SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State women's basketball team will close out the 2024 calendar year at home this weekend, returning to Horizon League play to host Milwaukee on Sunday, December 29. Entering Sunday's matchup, the Vikings are 11-2 overall and 3-0 in league play, while Milwaukee is currently 3-11 on the year and 0-3 against league opponents.
 
A WIN ON SUNDAY WOULD…
Give the Vikings 10 straight wins…Extend Cleveland State's home win streak to 29 straight games…Improve the Vikings to 6-0 at home this season…Keep CSU perfect in #HLWBB play at 4-0.
 
THE CLEVELAND STATE/MILWAUKEE SERIES
Sunday's game will mark the 68th meeting between the two teams, with Milwaukee owning a 36-31 edge in the all-time series. Despite this advantage, Cleveland State has won seven straight against the Panthers, including a 2-0 series sweep last season.
 
VIKINGS RETURN TO #HLWBB PLAY
Cleveland State will return to Horizon League play on Sunday, looking to stay perfect in #HLWBB play and improve to 4-0. Entering the third week of league play, the Vikings are one of four teams to be undefeated in league action, while a win on Sunday would put CSU at 4-0 to start league play for the third time over the last four seasons.
 
VIKINGS EXTEND WIN STREAK & REMAIN PERFECT DURING DECEMBER
With last week's wins over Morgan State and Puerto Rico-Mayaguez, Cleveland State remained perfect during the month of December (6-0), while also extending its current win streak to nine straight games. The nine consecutive wins leads all league teams, while it marks the third straight season that the Vikings have had a win streak of 9+ games.
 
HOME-SWEET-HOME
Sunday's game will mark the sixth of 14 home games for the Vikings during the 2024-25 season, and the final home game of the calendar year. Last time the Vikings were at home, they picked up a 78-59 victory over Bethune-Cookman,  extending their current home win streak to 28 straight games. This stretch ranks second among Division I teams (South Carolina-64), and dates back to February 2, 2023.
 
DOUBLEHEADER BASKETBALL
Sunday's game will be a doubleheader with the Cleveland State men's basketball team, marking the second of four doubleheaders for the Vikings this season. The Vikings are 1-0 when playing in doubleheader games so far this season, picking up a 94-52 victory over Ohio Dominican earlier this year.
 
LEO TRACKING 1,700 CAREER POINTS
Destiny Leo enters the final stretch of the calendar year tracking down 1,700 career points, entering Sunday's game with 1,697 points on her career. Leo, who ranks sixth all-time on the CSU Scoring List, is averaging 10.8 points per game so far this season, and needs just three more points to reach the 1,700-point milestone. Leo would become just the sixth Viking all-time to eclipse 1,700 points, and the first to do so since the 2011-12 season.
 
REISMA EFFICIENT FROM THE FIELD
Jordana Reisma continues to be one of the most efficient shooters among Division I players, entering Sunday's contest against Milwaukee with a .716 field goal percentage on the year. Reisma, who ranks third among Division I players in field goal percentage, is shooting 78-for-109 on the year, while she currently sits at the top of the CSU Career Record Book with a .588 clip (300-510) for her career.
 
PERDUE LEADS #HLWBB PLAYERS IN SCORING
Through 13 games played, Mickayla Perdue continues to lead the Horizon League averaging 20.4 points per game on the year. So far this season, Perdue has recorded eight 20-point games, including two in #HLWBB play. Perdue has combined for 265 total points this season, making her one of 16 players nation-wide with 260+ points on the year.
 
GUERREIRO ON THE BOARDS
Entering Sunday's return to #HLWBB play, Sara Guerreiro leads all league players averaging 7.7 rebounds per game on the season. Through 13 games, Guerreiro has grabbed a team-best 100 rebounds, including a pair of 10+ rebound performances against Chicago State (13) and Northern Kentucky (16). As a team, the Vikings are averaging a league-best 40.1 boards per game, holding an 8.5 rebound margin on the year.
 
HIGH POWERED OFFENSE
Through the first seven weeks of the 2024-25 campaign, Cleveland State has been one of the highest scoring teams in the Horizon League, averaging 78.7 points per game. The Vikings, who have tallied 75+ points eight times this season, lead the league with a .494 field goal percentage on the year. So far this season, the Vikings have shot 50-percent or better from the field six times, including a .621 clip against Puerto Rico-Mayaguez in their last outing.
 
VIKINGS SHARING THE BALL
Cleveland State has done a great job of spreading the offense so far this season, averaging a league-best 17.23 assists per game. Last time out, the Vikings finished with 27 assists against Puerto Rico-Mayaguez, marking the 10th straight game with 15+ helpers and 11th overall this year. Individually, Sara Guerreiro ranks second among league players averaging 4.5 assists per game, while Mickayla Perdue is averaging 3.4 to rank fourth.
 
VIKINGS IN THE RANKINGS
Cleveland State currently sits 11th in the latest edition of the College Insider Women's Mid-Major Top-25 Poll. The Vikings are the lone Horizon League team to be in the current rankings, while Green Bay, Purdue Fort Wayne and Detroit Mercy are all receiving votes.
 
HEAD COACH CHRIS KIELSMEIER
The Vikings will be under the direction of seventh-year head coach Chris Kielsmeier, who currently owns a career head coaching record of 552-178. At Cleveland State, Kielsmeier owns a record of 136-62, with his 100th victory as a Viking coming in a 95-41 decision over Chicago State last season. Under his guidance, Cleveland State has posted four 20-win seasons, including a program-record 30 wins during the 2023-24 campaign.
 
...KIELSMEIER NAMED TO PRESEASON WATCH LIST
Chris Kielsmeier was named to the Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year Preseason Watch List earlier this season – one of 20 coaches to earn the recognition, and the only coach from the Horizon League. Under Kielsmeier, the Vikings have advanced to the Horizon League Championship game three straight years, and have made four consecutive postseason appearances.
 
UP NEXT
Cleveland State will continue #HLWBB play on the road next week, traveling to Oakland (January 3) and Detroit Mercy (January 5).