GAME #35 {WNIT Super 16}
Cleveland State at Middle Tennessee
Thursday, March 26 | 7:30 pm (EST) | Murfreesboro, Tenn.
Watch Live | Live Stats 

SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State women's basketball team will continue postseason play in the 2026 WNIT Thursday, March 26, traveling to Middle Tennessee for a Super 16 matchup. Entering Thursday's contest, the Vikings are 25-9 on the year, while Middle Tennessee is 17-15 overall.
 
A WIN ON THURSDAY WOULD...
Advance the Vikings to the Great 8 of the WNIT…Mark the 10th postseason win for Cleveland State in program history…Give the Vikings back-to-back wins for the seventh time this season…Mark the first win over Middle Tennesse in program history.
 
THE CLEVELAND STATE/MIDDLE TENNESSEE SERIES
Thursday's game will mark the first meeting between the two teams in program history.
 
SCOUTING THE BLUE RAIDERS
Middle Tennessee enters Thursday's game with a 17-15 record on the year, including a 1-0 mark in WNIT play this season after picking up a 69-50 victory over St. Bonaventure in the second round…Middle Tennessee finished regular season play with an 11-7 mark in Conference USA play, and advanced to the quarterfinals of the CUSA Tournament before falling to Missouri State…Blair Baugus was named the CUSA Freshman of the Year, while Alayna Contreras and Macie Phifer both picked up All-League recognition…St. Bonaventure is the lone common opponent for the two teams this year…This marks Middle Tennessee's ninth appearance in the WNIT, as the Blue Raiders hold a 12-8 all-time record in WNIT games.
 
2026 WNIT
This year's WNIT field features 48 teams, including 16 that received byes into the second round of the tournament. First round matchups were contested March 19-21, while second round games were played March 22-24. Super 16 winners will advance to the Great 8 (March 28-30), while the Fab 4 games are set for April 1 and the 2026 WNIT championship game is set for April 4. All games will be hosted on campus sites.
 
…A LOOK AT THE BRACKET
Cleveland State is one of three Horizon League teams in the WNIT field, joining Purdue Fort Wayne and Youngstown State - with all three #HLWBB teams earning byes into the second round of the tournament. Along with these two, there are two additional teams in the field from the Vikings' 25-26 schedule, as St. Bonaventure and Radford both earned invites to the tournament.
 
…CLEVELAND STATE IN THE WNIT
This will mark the third appearance for the Vikings in the WNIT, earning a spot in the tournament field last year along with 2014-15. Last season, the Vikings advanced all the way to the Fab 4, posting a 3-1 record during the tournament.
 
…LAST TIME OUT
Cleveland State picked up a second round win last time out, posting a 74-68 victory over Monmouth in Monday's contest. The Vikings were playing for the first time in two weeks, and improved to 18-1 when playing at home this season. The win marked the program's ninth postseason win in program history, while the Vikings are now 4-1 in WNIT play over the last two seasons.
 
…VIKINGS SET PROGRAM RECORD FOR HOME WINS
Monday's win over Monmouth marked the 18th home win for the Vikings this season, setting a program record for wins at home. Cleveland State currently owns an 18-1 record when playing at home this season, and stands at 65-4 over the last four seasons. This year's 18 home wins took over first place from the 2023-24 team that tallied 17 wins at home, while the next two spots on the top-10 list belong to the 2024-25 (15) and 2022-23 (15) squads.
 
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Thursday's WNIT Super 16 game will mark the 16th road game for the Vikings this season, as they enter the contest with a 7-8 record when playing away from home. As of Thursday, Cleveland State will have traveled 13,000+ miles, covering eight states and Puerto Rico.
 
VIKINGS AGAINST NON-LEAGUE TEAMS THIS SEASON
Following Monday's 74-68 victory over Monmouth, the Vikings now stand at 11-1 against non-Horizon League teams this season. This marks the first time since the 2019-20 campaign that Cleveland State has tallied 10+ wins against non-league teams.
 
CSU CONTINUES POSTSEASON PLAY WITH 25 WINS
After securing their fifth straight 20-win season with a 57-52 win at RMU earlier this year, Cleveland State continues WNIT play with 25 wins - which ranks fourth for the most wins in a single-season in program history. The 25 wins marks the sixth 20-win campaign for Cleveland State over the last seven years, while it marks the fourth straight season with 25+ victories.
 
ZINGARO NAMED #HLWBB NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
Earlier this month Izabella Zingaro was named the Horizon League Newcomer of the Year, becoming the third Viking to earn the honor and the second over the last three seasons. Zingaro, who was also named to the All-League First Team, finished regular season play leading the league in scoring (16.7) and field goal percentage (.606), while ranking fourth in rebounding (7.2).
 
…LEONARD & MAPLES NAMED ALL-LEAGUE
In addition to Izabella Zingaro, the duo of Jada Leonard and Colbi Maples also picked up All-League accolades, with Maples earning a spot on the First Team and Leonard being named to the All-Defensive Team. This marked the second time that Maples has been named to the #HLWBB First Team, while the All-Defensive Team honor is the first #HLWBB award for Leonard.
 
MAPLES NAMED TO #HLWBB ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM
For the first time in her career, graduate student Colbi Maples earned a spot on the Horizon League All-Academic team, becoming the fourth Viking all-time to earn the recognition. Maples, who graduated Magna Cum Laude with a degree in electronics engineering technology last spring, is currently pursuing her MBA, holding a 3.78 GPA. Maples was one of five #HLWBB players named to the team.
 
MAPLES TALLIES CAREER-HIGH IN WNIT SECOND ROUND
Colbi Maples notched her first 30-point game of the season in the win over Monmouth last time out, posting a career-high 39 points on the game. Maples, who converted a career-high 13 field goals - including four three-pointers - was just one point shy of tying the Cleveland State Single-Game Scoring Record. For the season, Maples is averaging 15.7 points per game to rank third among Horizon League players, while she is one of four league players with 10 or more 20-point games on the year.
 
ZINGARO NOTCHES 20-POINT GAME AGAINST MONMOUTH
Last time out, Izabella Zingaro recorded her team-leading 12th 20-point game of the season, finishing with 23 points in the win over Monmouth. Zingaro, who has recorded 20+ points in four of the last five games, is averaging a Horizon League-best 17.3 points per game on the year, while she ranks eighth in the CSU Single-Season Record Book with 589 total points on the year.
 
…MAPLES & ZINGARO WITH 500-POINT SEASONS
After combining for 62 points in Monday's win over Monmouth, Colbi Maples and Izabella Zingaro both have 500-point seasons. Zingaro enters Thursday's game with 589 total points, while Maples has 501 points on the year. This marks the third straight season that the Vikings have had two players with 500+ points on the year, including the 2023-24 campaign when Maples had 580 total points.
 
FEGAN OVER THE LAST NINE GAMES
Over the last nine games, Macey Fegan has been a large part of Cleveland State going 8-1, averaging 10.4 points and 8.2 rebounds per game during this stretch. Fegan, who is averaging 8.9 points and 6.1 rebounds per game on the season, has tallied two double-doubles during this stretch, while also notching a career-high 21 points against Green Bay and a career-high tying 13 rebounds against Purdue Fort Wayne. In addition, she has accounted for 35 assists and 11 steals over the last nine games.
 
LEONARD TOP-20 NATIONALLY IN STEALS
After 34 games played this season, Jada Leonard continues to lead the Horizon League and rank 16th nationally with 98 steals on the year. Leonard, who has recorded at least one takeaway in all but one game this season, is averaging 2.9 steals per game. Leonard's 98 steals on the year makes her the only Horizon League player with 90+ takeaways during the 2025-26 campaign, while she is one of just 19 Division I players with 95+ total steals.
                                                  
…ZINGARO AMONG NATION'S BEST IN FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE
Entering Thursday's game, Izabella Zingaro ranks ninth among Division I players with a .609 field goal percentage on the year. Zingaro, who has been perfect from the field twice this season, leads all league players in the category. In addition, Zingaro also ranks 12th nationally with her 177 made free throws on the year, leading the league in the category while ranking sixth among #HLWBB players with a .794 free throw percentage.
 
VIKINGS FROM THE FREE THROW LINE
So far this season, the Vikings rank 12th nationally averaging 15.85 free throws made per game. For the year, Cleveland State has converted 539 free throws, leading all Horizon League teams. Individually, Izabella Zingaro is 177-for-223 from the charity stripe, while Colbi Maples (107-for-140) and Jada Leonard (103-for-124) have both added 100+ free throws each. For the year, Cleveland State has recorded 20+ free throws 11 times, including a season-best 28-for-35 effort at Purdue Fort Wayne earlier this year.
 
…AND FROM THE FIELD
As a team, Cleveland State has had one of the more efficient offenses this season, leading the Horizon League with a .447 clip from the field. The Vikings have shot 50-percent or better eight times so far this season, including in two of their last five outings against Wright State (.529) and Oakland (.547) to close out regular season play. The Vikings also lead all Horizon League averaging 70.8 points per game, while holding a +10.6 scoring margin.
 
…CLEVELAND STATE ON THE BOARDS
So far this season the Vikings have held a major advantage on the boards, outrebounding their opponents 1,266-1,092. Cleveland State has combined for 40+ rebounds 11 times, including a season-high 49 against IU Indy earlier this year. As a team, the Vikings are averaging 37.2 rebounds per game, while Izabella Zingaro (4th-7.5) and Macey Fegan (9th-6.1) both rank in the top-10 individually among Horizon League players.
 
MAPLES RECORDS 1,000^TH POINT AT CLEVELAND STATE
With a 17-point performance at Robert Morris last month, graduate student Colbi Maples eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for her Cleveland State career. Maples, who enters Thursday's game with 1,110 points as a Viking, has 1,572 total points on her career. Maples, who finished with 580 points during her first season with the Vikings (23-24), has recorded 501 points so far this season, ranking third among league players averaging 15.7 points per game.
 
…LEONARD RECORDS 1,000^TH CAREER POINT
Jada Leonard became the second active Viking to record 1,000 career points against IU Indy last month, as she went 2-for-2 from the free throw line to end the game at 1,001 career points. Leonard, who is one of three Vikings to be averaging double-digit points on the year, is currently eighth among #HLWBB players with 408 total points on the year.
 
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 593-195. At Cleveland State, Kielsmeier owns a record of 177-78, 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 six 20-win seasons and has earned six straight postseason bids.