GAME #29
Cleveland State at RMU
Saturday, February 24 | 12:00 p.m. | Moon Township, Pa.
Live Stats | Live Video | CSU Game Notes
SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State women's basketball team will continues its current three-game roadswing Saturday, traveling to Robert Morris for a 12:00 p.m. contest. Entering Saturday's matchup, the Vikings are 24-4 overall this season and 15-2 in league play, while RMU is currently 6-21 on the year and 2-16 against league opponents.
A WIN ON SATURDAY WOULD…
Keep the Vikings perfect during the month of February…Give Cleveland State a series sweep over RMU…Extend Cleveland State's current win streak to seven straight games.
THE CLEVELAND STATE/RMU SERIES
Saturday's game will mark the 12th meeting between the two teams in program history, with Cleveland State holding a 6-5 edge in the all-time series. As Horizon League opponents, Cleveland State owns a 4-2 record against the Colonials, including three straight entering Saturday's contest.
SCOUTING THE COLONIALS
Robert Morris enters Saturday's game with a 6-21 record on the year, including a 2-16 mark in #HLWBB play…The Colonials are currently on a 15-game losing skid, with their last win coming as a 60-49 decision against IUPUI in December…RMU is currently sitting 11th in the league standings…Danielle Vuletich ranks eighth among league players averaing 6.6 rebounds per game, while Louella Allana ranks ninth averaging 2.8 assists per game, and Naomi Barnwell and Vuletich are tied for seventh averaging 0.9 blocked shots per game.
LAST TIME OUT…
Cleveland State opened its three-game roadswing with a 75-52 victory at IUPUI, remaining perfect during the month of February. Jordana Reisma paced the Vikings with an 18-point, 12-rebound double-double, while Mickayla Perdue added 17 points and Faith Burch chipped in 11. As a team, the Vikings shot 50-percent from the field, while recording 18 assists. The Cleveland State defense forced IUPUI into 18 turnovers, turning these miscues into 25 points.
VIKINGS IN #HLWBB PLAY
Continuing the 10th week of #HLWBB play, the Vikings currently sit at the top of the league standings, tied with Green Bay with a 15-2 record. Cleveland State, who is one of four teams with 10+ #HLWBB wins on the year, owns a league-best six-game win streak, while also winning 13 of their last 14 contests.
…CLEVELAND STATE NOTCHES 15th #HLWBB WIN
With Wednesday's 75-52 victory at IUPUI, Cleveland State recorded its 15th Horizon League win, marking the second straight season that the Vikings have reached the 15-win plateau. Last season, Cleveland State recorded a program-best 17 #HLWBB wins, while the Vikings have a chance to top that record with three league games remaining this season.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Cleveland State will continue a three-game roadswing on Saturday, as the Vikings are closing out the month of February away from home. The Vikings, who own a 9-4 record on the road this season, will be playing in their 14th of 15 scheduled road games of the year.
REISMA NOTCHES DOUBLE-DOUBLE AT IUPUI
Last time out, Jordana Reisma recorded her fourth double-double of the season in the win at IUPUI, finishing with 18 points and 12 rebounds on the game. The 18-point performance tied her career-best, while the 12 boards marked a career-high for the sophomore. Reisma, who has tallied a double-double in two of the last three games, is averaging 9.9 points and 6.0 rebounds per game on the season.
…REISMA ON THE BLOCK
With 29 blocked shots on the year, sophomore Jordana Reisma enters Saturday's game at RMU tied for 10th in the CSU Career Record Book with 72 career blocks. Reisma, who is one of six #HLWBB players with 25+ blocks on the year, also recorded 43 blocked shots as a freshman last year. So far this season, Reisma has tallied at least one block in 18 games.
VILLALOBOS WITH THE STEAL
Through 28 games played Carmen Villalobos leads the Horizon League with 62 total steals on the year. Villalobos has been part of a Viking defense that has held its opponents to a .383 clip on the year - the second lowest field goal percentage for opponents among league teams. Averaging 2.2 steals per game, Villalobos has tallied at least one takeaway in all but two games this season, including a season-high five steals on multiple occasions.
BURCH POSTS BACK-TO-BACK DOUBLE-DIGIT GAMES
Faith Burch recorded her second straight double-digit game at IUPUI last time out, finishing with 11 points on 5-for-7 shooting. Burch, who also notched 10 points in the win over Milwaukee, now has three double-digit scoring games on the year. Over the last two games, Burch is averaging 10.5 points on a .667 clip from the floor (8-for-12), while also grabbing six rebounds, two blocked shots and one steal in limited minutes.
PERDUE WITH TWELVE 20+ POINT PERFORMANCES ON THE YEAR
So far this season, Mickayla Perdue has tallied 20+ points 12 times, which is tied for the lead among #HLWBB players. Nine of Perdue's 20-point performances have come against league opponents, including a season-best 30-point effort against Green Bay earlier this month. For the season, Perdue ranks second in the league averaging 16.9 points per game, while she is one of two #HLWBB players with 450+ points on the year (472).
…CLEVELAND STATE ON THE OFFENSIVE END THIS SEASON
Last time out the Vikings had another strong offensive performance in the win at IUPUI, shooting 50-percent from the floor (29-for-57). This marked the 11th time that Cleveland State posted a .500 clip or better from the floor, while the Vikings rank second among league teams with a .466 field goal percentage on the season. Cleveland State leads the league averaging 75.3 points per game, while the Vikings have recorded 70+ points 22 times out of the first 28 games.
CLEVELAND STATE RECORDS 20-WIN SEASON
With their 86-63 victory over Green Bay earlier this month, the Vikings notched their 20th win of the 2023-24 campaign, marking the third straight 20-win season and the fourth over the last five years. After following up the Green Bay win with victories over Wright State, Oakland, Milwaukee, and IUPUI the Vikings now have 24 wins on the year, which marks the second most wins in a single-season in program history.
#HLWBB PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
So far this season Cleveland State has been recognized five times with weekly honors from the Horizon League - marking a season-high among league teams. Colbi Maples (Dec. 4, Jan. 22) and Mickayla Perdue (Jan. 15, Feb. 5) have picked up the honor twice, while Jordana Reisma (Dec. 26) has earned #HLWBB honors once.
LEO HONORED AT GREATER CLEVELAND SPORTS AWARDS
Last month 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 ninth 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 12th.
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 536-174. Through six seasons at Cleveland State, Kielsmeier has led the Vikings to a 120-58 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 February on Tuesday, February 27, traveling to Youngstown State for a 6:30 p.m. contest.
