BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Cleveland State women's basketball team opened the 2023-24 season Tuesday evening, dropping a hard-fought game at Bowling Green, 89-86.

Destiny Leo led the Viking offense with 33 points, while Colbi Maples added 27 points and Carmen Villalobos chipped in 11.

Villalobos grabbed a team-best seven rebounds, while Jordana Reisma added six boards.

The Vikings combined for seven steals on the night, including three from Leo and two from Villalobos.

With a trio of three-pointers at Bowling Green, Leo is now tied for second in the CSU Career Record Book with 217 career three-pointers, while she moved into ninth place on the CSU Scoring List with 1,466 total points.

During the opening quarter, the Vikings were able to gain a sizable advantage late in the frame, when an 8-2 run put Cleveland State up 24-14 on a Colbi Maples three-pointer. A pair of layups from Faith Burch and Destiny Leo over the closing minutes then gave Cleveland State a 28-15 lead after the first 10 minutes of action.

The Vikings then held off a Bowling Green run during the second quarter, taking a 41-36 lead into the halftime break.

Cleveland State was able to hold a slight advantage over the opening part of the third quarter then, including extending its lead to 46-41 on a Maples and-one play, but Bowling Green was able to trim the lead and gain a six-point lead of their own at 58-52 midway through the frame.

The two teams traded baskets over the final minutes of the third quarter, as a Leo three-pointer with less than one-minute on the clock knotted the contest at 62-62 heading into the final 10 minutes of play.

Bowling Green was able to regain a slight edge over the first part of the fourth quarter then, until a 7-3 run from the Vikings put Cleveland State back on top 81-80 with a Grace Ellis three-pointer at the 2:56 mark.

Both teams then once again traded baskets over the final minutes of play, with Bowling Green posting the final seven points of the contest for the 89-86 victory.

The group of Maples, Ellis, Mickayle Perdue, Brooklyn Fort-Davis, and Kali Howard all made their Cleveland State debuts on Tuesday.

The Vikings will continue the non-league portion of its schedule on Sunday, November 12, traveling to Loyola for a 3:00 p.m. EST contest.