CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Cleveland State women's basketball team opened play in the Barbasol Horizon League Tournament, picking up an 88-78 victory over ninths-seeded Northern Kentucky. The Vikings, who are playing as the No. 1 seed, improved to 28-4 overall this season.

Game Stats
-Four Vikings finished the game in double-figure points, paced by Colbi Maples with 31. Mickayla Perdue added 24 points, while Jordana Reisma chipped in 15 and Sara Guerreiro added 10.
-Carmen Villalobos recorded a team-best 10 rebounds, while Sara Guerreiro and Faith Burch both grabbed seven boards.
-As a team, the Vikings shot 58-percent from the field, including a .727 clip during the first quarter.
-Cleveland State recorded 18 assists on the game, including five from Colbi Maples.

Game Notes
-With Thursday's win, the Vikings advance to the #HLWBB Semifinals for the 11th time in program history.
-Cleveland State improved to 17-0 at home, and has now won 23 straight home contests.
-With 31 points on the game, Colbi Maples recorded her first 30-point game of the season and her 10th 20+ point performance.
-Mickayla Perdue notched her 14th 20-point game of the season after finishing with 24 on the night.
-Carmen Villalobos tallied 10 rebounds on the night, finishing with double-digit boards for the fourth time this year.

The Game
After a back-and-forth first quarter that saw Cleveland State hold a 22-19 lead after the first 10 minutes of play, the Vikings were able to open the second frame on an 11-0 run, gaining a double-digit lead at 33-19 on a Jordana Reisma layup. Although Northern Kentucky was able to trim the lead to single digits on its next two possessions, a Colbi Maples three-pointer at the 5:16 mark put the Vikings back up by 12 at 36-24.

Cleveland State then held a sizable advantage for the rest of the frame, extending its lead to 52-31 before the halftime break on a pair of Mickayla Perdue free throws.

The two teams traded baskets over the first few possessions of the third quarter, including a Sara Guerreiro three-pointer at the 8:16 mark that put the Vikings up 58-36.

Northern Kentucky answered with a 9-0 scoring run, before a Maples layup at the 4:26 mark put the score at 60-46 Cleveland State. Another Maples basket followed, before a Perdue layup extended Cleveland State's lead to 64-46 with just over 3:00 minutes to play in the frame.

The Norse were once again able to trim the lead to 12 points over the final minutes of the frame, before another Perdue three-pointer gave Cleveland State a 70-55 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Northern Kentucky opened the fourth quarter on a 10-2 run then, closing the gap to single digits at 72-65, before a pair of Maples free throws stopped the scoring run and gave the Vikings a 74-65 edge. The Vikings were able to regain a double-digit lead at 79-68 on a pair of Reisma free throws just over two minutes later, while another 2-for-2 effort from Reisma at the free throw line and a Reisma layup put Cleveland State up 83-70 with 2:44 left on the clock.

The Vikings were able to maintain control over the final minutes of the contest then, coming away with the 88-78 victory.

Up Next
Cleveland State will continue play in the #HLWBB Tournament on Monday, March 11, facing No. 4 Wright State in a Semifinal contest.