GAME #22
Cleveland State at Detroit Mercy
Saturday, January 27 | 1:00 p.m. | Detroit, Mich.
Live Stats | Live Video | CSU Game Notes
SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State women's basketball team will close out the week with a 1:00 p.m. contest at Detroit Mercy on Saturday, January 27. Entering Saturday's matchup, the Vikings are 18-3 overall this season and 9-1 in league play, while Detroit Mercy is currently 13-8 on the year and 6-4 against league opponents.
A WIN ON SATURDAY WOULD…
Give Cleveland State an 8-0 start to the 2024 calendar year…Mark eight straight wins for the Vikings for the second time this season…Give Cleveland State its first series sweep of the season.
THE CLEVELAND STATE/DETROIT MERCY SERIES
Saturday's game will mark the 70th meeting between the two teams in program history, with Detroit Mercy owning a 41-27 edge in the all-time series. Despite the Titans holding the lead in the all-time series, the Vikings have won 10 of the last 11 matchups, including a 74-53 victory earlier this season.
…LAST TIME VS. THE TITANS
Cleveland State picked up a convincing 74-53 victory against Detroit Mercy in the first matchup of the season, facing the Titans just over two weeks ago. Mickayla Perdue paced the Viking offense with 25 points on the game, while Carmen Villalobos grabbed a team-best nine rebounds. The Viking defense combined for 16 steals, forcing the Titans into 28 turnovers on the game.
SCOUTING THE TITANS
Detroit Mercy enters Saturday's game with a 13-8 record on the year, including a 6-4 mark in #HLWBB play...The Titans are coming off back-to-back wins against Milwaukee (54-52) and RMU (56-39)...Entering the second half of #HLWBB play, the Titans are tied for fourth in the league standings...Just 10 games into the league slate, Detroit Mercy has already doubled its #HLWBB win total from a year ago...The Titans currently lead the league averaging 39.0 rebounds per game, while Irene Murua (8.1) and Emma Trawally Porta (7.3) rank second and third, respectively, among #HLWBB players...Trawally Porta also ranks fifth in blocks per game, averaging 1.1 blocks through the first 21 games.
VIKINGS IN #HLWBB PLAY
Thursday's game at Oakland marked the final game of the first half of #HLWBB play for the Vikings, with Cleveland State currently tied for first place in the league standings. Entering Saturday's game at Detroit Mercy, the Vikings own a 9-1 league record on the year, and are tied for first place with Green Bay as the only teams with just one #HLWBB loss so far this season.
ROAD WARRIORS
The Vikings will be back on the road to close out the month of January, with Saturday's game marking the second of a stretch of three games away from home. So far this season, the Vikings are 7-3 on the road, with Saturday's game marking the 11th of 15 scheduled road games for Cleveland State this season.
PERDUE NOTCHES EIGHTH 20-POINT PERFORMANCE
With a game-high 24 points in the win at Oakland last time out, Mickayla Perdue tallied her league-leading eighth 20-point performance of the season. Perdue, who recorded 18 of her 24 points on a 6-for-9 effort from three-point range, notched 20+ points for the second straight game. For the season, Perdue is averaging 15.8 points per game, while she has been one of Cleveland State's most efficient shooters, owning a .468 clip from the field.
REISMA TIES CAREER-HIGH AT OAKLAND
Sophomore Jordana Reisma had one of her best offensive performances in the win at Oakland last time out, as she finished with a career-high tying 18 points on 7-for-8 shooting. Reisma, who has now tallied double-digit points 10 times this season, has recorded 15+ points in two out of the last three games. For the season, Reisma is averaging 8.8 points per game, while she is shooting 53-percent from the field. In addition, Reisma leads the team with 24 blocked shots on the season, and is just five blocks shy of moving into the top-10 in the CSU Career Record Book.
VILLALOBOS JUST SHY OF DOUBLE-DOUBLE AGAINST GRIZZLIES
Carmen Villalobos was just shy of notching a double-double in the win at Oakland last time out, finishing with 10 rebounds and eight assists on the game. The 10 rebounds marked her third double-digit rebounding performance on the season, while the eight assists tied her career-high. For the season, Villalobos has a team-best 144 total rebounds, ranking fourth among league players in category.
CLEVELAND STATE ON THE OFFENSIVE END THIS SEASON
Through the first 12+ weeks of the season, Cleveland State has been one of the top offensive teams in the Horizon League, currently leading the league averaging 76.5 points per game while ranking second with a .466 field goal percentage. Through the first 21 games, the Vikings have tallied 70+ points 17 times, and currently own a 14.5 scoring margin. Individually, two Vikings rank in the top-five in scoring, with Colbi Maples ranking third averaging 16.4 points and Mickayla Perdue ranking fourth averaging 15.8 points per game.
...AND ON THE DEFENSIVE END
Cleveland State also enters Saturday's game as one of the top defensive teams in the league, averaging 10.24 steals per game. Last time out, the Vikings grabbed eight steals against Oakland, while Cleveland State has tallied 10 or more takeaways in 11 games this year. Individually, Carmen Villalobos leads the league with 48 total steals on the year, while Colbi Maples ranks third with 45 takeaways.
VIKINGS AT THE CHARITY STRIPE
As a team, Cleveland State has combined for 374 made free throws this season, leading the league and ranking second nationally in the category (trailing LSU with 447 made free throws). Through 21 games the Vikings are averaging 17.81 free throws made per game, ranking third among Division I teams. Cleveland State has converted 20+ free throws six times so far this year, including a season-high 31-for-38 performance against IUPUI last week.
MAPLES NAMED #HLWBB PLAYER OF THE WEEK
After helping the Vikings to a 2-0 record last week, Colbi Maples was named the Horizon League Player of the Week. For the week, Maples averaged 18.5 points and 4.5 assists per game, while shooting 57-percent from the floor. Against Wright State, Maples posted 17 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals, while she followed that up with 20 points, five assists and three steals against IUPUI. Maples picked up her second weekly honor of the year, while it marked the fourth overall for Cleveland State.
LEO HONORED AT GREATER CLEVELAND SPORTS AWARDS
Earlier this week Destiny Leo was honored at the Greater Cleveland Sports Awards, being named the 2023 Female Collegiate Athlete of the Year. Leo, who was one of three finalists from the Greater Cleveland area, won the award after helping Cleveland State to its best season in program history during 2022-23 as the #HLWBB Player of the Year, helping the team to a 30-5 overall record, Horizon League Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance.
VIKINGS IN THE MID-MAJOR RANKINGS
Entering the week, Cleveland State was ranked eighth in the latest College Insider Women's Mid-Major Top-25 Poll. The Vikings are one of two Horizon League teams to be ranked, as Green Bay enters the week ranked sixth.
THE NON-LEAGUE SLATE
Cleveland State closed out its non-league slate last month, finishing with a 9-2 record against non-league opponents this season - with one of its losses coming against No. 4 Iowa. Over the last three years, the Vikings have combined to go 25-6 in non-league action, with the nine wins tying the program-best for non-league wins under head coach Chris Kielsmeier.
HEAD COACH CHRIS KIELSMEIER
The Vikings are under the direction of sixth-year head coach Chris Kielsmeier, who owns a career head coaching record of 530-173. Through six seasons at Cleveland State, Kielsmeier has led the Vikings to a 114-57 overall record, including a trio of 20-win seasons. Last year, Kielsmeier guided the Vikings to their third #HLWBB Tournament Championship, while he led the Vikings to their first-ever postseason title in 2021 when Cleveland State captured the WBI championship.
UP NEXT
Cleveland State will close out the month of January on Wednesday, January 31, traveling to Purdue Fort Wayne for a 7:00 p.m. contest.
