GAME #30
Cleveland State at Youngstown State
Tuesday, February 27 | 6:30 p.m. | Youngstown, Ohio
Live Stats | Live Video | CSU Game Notes
SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State women's basketball team will hit the road for the final time during regular season play this week, traveling to Youngstown State for a 6:30 p.m. contest on Tuesday, February 27. Entering Tuesday's game, the Vikings are 25-4 overall this season and 16-2 in league play, while Youngstown State is currently 13-15 on the year and 9-9 against league opponents.
A WIN ON TUESDAY WOULD…
Give the Vikings a perfect 7-0 month of February…Mark a series sweep for Cleveland State over YSU this season…Extend Cleveland State's current win streak to eight straight games.
THE CLEVELAND STATE/YOUNGSTOWN STATE SERIES
Tuesday's game will mark the 84th meeting between the two teams in program history, with Youngstown State owning a 46-37 advantage in the all-time series. Despite the edge for YSU, the Vikings have won three straight against the Penguins, including a 79-37 victory earlier this year.
SCOUTING THE PENGUINS
Youngstown State enters Tuesday's game with a 13-15 record on the year, including an even 9-9 mark in #HLWBB play…Last time out, the Penguins earned a 68-64 victory at Northern Kentucky and have won five of their last six contests…When playing at home, YSU owns an 8-6 record this season…The Penguins are currently fifth in the #HLWBB standings with two games left to play…As a team, Youngstown State ranks third in the league averaging 3.79 blocked shots and 14.75 assists per game…Individually, Emily Saunders leads the league with a .606 field goal percentage, while also ranking first with 61 blocked shots and sixth with 6.9 rebounds per game.
LAST TIME OUT…
Cleveland State picked up a convincing 79-40 victory at RMU, remaining perfect during the month of February. Four Vikings finished in double-figures paced by Colbi Maples with 22, while the CSU offense shot 52-percent from the field on the game. The Viking defense held RMU scoreless during the second quarter, and turned 14 RMU turnovers into 19 points.
VIKINGS IN #HLWBB PLAY
Entering the 11th and final week of #HLWBB play, the Vikings continue to sit at the top of the league standings, tied with Green Bay with a 16-2 record. Cleveland State, who is one of four teams with 10+ #HLWBB wins on the year, owns a league-best seven-game win streak, while also winning 14 of their last 15 contests.
…CLEVELAND STATE CLOSING IN ON PROGRAM #HLWBB WIN RECORD
With one more win during #HLWBB play, Cleveland State would tie its program record for Horizon League wins in a single-season at 17 victories. The Vikings, who recorded 17 wins last season, have two games left in regular season play, which gives Cleveland State a chance to not only tie the record, but top it over the next week of play.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Cleveland State will close out a three-game roadswing on Tuesday, as the Vikings are closing out the month of February away from home. The Vikings, who own a 10-4 record on the road this season, will be playing their final road game of the regular season when they travel to Youngstown State on Tuesday.
MAPLES NOTCHES 20-POINT GAME AT RMU
Colbi Maples notched her ninth 20-point game of the year last time out, finishing with 22 points in the win at RMU. Maples, who is one of four #HLWBB players with nine or more 20-point performances on the year, ranks fourth among league players averaging 16.1 points per game. Maples along with Mickayla Perdue have been responsible for 43-percent of the Viking offense this season, with both recording 450+ points on the year, making Cleveland State the only team in the league with multiple players at 450 points or more.
…MAPLES WITH THE ASSIST
In addition to being one of Cleveland State's top scorers this season, Colbi Maples also leads the team in assists, entering Tuesday's game with 131 total assists on the year. Maples currently ranks third among league players averaging 4.5 assists per game, and has tallied five or more assists in 16 games this season. As a team, the Vikings rank fourth in the #HLWBB averaging 13.62 assists per game, and have tallied 15 or more helpers 12 times this season, including each of the last three games.
REISMA ON THE BLOCK
After posting a blocked shot at RMU last time out, sophomore Jordana Reisma gained sole possession of 10th place in the CSU Career Record Book with 73 blocks on her career. Reisma, who has 30 blocks on the year, also notched 43 blocked shots as a freshman last season. So far this year, Reisma has tallied at least one block in 19 games, ranking fifth among league players averaging 1.0 blocks per game.
VILLALOBOS WITH THE STEAL
Through 29 games played Carmen Villalobos leads the Horizon League with 64 total steals on the year. Villalobos has been part of a Viking defense that has held its opponents to a .379 clip on the year - the 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.
PERDUE WITH TWELVE 20+ POINT PERFORMANCES ON THE YEAR
So far this season, Mickayla Perdue has tallied 20+ points 12 times, which ranks second 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 16.8 points per game, while she is one of three #HLWBB players with 450+ points on the year (488).
…CLEVELAND STATE ON THE OFFENSIVE END THIS SEASON
Last time out the Vikings had another strong offensive performance in the win at RMU, shooting 52-percent from the floor (27-for-51). This marked the 12th time that Cleveland State posted a .500 clip or better from the floor, while the Vikings rank second among league teams with a .468 field goal percentage on the season. Cleveland State leads the league averaging 75.4 points per game, while the Vikings have recorded 70+ points 23 times out of the first 29 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, IUPUI, and RMU the Vikings now have 25 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 537-174. Through six seasons at Cleveland State, Kielsmeier has led the Vikings to a 121-58 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 regular season play at home on Saturday, March 2, hosting Northern Kentucky at 2:00 p.m.
