GAME #33 {#HLWBB Semifinal}
Cleveland State vs. Youngstown State
Monday, March 9 | 2:30 pm | Indianapolis, Ind.
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SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State women's basketball team will continue postseason play on Monday, March 9, traveling to Indianapolis, Ind. for a semifinal matchup against Youngstown State in the 2026 Barbasol Horizon League Basketball Championship. Entering Monday's game, CSU stands at 24-8 overall this year and is playing as the No. 3 seed in this year's tournament, while Youngstown State is currently 23-8 on the year and will be playing as the No. 2 seed.
 
A WIN ON MONDAY WOULD...
Put the Vikings into the championship of the 2026 Barbasol Horizon League Basketball Championships…Make the Vikings 13-6 in #HLWBB tournament play under head coach Chris Kielsmeier…Give Cleveland State its fourth #HLWBB Championship appearance over the last five seasons.
 
THE CLEVELAND STATE/YOUNGSTOWN STATE SERIES
Monday's game will mark the 89th meeting between the two teams in program history, with Youngstown State owning a 49-39 advantage in the all-time series. The two teams have met three times in #HLWBB Tournament play, with Cleveland State owning a 2-1 edge, including a first round win during the 2019-20 season.
 
SCOUTING THE PENGUINS
Youngstown State enters Monday's semifinal contest with a 23-8 overall record this season and finished regular season play with a 15-5 mark in league action…The Penguins earned the No. 2 seed in the #HLWBB Tournament and picked up a 76-60 victory over Wright State in the first round on Wednesday…YSU is currently on a six-game win streak, and owns a 1-0 record when playing neutral site games this season…YSU picked up multiple postseason awards from the league, including Sophia Gregory (Defensive Player) and Paulina Hernandez (Sixth Player) who earned major honors…Gregory leads the league averaging 8.8 rebounds per game this season, while Hernandez is averaging a league-best 1.8 blocked shots per contest.
 
VIKINGS IN #HLWBB PLAY
Cleveland State entered the #HLWBB Tournament as the No. 3 seed after finishing the regular season with a 13-7 mark against league opponents. The 13 wins marks the fifth straight year that Cleveland State has finished with double-digit league wins during regular season play.
 
VIKINGS IN THE #HLWBB TOURNAMENT
Under head coach Chris Kielsmeier the Vikings own a 12-6 record in the Horizon League Tournament, including a perfect 3-0 record in 2023 when the Vikings captured the #HLWBB Tournament Championships. Cleveland State has now earned a spot in the semifinals 13 times in program history, while the Vikings have made five appearances in the championship game, capturing the #HLWBB Tournament title during the 2007-08, 2009-10 and 2023-24 seasons.
 
…VIKINGS AS THE No. 3 SEED
This marks the second time during head coach Chris Kielsmeier's tenure that the Vikings will be playing as the No. 3 seed in the Horizon League Tournament, also doing so last year. Cleveland State will be playing as a top-three seed for the fourth straight season, while the Vikings have now been a top-four seed 13 times in program history.
 
#HLWBB FIRST ROUND RECAP
For the fifth straight season the Vikings hosted an opening round contest in the Horizon League Tournament, picking up an 81-80 overtime win against No. 8 seed Oakland in the First Round. Four Vikings finished in double-figure points, led by Izabella Zingaro with 29, while Jada Leonard added 15. As a team, the Vikings shot 47-percent from the field and went 20-23 from the free throw line.
 
…VIKINGS IN OVERTIME GAMES
Wednesday's first round game marked the third overtime game of the season for the Vikings, with Cleveland State owning a perfect 3-0 record in those games. Earlier this year, the Vikings earned a 62-59 win against Radford in non-league play, while they also picked up an 83-82 victory against Green Bay late in the regular season. During the three overtime games this year, Izabella Zingaro has recorded 15 of Cleveland State's 25 points during the extra periods - including four points against Oakland last time out.
 
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Monday's #HLWBB semifinal game will mark the 15th road game for the Vikings this season, as they enter the contest with a 7-7 record when playing away from home. Through 14 games played on the road, Cleveland State has traveled 12,000+ miles, covering seven states and Puerto Rico. In neutral site games, the Vikings own a 2-0 record on the year.
 
CSU CONTINUES #HLWBB TOURNAMENT WITH 24 WINS
After securing their fifth straight 20-win season with a 57-52 win at RMU earlier this year, Cleveland State continues #HLWBB Tournament play with 24 wins - which ranks fourth for the most wins in a single-season in program history. The 24 wins marks the sixth 20-win campaign for Cleveland State over the last seven years, while it also makes the Vikings one of three Horizon League teams with 20+ wins on the year.
 
…VIKINGS EXTEND WIN STREAK TO SEVEN GAMES
Entering Horizon League Tournament play, Cleveland State was on a season-best six-game win streak, and extended that to seven straight games with Wednesday's first round win over Oakland. Cleveland State's seven-game win streak marks the fourth straight year that the Vikings have tallied seven or more wins in a row, with their stretch of 16 straight wins during the 2022-23 campaign setting a program record.
 
ZINGARO NAMED #HLWBB NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
Last week 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.
 
ZINGARO WITH THREE STRAIGHT 20-POINT EFFORTS
Last time out, Izabella Zingaro recorded her third straight 20-point game, and 11th of the season, finishing with a career-high tying 29 points against Oakland. Zingaro, who also tallied 26 points against the Grizzlies in the regular season finale and 29 points at Wright State in the game before, has recorded 20+ points six times over the last nine outings. Zingaro currently leads the Vikings and the league with 547 total points on the year.
 
…ZINGARO ON THE BOARDS
Izabella Zingaro also combined for 10 rebounds against Oakland last time out, recording her ninth double-double of the season. Zingaro, who ranks second among league players with her nine double-doubles this year, had a stretch of six straight over the final weeks of regular season play. Over the last 10 games, Zingaro is averaging 20.8 points and 9.8 rebounds per contest, while shooting 59-percent from the field during this stretch.
 
FEGAN OVER THE LAST SEVEN GAMES
Over the last seven games, Macey Fegan has been a large part of Cleveland State going 7-0, averaging 12.2 points and 8.5 rebounds per game during this stretch. Fegan, who is averaging 9.2 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 29 assists and nine steals over the last seven games.
 
LEONARD TOP-15 NATIONALLY IN STEALS
After 32 games played this season, Jada Leonard continues to lead the Horizon League and rank 15th nationally with 93 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 93 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 90+ total steals.
 
…ZINGARO AMONG NATION'S BEST IN FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE
Entering Monday's game, Izabella Zingaro ranks eighth among Division I players with a .607 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 sixth nationally with her 169 made free throws on the year, leading the league in the category while ranking sixth among #HLWBB players with a .797 free throw percentage.
 
VIKINGS FROM THE FREE THROW LINE
So far this season, the Vikings rank 12th nationally averaging 16.06 free throws made per game. For the year, Cleveland State has converted 514 free throws, leading all Horizon League teams. Individually, Izabella Zingaro is 169-for-212 from the charity stripe, while Colbi Maples (97-for-128) and Jada Leonard (101-for-122) have both added 90+ free throws each. For the year, Cleveland State has recorded 20+ free throws 11 times, including a 20-for-23 effort against Oakland in the first round of the #HLWBB tournament.
 
…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 .449 clip from the field. The Vikings have shot 50-percent or better eight times so far this season, including in two of their last three outings against Wright State (.529) and Oakland (.547) to close out regular season play. The Vikings also lead all league teams averaging 71.2 points per game on the year, while their +11.3 scoring margin is tops in the league.
 
…CLEVELAND STATE ON THE BOARDS
So far this season the Vikings have held a major advantage on the boards, outrebounding their opponents 1,190-1,024. 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-7.3) and Macey Fegan (9th-6.1) both rank in the top-10 individually among 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 Monday's game with 1,060 points as a Viking, has 1,522 total points on her career. Maples, who finished with 580 points during her first season with the Vikings (23-24), has recorded 451 points so far this season, ranking fifth among league players averaging 15.0 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 394 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 592-194. At Cleveland State, Kielsmeier owns a record of 176-78, 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, including a program-record 30 wins during the 2023-24 campaign.