Cleveland State's seven three-pointers on the night.  

VIKINGS WITH THE HOT START
The Vikings have gotten out to quick starts in each of their last three games, as Cleveland State has outscored its opponents 61-21 after the first quarter during this stretch - including holding IUPUI and Purdue Fort Wayne to single-digits during the first 10 minutes of action. Furthermore, the Vikings have outscored their opponents 31-4 over the first 3:30 of the last three contests. 

CLEVELAND STATE ON THE DEFENSIVE END
Seventeen games into the 2022-23 campaign Cleveland State leads the Horizon League in rebounding (41.6), blocked shots (4.59) and steals (10.0), serving as one of the best defensive teams in the league. Through the first nine+ weeks, the Vikings have recorded double-digit steals seven times and have notched 4+ blocked shots during nine games. Individually, Amele Ngwafang ranks seventh among #HLWBB players averaging 6.7 rebounds per game, while Jordana Reisma is tied for fourth with 1.2 blocks per game, and Deja Williams is tied for sixth averaging a team-best 1.6 steals per game.

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 82-50 record at Cleveland State and a 498-166 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 hit the road for a pair of games next week, traveling to Wright State on Friday, January 20 and Northern Kentucky on Sunday, January 22.