GAME #11
Cleveland State vs. Niagara
Saturday, December 13 | 2:00 p.m. | Woodling Gymnasium
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SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State women's basketball team will return to non-league play for a brief one-game stint this weekend, hosting Niagara in Woodling Gymnasium on Saturday, December 13. Entering the contest, the Vikings are 8-2 on the year, while Niagara sits at 0-8 so far this season.
 
A WIN ON SATURDAY WOULD…
Give the Vikings back-to-back wins…Put Cleveland State at 4-0 when playing at Woodling Gymnasium this season…Improve the Vikings to 8-1 in non-league play.
 
THE CLEVELAND STATE/NIAGARA SERIES
Saturday's game will be the 28th meeting between the two teams, with Cleveland State holding a 16-11 edge in the all-time series. Last year's contest between the two teams was cancelled due to health concerns within the Niagara program. Prior to that, Cleveland State picked up an 87-56 victory against the Purple Eagles during the 2023-24 campaign.
 
SCOUTING THE PURPLE EAGLES
Niagara enters Saturday's game looking for its first win of the year, as the Purple Eagles are 0-8 so far this season…Saturday's game will be the seventh road game for Niagara over the first nine games of the year…Earlier this season, the Purple Eagles were selected 11th in the MAAC Preseason Poll…Through the first eight games, Talia Dial is averaging a team-best 9.6 points per game, while Tyasia Freeman has posted a team-best 5.1 rebounds per game…Cleveland State will be the lone Horizon League opponent for Niagara…The Purple Eagles will be under the direction of 11th year head coach Jada Pierce.
 
LAST TIME OUT…
The Vikings opened Horizon League play, going 1-1 on a roadtrip to Detroit Mercy and Oakland. Cleveland State's first #HLWBB victory of the year came in a 72-55 decision at Oakland, marking the sixth time this season that the Vikings have recorded 70+ points in a game.
 
VIKING BASKETBALL BACK IN WOODLING
Woodling Gymnasium, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2023, was the home to Cleveland State basketball from 1973-1991. During this 18-year stretch, the men's and women's basketball teams combined for a 214-94 record at home, while the teams featured 16 future CSU Hall of Famers. After the men's and women's basketball teams moved to the Wolstein Center for the 1991-92 campaign, Woodling Gymnasium remains the home to Cleveland State volleyball and fencing.
 
…HOME-SWEET-HOME
This week's contest will be the seventh home game of a 17-game slate for the Vikings this season. Over the last four years, the Vikings have combined for a 53-3 record when playing at home, including a perfect 17-0 record during the 2023-24 campaign. When playing in Woodling Gymnasium during this stretch, the Vikings are 7-0.
 
THE NON-LEAGUE SLATE
Cleveland State will be continuing an 11-game non-league slate, which features seven games at home and just four games on the road. The Vikings have faced two new opponents during non-league play in Northwestern and Pittsburgh-Johnstown, while Cleveland State will be making a trip to California and returning to Puerto Rico during the first part of the 2025-26 season.
 
FEGAN TALLIES DOUBLE-DOUBLE AT OAKLAND
Last time out, Macey Fegan tallied the first double-double of her career, finishing with 18 points and 11 rebounds in the win at Oakland. Fegan, who played all 40 minutes at Oakland, tallied a career-high with the 18 points and notched her second double-digit rebounding performance with the 11 boards. For the season, Fegan is averaging 6.7 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.
 
…VIKINGS NOW HAVE FIVE WITH DOUBLE-DOUBLES THIS YEAR
Macey Fegan became the fifth Viking this season to record a double-double, joining Ayisse Magassa, Paula Pique, Madison Royal-Davis, and Izabella Zingaro. Cleveland State leads all Horizon League teams with five players who have notched at least one double-double this season, while the Vikings also lead the league with seven individual 10+ rebounding performances so far this year.
 
ZINGARO & LEONARD RECORD 20-POINT GAMES
For the first time this season the Vikings had two players finish with 20-point efforts last time out, as Jada Leonard finished with 23 points at Oakland and Izabella Zingaro tallied 22. This marked the second 20-point performance of the season for both Leonard and Zingaro, as they are two of just 10 players in the Horizon League with multiple 20-point games on the year.
 
LEONARD WITH THE TAKEAWAY
After 10 games played this season, Jada Leonard continues to lead the Horizon League and rank eighth nationally with 37 steals on the year. Leonard, who has recorded at least one takeaway in every game this season, is averaging 3.7 steals per game.
 
CLEVELAND STATE ON THE OFFENSIVE END
As a team, Cleveland State has had one of the more efficient offenses so far this season, leading the Horizon League in Scoring (73.7), Margin (17.1) and Field Goal Percentage (.457). The Vikings have shot 50-percent or better three times this season, including a .519 clip at Oakland last time out. In addition, the Vikings have scored 70+ points six times, while three Vikings rank in the top-10 among league players in scoring; Colbi Maples (2nd-16.3), Izabella Zingaro (5th-14.4) and Jada Leonard (8th-13.0).
 
VIKINGS FROM THE FREE THROW LINE
So far this season, the Vikings rank 10th nationally averaging 18.20 free throws made per game. For the year, Cleveland State has converted 182 free throws, including 20+ free throws during four games on the year. Individually, Izabella Zingaro has been shooting 85-percent from the free throw line with a team-best 48 made free throws on the year, while Colbi Maples has converted 46.
 
VIKINGS IN THE RANKINGS
Cleveland State entered the sixth week of the 2025-26 campaign ranked 22nd in the latest edition of the College Insider Women's Mid-Major Top-25 Poll. The Vikings are one of two Horizon League teams to be in the current rankings, while two other league teams are receiving votes.
 
CSU INVITATIONAL CHAMPIONS
Last time Cleveland State played non-league games, the Vikings went 3-0 at the CSU Invitational, picking up wins over St. Bonaventure, Valparaiso and Radford en route to claiming the CSU Invitational title. This marked the third time that the Vikings have hosted an in-season MTE, with the Vikings now owning a 9-0 record during the tournaments.
 
…MAPLES & LEONARD NAMED TO ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
After helping the Vikings to a 3-0 record at the CSU Invitational, the duo of Colbi Maples and Jada Leonard was named to the All-Tournament Team. Maples averaged a team-best 16.3 points per game - including a 23-point effort against St. Bonaventure - while Leonard averaged 12.0 points per game along with 3.6 assists and 3.6 steals per contest.
 
HEAD COACH CHRIS KIELSMEIER
The Vikings will be under the direction of eighth-year head coach Chris Kielsmeier, who owns a career head coaching record of 576-188. At Cleveland State, Kielsmeier owns a record of 160-72, with his 150th victory as a Viking coming in a 92-61 decision over Detroit Mercy last season. Under his guidance, Cleveland State has posted five 20-win seasons, including a program-record 30 wins during the 2023-24 campaign.
 
UP NEXT
Cleveland State will host its annual Health+Hoops game next week, welcoming Northern Kentucky for an 11:00 a.m. game on Tuesday, December 16.