UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Cleveland State women's basketball team opened the 2026-27 season Monday, picking up a 62-61 victory over Penn State to begin the
Bob Dunn era.
Game Stats
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Macie Taylor led the Vikings with 20 points, while
Chloe Oliver,
Sarah Hurley and
Alexa Hocevar all added nine points.
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Paula Pique grabbed a team-best nine rebounds, while
Chloe Oliver posted eight and
Alexa Hocevar notched seven.
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Macie Taylor and
Chloe Oliver both recorded five assists on the night.
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Chloe Oliver and
Paula Pique both tallied a pair of steals.
Game Notes
-This marked the first game of the
Bob Dunn era.
-Monday's game marked the first win over a Power 4 team since the 2012-13 season.
-This marked just the second meeting between the two teams in program history, and first since the 1984-85 season.
The Game
After taking a slim 27-25 lead into the halftime break, the Vikings traded three-pointers with the Lady Lions to begin the third quarter, as a
Macie Taylor three-pointer just over 40-seconds into the contest regained a two-point lead for CSU at 30-28.
Penn State evened the score at 30-30 almost a minute later, before a 6-0 run from the Vikings extended the Cleveland State lead to 36-30 on a
Chloe Oliver free throw. The Vikings held onto their lead over the next few minutes, with a pair of layups from Taylor and
Paula Pique putting the Vikings up 40-35 midway through the frame.
Cleveland State extended its lead out of the media timeout with another Pique layup, before Penn State closed the quarter on a 9-2 run to put the score at 44-44 heading into the final 10 minutes of play.
The two teams once again traded three-pointers to begin the fourth quarter, with a
Silvia Gonzalez three-pointer at the 9:01 mark pulling the score even at 47-47.
Sarah Hurley responded with a three-pointer of her own on the next trip down the floor, giving the Vikings a lead that they would go on to hold for the remainder of the contest.
After trading baskets over the next few minutes, the Vikings extended their lead to four points at 56-52 following an
Alexa Hocevar layup and a pair of Pique free throws with 1:58 left on the clock.
Taylor then went 6-for-6 from the free throw line over the next 1:44, keeping the Vikings in the lead, and even growing Cleveland State's advantage to seven points at 62-55 with just 14 seconds left to play.
Although Penn State was able to convert a pair of late three-pointers to close the gap to just one point, the Viking defense held strong on the final possession of the game, pulling away with the 62-61 victory.
Up Next
Cleveland State will be back on the court Thursday, November 5, traveling to Bowling Green for a 7:00 p.m. contest.
