GAME #22
Cleveland State at Youngstown State
Sunday, January 25 | 1:00 pm | Youngstown, Ohio
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SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State women's basketball team will close out the week on the road Sunday, traveling to Youngstown State for a 1:00 p.m. contest. Entering the weekend, the Vikings are 15-6 on the year and 5-5 in Horizon League play, while the Penguins are currently 13-7 overall and 6-4 in league action.
 
A WIN ON SUNDAY WOULD...
Put the Vikings back in the win column…Give the Vikings a 6-5 record in #HLWBB play…Mark Cleveland State's first road win of the 2026 calendar year.
 
THE CLEVELAND STATE/YOUNGSTOWN STATE SERIES
Sunday's game will mark the 88th meeting between the two teams in program history, with Youngstown State owning a 48-39 advantage in the all-time series. Despite the edge for YSU, the Vikings have won five out of the last seven matchups against the Penguins.
 
SCOUTING THE PENGUINS
Youngstown State enters Sunday's game with a 13-7 record on the year, including a 6-4 mark in Horizon League play…The Penguins currently sit tied for third in the #HLWBB standings…Most recently, YSU has lost back-to-back games against IU Indy and Robert Morris…When playing at home this year, YSU owns a 6-3 record, with their last win on their home court coming against Purdue Fort Wayne earlier this month…As a team, the Penguins lead the league averaging 4.5 blocks per game, while ranking third with 37.4 rebounds per game…Individually, Sophia Gregory ranks third in rebounding (7.9), while Casey Santoro ranks seventh in scoring (12.9) and fourth in assists (3.4).
 
BACK ON THE ROAD
Sunday's game at Youngstown State will be just the 10th road contest of the season for the Vikings, with Cleveland State currently standing at 4-5 when playing away from home. Out of Cleveland State's remaining 10 regular season games, the Vikings will play five away from home, including back-to-back games this week at Purdue Fort Wayne and Youngstown State.
 
VIKINGS NOTCH 15-WIN SEASON
Last Sunday's win against RMU marked the 15th win of the 2025-26 campaign for the Vikings, marking the fifth straight season that Cleveland State has recorded 15+ wins. Among Horizon League teams, CSU is one of just two teams with 15 wins on the year (Green Bay).
 
ZINGARO TALLIES 20-POINT GAME AT PFW
Last time out Izabella Zingaro recorded her fifth 20-point game of the season, finishing with 22 points at Purdue Fort Wayne. This marked Zingaro's fourth 20-point performance in Horizon League play, while she is averaging a team-best 15.7 points per game. Zingaro has now recorded double-digit points in seven straight games, and has notched 10+ points in all but four games on the year.
 
…ZINGARO AMONG NATION'S BEST IN FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE
Entering Sunday's game, Izabella Zingaro ranks seventh among Division I players with a .621 field goal percentage on the year. Zingaro, who has been perfect from the field twice this season, leads all league players in the category while also ranking third in the #HLWBB standings with a .828 free throw percentage.
 
FIVE VIKINGS HAVE DOUBLE-DOUBLES ON THE YEAR
So far this season a league-leading five Vikings have tallied double-doubles, including Macey Fegan and Izabella Zingaro who have multiple on the year. Cleveland State is one of just two schools with two or more players that have multiple double-doubles on the year, while the Vikings also lead the league with 10 individual double-digit rebounding performances on the year.
 
…CLEVELAND STATE ON THE BOARDS
Over the last four games Cleveland State has held a major advantage on the boards, outrebounding its opponents 156-104 during this stretch. In two of the last four games the Vikings have grabbed 40+ rebounds, and are averaging 36.7 boards per game, ranking second in the league with a +5.0 rebounding margin.
 
LEONARD TOP-15 NATIONALLY IN STEALS
After 21 games played this season, Jada Leonard continues to lead the Horizon League and rank 12th nationally with 63 steals on the year. Leonard, who has recorded at least one takeaway in every game this season, is averaging 3.0 steals per game. Leonard's 63 steals on the year makes her the only Horizon League player with 60+ takeaways during the 2025-26 campaign.
 
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 (72.0), Margin (12.9) and Field Goal Percentage (.452). In addition, the Vikings have scored 70+ points 10 times, while three Vikings rank in the top-five among league players in scoring; Izabella Zingaro (2nd-15.7), Colbi Maples (4th-13.8), and Jada Leonard (T-5th-13.5).
 
VIKINGS FROM THE FREE THROW LINE
So far this season, the Vikings rank 11th nationally averaging 17.05 free throws made per game. For the year, Cleveland State has converted 358 free throws,  including a 28-for-35 effort against Purdue Fort Wayne last time out. Individually, Izabella Zingaro is 101-for-122 from the charity stripe, while Jada Leonard is 73-for-89. For the year, Cleveland State has recorded 20+ free throws eight times, with the 28 against Purdue Fort Wayne marking a season-high.
 
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 583-192. At Cleveland State, Kielsmeier owns a record of 167-76, 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 return home for a midweek contest on Wednesday, January 28, hosting Milwaukee at 7:00 p.m.