Cleveland State @ UIC
Thursday, February 8 | 5:00 p.m. EST | Chicago, Ill.
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CLEVELAND STATE @ UIC GAME NOTES
SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State women’s basketball team will try to continue its winning ways on Thursday, February 8, as the Vikings will continue their current four-game roadswing with a 5:00 p.m. EST contest at UIC. Entering the week, the Vikings stand at 16-7 overall this year, and own an 8-4 mark against Horizon League opponents. UIC currently owns a 7-15 overall record and a 0-11 mark in league play.
A WIN THURSDAY WOULD…
Put the Vikings on a five-game winstreak – marking the longest winstreak of the season…Give Cleveland State a 3-0 start to the month of February…Mark the Vikings’ sixth win out of their last seven games…Give Cleveland State 17 wins for just the second time over the last seven seasons…Mark a season sweep for the Vikings against the Flames.
THE CLEVELAND STATE/UIC SERIES
This will mark the 74th meeting between the two teams, with Cleveland State holding a 40-33 advantage in the overall series. Earlier this season the Vikings picked up a 70-67 victory in the first meeting, as they have now won four straight and seven of the last eight against UIC.
…THE FIRST TIME AROUND
In the first meeting between the two teams, Cleveland State picked up a 70-67 victory, thanks to a career-high tying 32 points from Ashanti Abshaw. Mariah Miller (12 points) and Olivia Voskuhl (10 pts) also tallied double-digit points for the Vikings, while they shot 47-percent from the floor as a team. Defensively, Cleveland State forced UIC into 16 turnovers and converted those miscues into 23 points.
SCOUTING THE FLAMES
UIC enters Thursday’s game with a 7-15 overall record and a 0-11 mark against league opponents…The Flames are currently on a 12-game losing skid, last picking up a win against North Texas with a 70-67 decision…So far this season, UIC stands at 6-6 when playing at home…Individually, Brittany Byrd ranks fifth among league players averaging 14.9 points per game, while Taylor Toney ranks second averaging 2.5 steals per contest…Byrd and Toney (14.0 ppg) have led the UIC offense so far this season, while Gabryelle Johnson has grabbed a team-best 144 total rebounds.
LAST TIME OUT…
Cleveland State completed its third sweep of the season, picking up a 20-point win at Oakland in an 86-66 decision. The Vikings had four players finish in double-figures, including Khayla Livingston with a game-high 27 points. Rachel Slaney posted her first double-double of the season with 11 points and a game-best 10 rebounds. The Vikings grabbed 14 steals on the game, and forced Oakland into 18 turnovers.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Cleveland State will spend the majority of its time on the road during the second half of Horizon League play this season, including this weekend’s roadtrip to UIC and IUPUI. The Vikings, who will play six of their last eight games on the road, own a 6-3 record on the road this season and will be playing their third game of a four-game roadswing on Thursday evening.
VIKINGS REACH 16-WIN MARK
Saturday’s victory at Oakland marked the 16th win of the season for the Vikings, marking just the sixth time under head coach Kate Peterson Abiad that Cleveland State has recorded at least 16 wins in a season. With six regular season games left to play, this is the earliest that the Vikings have ever reach the 16-win mark.
LIVINGSTON CLOSING IN ON CSU THREE-POINT RECORD
Entering Thursday’s game at UIC, Khayla Livingston has 213 career three-pointers, just five three-pointers shy of setting a Cleveland State record. Livingston became just the second Viking all-time to eclipse 200 three-pointers last week, posting a CSU Single-Game Record nine against Detroit Mercy and five at Oakland. So far this season, Livingston is averaging a league-best 3.0 three-pointers per game and has 70 total conversions from behind-the-arc on the year – a mark that ranks second in the CSU Single-Season Record Book.
HIGH-POWERED OFFENSE
In Horizon League games only, Cleveland State is tops in the league averaging 69.6 points per game. The Vikings, who have a +3.3 scoring margin against league opponents, have scored 70 or more points in their last four contests. A large part of the Cleveland State offense has come from the duo of Khayla Livingston (19.2 ppg) and Ashanti Abshaw (19.1 ppg), who rank second and third, respectively, among league players in scoring. Livingston and Abshaw have accounted for 440 points in league play – over half of Cleveland State’s total point total.
ABSHAW CHASING DOWN THE 1,500-POINT MARK
Entering the final stretch of regular season play, Ashanti Abshaw is chasing down the 1,500-point mark, entering Thursday’s contest at UIC ranked seventh on the CSU Scoring Chart with 1,479 career points. Abshaw, who ranks second among league players averaging 19.5 points per game this season, would become the second current Horizon League player to reach the milestone, and just the second Viking all-time to eclipse the 1,500-point mark as a junior (Kailey Klein 2006-10).
VOSKUHL CLOSING IN ON 1,000 CAREER POINTS
After averaging a career-best 12.7 points per game so far this season, redshirt senior Olivia Voskuhl is closing in on joining the 1,000-point club, entering Thursday’s contest with 980 career points. Voskuhl, who has tallied double-digit points in all but four games this season, would become the 29th Viking all-time and the third current Viking to join the exclusive club (Ashanti Abshaw & Khayla Livingston). In league games only, Voskuhl is averaging 12.8 ppg, and combined for 30 points in last week’s games at Detroit Mercy (14 pts) and Oakland (16 pts).
BOSLEY WITH THE BLOCK
After posting a season-high six blocked shots against the Grizzlies last time out, senior Shadae Bosley added to her career blocks total, finishing the game with 140. Bosley, who ranks third in the CSU Career Record Book, has 53 total blocks on the year, ranking fifth in the CSU Single-Season Record Book. Bosley enters Thursday’s contest at UIC leading the Horizon League, averaging 2.3 blocks per game this year.
HEAD COACH KATE PETERSON ABIAD
With the 71-70 overtime victory against Wright State earlier this year, Kate Peterson Abiad picked up the 200th win of her career, eclipsing the coaching milestone on her birthday. Peterson Abiad, who is in her 15th season at the helm of the Vikings, became the fourth active Horizon League coach to record 200 career wins, and just the second to eclipse the milestone at their current school (Kevin Borseth, Green Bay).
UP NEXT
Cleveland State will close out its current roadswing at IUPUI on Saturday, February 10, taking on the Jaguars in a 7:00 p.m. contest.
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