Cleveland State Women's Basketball Begins Postseason Play With WBIT First Round Game At Toledo Thursday Athletics

Posted: Mar 20, 2024

SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State women's basketball team will be making its fourth straight postseason appearance this week, set to participate in the 2024 Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament. The Vikings will open play in the WBIT with a first round contest at Toledo on Thursday, March 21. Entering postseason play, Cleveland State stands at 29-5 on the year, while Toledo is 26-5 overall this season.

A WIN ON THURSDAY WOULD…
Advance the Vikings to the second round of the 2024 WBIT…Mark the sixth postseason win for Cleveland State in program history…Give the Vikings 30 wins on the year for the second straight season.

THE CLEVELAND STATE/TOLEDO SERIES
Thursday's game will mark the 28th meeting between the two teams, with Toledo owning an 18-9 advantage in the all-time series. The last matchup between the two teams came during the 2019-20 campaign, when Toledo earned a 65-60 victory. Cleveland State's last win in the series came during the 2014-15 season, with an 81-71 decision. This will mark the first matchup between the two teams in postseason play.

SCOUTING THE ROCKETS
Toledo enters Thursday's game with a 26-5 overall record on the season and earned a spot in the WBIT field by capturing the MAC Regular Season title…Last time out, the Rockets fell in the semifinals of the MAC Tournament, dropping a 77-74 overtime contest against Buffalo…When playing at home this season, Toledo owns a 13-1 record, with its lone loss coming against Cincinnati back in November…Toledo's Sophia Wiard was named the MAC Player of the Year, while Quinesha Lockett was named All-MAC First Team, Sammi Mikonowicz was named All-MAC Third Team and Tricia Cullop was named the MAC Coach of the Year.

2024 WBIT
The Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament is in its first year of existence, and features a 32-team field. The first three rounds will be hosted on campus sites, while the semifinals and championship will be hosted in Indianapolis, Ind. Cleveland State earned an appearance in the field by virtue of an automatic qualifier spot after capturing the Horizon League Regular Season championship.

…A LOOK AT THE BRACKET
The winner of Thursday's first round game between Cleveland State and Toledo will advance to the second round and face the winner of the Florida/St. John's matchup on Sunday, March 24. Although Cleveland State didn't face any of the teams in the field during the regular season, the Vikings' NCAA First Round opponent from last season - Villanova - is in the field.

LAST TIME OUT…
Cleveland State was last in action at the 2024 Horizon League Tournament, advancing to the championship game before coming up short against Green Bay. The Vikings were making their fifth appearance in the #HLWBB championship game, and third consecutive trip. The Vikings, who were playing as the No. 1 seed in the tournament, picked up wins against Northern Kentucky and Wright State in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively.

…DUO NAMED TO #HLWBB ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Last week, the Cleveland State duo of Colbi Maples and Mickayla Perdue were named to the Horizon League All-Tournament Team. During tournament play, Maples averaged 22.3 points per game while shooting 51-percent from the floor, notching a pair of 20-point performances, while Perdue averaged 16.3 points per game playing 103 of a possible 120 minutes during the three games.

VIKINGS IN THE MID-MAJOR RANKINGS
Entering postseason play, Cleveland State is ranked 17th 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 12th.

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 POSTSEASON PLAY WITH 29 WINS
After securing their third straight 20-win season with an 86-63 victory over Green Bay earlier this year, Cleveland State continues postseason play with 29 wins - the second most wins in a single-season in program history. The 29 wins marks the fourth 20-win campaign for Cleveland State over the last five years, while it also makes the Vikings one of 13 Division I teams with 29+ wins on the year.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Thursday's WBIT First Round game will mark the 18th road game for the Vikings this season, as they enter the contest with a 12-5 record when playing away from home. Cleveland State's last true road game came on February 27, when the Vikings picked up a 56-53 victory at Youngstown State.

MAPLES NAMED #HLWBB PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Earlier this season 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 eleven 20-point performances this season, including a 22-point effort against Green Bay in the #HLWBB Championship game last time out.

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 16.9 points per game, and has recorded fourteen 20-point performances. On the year, Perdue ranks second among league players with 576 total points, while she also ranks in the top-five with a .469 field goal percentage and leads the league with 78 total three-pointers.

…CLEVELAND STATE ON THE OFFENSIVE END
Maples and Perdue are part of a Viking offense that averages 74.5 points per game on a .465 field goal percentage. This season, Cleveland State has recorded 70+ points 26 times, combining for over 2,500 points through 34 games. From three-point, the Vikings own a .364 field goal percentage, while they also hold a +13.6 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 6.7 rebounds per game, including 172 defensive boards.

…CLEVELAND STATE ON THE DEFENSIVE END
Villalobos has been part of a Cleveland State defense that has held its opponents to a .384 field goal percentage, while the Vikings are also averaging 9.3 steals and 37.1 rebounds per game. In addition, Cleveland State has forced its opponents into 582 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 29-5 record on the season, including a program-best 18-2 mark in #HLWBB play, with the 29 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 541-175. Through six seasons at Cleveland State, Kielsmeier has led the Vikings to a 125-59 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
Entering postseason play, sophomore Jordana Reisma ranks 10th in the CSU Career Record Book with 77 blocked shots on her career. Reisma, who has 34 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 22 games, including three in #HLWBB Tournament play last time out.

VIKINGS AT THE CHARITY STRIPE
As a team, Cleveland State has combined for 554 made free throws this season, leading the Horizon League and ranking fourth nationally in the category. Through 34 games the Vikings are averaging 16.39 free throws made per game, ranking seventh among Division I teams. Cleveland State has converted 20+ free throws seven times so far this year, including a season-high 31-for-38 performance against IUPUI during regular season play.

1,000-POINT CLUB
So far this season two Vikings have joined the 1,000-point club, as senior Mickayla Perdue enters Thursday's game with 1,231 career points and junior Colbi Maples currently has 1,032 total points on her collegiate career. Perdue reached the milestone back in January, while Maples joined the exclusive club following Cleveland State's #HLWBB semifinal win against Wright State. Perdue and Maples join Destiny Leo as the three current Vikings to be part of the 1,000-point club.

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.

#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.