GAMES #13 & #14
Cleveland State vs. College of Charleston
Friday, December 19 | 1:15 pm EST | San Juan, Puerto Rico

Cleveland State vs. Puerto Rico-Bayamon
Sunday, December 21 | 10:30 am EST | San Juan, Puerto Rico
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SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State women's basketball team will return to non-league play to close out the week, traveling south to Puerto Rico for two games at the Puerto Rico Clasico. The Vikings will take on College of Charleston on Friday, December 19, before facing Puerto Rico-Bayamon on Sunday, December 21. Entering the tournament, the Vikings stand at 10-2 overall this season.
 
VIKINGS IN PUERTO RICO
This week's games against Charleston and Puerto Rico-Bayamon will mark the second straight year that the Vikings are playing in Puerto Rico. Last season, the Vikings picked up wins over Morgan State and Puerto Rico-Mayaguez.
 
THE CLEVELAND STATE/COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON SERIES
Friday's game will mark just the second meeting between the two teams, with Charleston picking up an 81-68 victory back during the 2006-07 campaign.
 
THE CLEVELAND STATE/PUERTO RICO-BAYAMON SERIES
Sunday's game will be the first meeting between the two teams.
 
VIKINGS RETURN TO NON-LEAGUE PLAY
Cleveland State will briefly return to non-league play with two games this week, looking to improve on its 8-1 record that the Vikings own through the first part of the non-league schedule. The Vikings are currently on a four-game win streak in non-league play, and stand at 1-1 when playing non-league games away from home this season.
 
…BACK ON THE ROAD AGAIN
This week's games will be just the third and fourth road games for the Vikings in non-league play this year, and the fifth and sixth overall road games of the season. Despite playing just four road games during non-league play, the Vikings will travel over 9,000 miles, including trips to California and Puerto Rico.
 
LAST TIME OUT…
Cleveland State hosted its annual Health+Hoops Game last time out, welcoming over 2,000 local Cleveland children to the Wolstein Center. The Vikings picked up a 76-54 victory over Northern Kentucky, improving to 2-1 in Horizon League play, and remaining perfect when playing at home this season at 8-0.
 
…VIKINGS IN EARLY TIPOFFS
Tuesday's game against the Norse was the first of two scheduled early tipoffs for the Vikings during the 2025-26 campaign, with the second coming up on Sunday when Cleveland State is set to face Puerto Rico-Bayamon at 10:30 a.m. EST. Over the last two seasons, the Vikings are now 6-0 during early tipoff games.
 
ZINGARO TALLIES DOUBLE-DOUBLES AGAINST NKU
Last time out, Izabella Zingaro recorded her second double-double of the season, finishing with 17 points and 10 rebounds against Northern Kentucky. Zingaro, who became the first Viking with multiple double-doubles on the year, is one of just three Horizon League players to have two or more double-double performances on the season. For the year, Zingaro is averaging 14.8 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, ranking in the top-five among league players in both categories.
 
…FIVE VIKINGS HAVE DOUBLE-DOUBLES ON THE YEAR
Through the first part of the 2025-26 campaign a league-leading five Vikings have tallied double-doubles, including Izabella Zingaro who has two on the year. Cleveland State also leads the league with eight individual 10+ rebounding performances so far this year, with Zingaro and Madison Royal-Davis being two of just eight #HLWBB players with multiple double-digit rebounding efforts.
 
VIKINGS HAVE THREE IN DOUBLE-FIGURES AGAINST NKU
For the ninth time this season, Cleveland State had three or more players finish with double-digit points, as Colbi Maples (17), Izabella Zingaro (17), and Jada Leonard (14) all posted 10+ points against NKU last time out. During the nine games this season that three or more Vikings have finished with double-figure points, Cleveland State owns an 8-1 record.
 
…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 (74.6), Margin (18.4) and Field Goal Percentage (.463). In addition, the Vikings have scored 70+ points nine times, while three Vikings rank in the top-10 among league players in scoring; Colbi Maples (T1st-16.6), Izabella Zingaro (3rd-14.8) and Jada Leonard (8th-12.9).
 
VIKINGS WITH THE ASSIST
Last time out, the Vikings did a great job of sharing the ball, as they finished with 20 assists on 27 made field goals. This marked a season-high for the Vikings, while it was the 11th 10+ assist game of the year for Cleveland State. Individually, Jada Leonard tallied seven assists on the game, while Colbi Maples added four and the trio of Izabella Zingaro, Macey Fegan and Paula Pique all added three.
 
LEONARD WITH THE TAKEAWAY
After 12 games played this season, Jada Leonard continues to lead the Horizon League and rank eighth nationally with 42 steals on the year. Leonard, who has recorded at least one takeaway in every game this season, is averaging 3.5 steals per game.
 
VIKINGS FROM THE FREE THROW LINE
So far this season, the Vikings rank seventh nationally averaging 18.08 free throws made per game. For the year, Cleveland State has converted a league-best 217 free throws, including 20+ converted free throws on five occassions. Individually, Izabella Zingaro has been shooting 84-percent from the free throw line with a team-best 61 made free throws on the year, while Colbi Maples has converted 54.
 
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 578-188. At Cleveland State, Kielsmeier owns a record of 162-72, 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
After a short break for the Holidays, the Vikings will be back in action on Monday, December 29, hosting Youngstown State at 4:00 p.m.