Cleveland State Women's Basketball Set For #HLWBB Semifinal Matchup Against Wright State Athletics

Posted: Mar 10, 2024

SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State women's basketball team will continue postseason play on Monday, March 11, traveling to Indianapolis, Ind. for a semifinal matchup against Wright State in the 2024 Barbasol Horizon League Women's Basketball Championship. Entering Monday's game, CSU stands at 28-4 overall this year and is playing as the No. 1 seed in this year's tournament, while Wright State is currently 18-14 on the year and will be playing as the No. 4 seed.

A WIN ON MONDAY WOULD…
Put the Vikings into the championship game of the 2024 Barbasol Horizon League Basketball Championship…Make the Vikings 11-4 in #HLWBB Tournament play under head coach Chris Kielsmeier…Give Cleveland State its third straight #HLWBB Championship appearance.

THE CLEVELAND STATE/WRIGHT STATE SERIES
Monday's game will be the 86th meeting between the two teams, with Wright State owning a slim 43-42 edge in the all-time series. Cleveland State is currently on a four-game win streak against the Raiders, including a series sweep during regular season play. In Horizon League Tournament play, Cleveland State owns a 4-3 record against Wright State, including a 70-56 victory in the 2008 Championship Game that gave the Vikings their first-ever tournament title.

AGAINST THE RAIDERS THIS SEASON…
Cleveland State picked up wins in both meetings during the regular season, earning a 72-61 victory at Wright State, while picking up a 71-59 win at home. This marked one of eight series sweeps for the Vikings in league play this year.

SCOUTING THE RAIDERS
Wright State enters Monday's semifinal game with an 18-14 overall record this season and finished regular season play with an 11-9 mark in league action…The Raiders earned the No. 4 seed in the #HLWBB Tournament, and picked up a 70-60 victory over No. 5 Milwaukee in a quarterfinal contest on Thursday…Last week, Alexis Hutchison was named to the All-Horizon League First team…Hutchison leads the league averaging 19.2 points per game, while also ranking fifth with 3.2 assists per game…In addition, Rachel Loobie ranks fourth among league players averaging 6.9 rebounds per contest.

2024 BARBASOL HORIZON LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP
This year's #HLWBB Tournament began with three First Round games on Tuesday, March 5 and four Quarterfinal games on Thursday, March 7 with the winners advancing to Monday's Semifinals - No. 1 Cleveland State, No. 2 Green Bay, No. 3 Purdue Fort Waye, and No. 4 Wright State. The winners of Monday's semifinal matchups between Cleveland State/Wright State and Green Bay/Purdue Fort Wayne will advance to Tuesday's Championship game. Both the semifinals and championship game will be held at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis, Ind. and will be carried on the ESPN Network.

…VIKINGS IN #HLWBB PLAY
Cleveland State entered the #HLWBB Tournament as the No. 1 seed after finishing the regular season with an 18-2 mark against league opponents. The Vikings finished the regular season slate winning nine straight games and 16 of their last 17 contests.

…VIKINGS IN THE #HLWBB TOURNAMENT
Under head coach Chris Kielsmeier the Vikings own a 10-4 record in the Horizon League Tournament, and have advanced to the semifinals for the fifth straight season. Cleveland State, who is the only team to reach the semifinals in each of the last five seasons, has now earned a spot in the #HLWBB semifinals 11 times in program history. The Vikings have made four appearances in the championship game, capturing the #HLWBB Tournament title during the 2007-08, 2009-10 and 2023-24 seasons.

…VIKINGS AS THE No. 1 SEED
This marks the first time in program history that the Vikings will be playing as the No. 1 seed in the Horizon League Tournament. Cleveland State will be playing as a top-two seed for the second straight season, while the Vikings have now been a top-four seed 11 times. With Cleveland State earning this year's top seed, a different team has now been the No. 1 team entering #HLWBB Tournament play in each of the last four seasons.

#HLWBB QUARTERFINAL RECAP
For the third straight season the Vikings hosted a Quartefinal matchup to begin #HLWBB tournament play, picking up an 88-78 victory over No. 9 seed Northern Kentucky. For the 26th time this season Cleveland State held an advantage at the halftime break, and held on throughout the final 20 minutes to come away with the win. Four Vikings finished with double-figure points, including 31 from Colbi Maples and 24 from Mickayla Perdue, while the Vikings shot 58-percent from the field on the game. In addition, Carmen Villalobos notched 10 rebounds and Maples tallied five assists.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Monday's #HLWBB semifinal game will mark the 16th road game for the Vikings this season, as they enter the contest with an 11-4 record when playing away from home. In neutral site matches, the Vikings are 2-1 this season, picking up a pair of wins against Southern Miss and Drexel as part of the Homewood Suites Classic, and falling to then-ranked No. 4 Iowa in the Hy-Vee Hawkeye Showcase.

VIKINGS IN THE MID-MAJOR RANKINGS
Entering Horizon League Tournament play, 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 in the top-25, as Green Bay enters the week ranked 17th.

CLEVELAND STATE CAPTURES #HLWBB REGULAR SEASON TITLE
After finishing regular season play with an 18-2 record against league opponents, Cleveland State captured the 2023-24 Horizon League Regular Season Championship - the first in program history. The Vikings capped off their 18-2 campaign with an 81-69 victory over Northern Kentucky in the regular season finale, finishing at the top of the league standings for the first time in program history. In addition, the 18 #HLWBB wins marked a program best for the Vikings.

CLEVELAND STATE CONTINUES #HLWBB TOURNEY PLAY WITH 28 WINS
After securing their third straight 20-win season with an 86-63 victory over Green Bay earlier this year, Cleveland State continues #HLWBB Tournament play with 28 wins - the second most wins in a single-season in program history. The 28 wins marks the fourth 20-win campaign for Cleveland State over the last five years, while it also makes the Vikings one of four Division I teams with 28+ wins on the year.

MAPLES NAMED #HLWBB PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Last week junior Colbi Maples was named the Horizon League Player of the Year, becoming just the fourth Viking in program history to earn Payer of the Year honors. Maples, who was also named to the All-League First Team and All-Defensive Team, averaged 16.2 points, 4.3 assists and 1.9 steals per game through regular season play, ranking in the top-five among league players in all three categories. Maples has recorded ten 20-point performances this season, including a season-best 31-point effort against Northern Kentucky in Thursday's #HLWBB Quarterfinal.

PERDUE NAMED #HLWBB NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
In the first year of the award, senior Mickayla Perdue was named the Horizon League Newcomer of the Year after joining the Vikings prior to the 2023-24 campaign. Perdue, who was also named to the All-League First Team, is averaging a team-best 17.2 points per game, and has recorded fourteen 20-point performances. On the year, Perdue ranks second among league players with 551 total points, while she also ranks in the top-five with a .474 field goal percentage and leads the league with 76 total three-pointers.

…CLEVELAND STATE ON THE OFFENSIVE END
Maples and Perdue are part of a Viking offense that leads the Horizon League averaging 75.3 points per game on a .468 field goal percentage. This season, Cleveland State has recorded 70+ points 25 times, combining for over 2,400 points through 32 games. From three-point, the Vikings have a league-best .371 field goal percentage, while they also hold a +14.1 scoring margin on the season.

VILLALOBOS NAMED #HLWBB DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Cleveland State also picked up Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year honors, as Carmen Villalobos became the fifth Viking to be named the Defensive Player of the Year. Villalobos, who also earned a spot on the All-Defensive Team, finished regular season play with a league-best 66 total steals, averaging 2.1 steals per game. In addition, Villalobos leads the Vikings averaging 6.8 rebounds per game, including 163 defensive boards to rank fourth among league players.

…CLEVELAND STATE ON THE DEFENSIVE END
Villalobos has been part of a Cleveland State defense that has held its opponents to a league-best .382 field goal percentage, while the Vikings also rank second in steals (9.31) and rebounding (37.4). In addition, Cleveland State has forced its opponents into 552 turnovers on the season, holding a 0.93 assist/turnover ratio.

KIELSMEIER NAMED #HLWBB COACH OF THE YEAR
For the first time in program history Cleveland State picked up Horizon League Coach of the Year honors, as Chris Kielsmeier earned the accolade after helping the Vikings to their first-ever Regular Season Championship. Kielsmeier has led the Vikings to a 28-4 record on the season, including a program-best 18-2 mark in #HLWBB play, with the 28 wins marking the fourth 20-win campaign during his tenure.

…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 540-174. Through six seasons at Cleveland State, Kielsmeier has led the Vikings to a 124-58 overall record, including four 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.

REISMA ON THE BLOCK
Continuing Horizon League Tournament play, sophomore Jordana Reisma ranks 10th in the CSU Career Record Book with 75 blocked shots on her career. Reisma, who has 32 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 21 games, ranking sixth among league players averaging 1.0 blocks per game.

GUERREIRO NAMED TO #HLWBB ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM
Earlier this season senior Sara Guerreiro was named to the Horizon League All-Academic Team, becoming just the third Viking all-time to earn the accolade. Guerreiro, who was one of seven #HLWBB players to be named to the All-Academic Team, currently holds a 3.88 grade point average studying mechanical engineering and has been named to the CSU Dean's List every semester that she has been at Cleveland State. Guerreiro is part of a Cleveland State women's basketball team that holds a 3.48 cumulative GPA and one of eight Vikings to be named to the Dean's List last semester.

…GUERREIRO OVER THE LAST FIVE GAMES
Over the last six games, Sara Guerreiro has been one of Cleveland State's top players, averaging 11.1 points and 7.6 rebounds per game during this stretch. Guerreiro, who has tallied double-digit points in five of the last six games, is shooting 59-percent from the field during this span (25-for-42). Two of Guerreiro's three double-doubles on the year have also come during this stretch, as she recorded 12 points/12 rebounds against Milwaukee and 18 points/10 rebounds against Northern Kentucky. For the season, Guerreiro is averaging 8.3 points and 5.6 boards per game.

#HLWBB PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
Throughout the 2023-24 season, Cleveland State was 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) each picked up the honor twice, while Jordana Reisma (Dec. 26) earned #HLWBB honors once.

LEO HONORED AT GREATER CLEVELAND SPORTS AWARDS
Earlier this year 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.