HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Cleveland State women's basketball team continued Horizon League play at Northern Kentucky Wednesday, dropping a 72-69 contest against the Norse. Following Wednesday's game the Vikings are now 20-6 on the year and 11-4 in #HLWBB play.

Game Stats
-Mickayla Perdue paced the Vikings with 20 points, while Sara Guerreiro added 16 and Jordana Reisma posted 15.
-Sara Guerreiro grabbed a team-best 12 rebounds, while Jordana Reisma added nine and Destiny Leo posted eight boards.
-The Vikings combined for 13 assists on the night, including five from Sara Guerreiro.

Game Notes
-Mickayla Perdue recorded her 13^th 20-point game of the season after finishing right on the number at NKU.
-Sara Guerreiro finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the season.
-Destiny Leo moved into third place on the CSU Scoring List with her nine points on the night, finishing with 1, 843 career points.

The Game
Cleveland State opened the contest on a 9-0 run, which was jump-started by a Jordana Reisma layup, and then capped by Mickayla Perdue basket. Although the Norse responded with a pair of three-pointers, Cleveland State's Macey Fegan answered with a three-pointer of her own to put the Vikings back up 12-6 midway through the first quarter.

The two teams then traded baskets over the next few possessions, until a Destiny Leo three-pointer with just 10 seconds left on the clock put Cleveland State up 22-14 heading into the second frame.

After trading baskets to begin the second quarter, a pair of Perdue free throws gave the Vikings their first double-digit lead of the game at 27-17, while a 7-3 run over the next three minutes extended the CSU lead to 33-20 on a Reisma layup. The Vikings then held a sizeable lead for the remainder of the quarter, taking a 40-29 edge into the halftime break.

Cleveland State was then able to hold off a 20-point third quarter from the Norse, taking a 58-49 lead into the fourth and final frame.

The Vikings were able to hold their advantage over the first part of the fourth quarter, until a 6-0 run from Northern Kentucky knotted the score at 65-65 with 3:02 left on the clock. A pair of Guerreiro free throws gave the edge back to Cleveland State at 67-65 then, before NKU answered with a three-pointer to swing the lead back in its favor at 68-67.

Guerreiro once again responded with a layup at the 1:48 mark to put the score at 69-68 Cleveland State, before the Norse closed out the contest with four free throws to take the 72-69 victory.

Up Next
Cleveland State will travel to league-leading Purdue Fort Wayne for a 2:00 p.m. contest on Saturday, February 15.