FTs for JD
Jordana Reisma has clearly put up more than a couple free throws in mostly-deserted gyms away from the bright lights of gameday over the last couple years. The proof is in the pudding.
As a freshman in 2022-23, while playing just shy of 15 minutes per game behind Amele Ngwafang, Reisma went 53.7 percent from the charity stripe. Last year, after becoming a starter, she improved to 59.3 percent.
This season? 73.1 percent, more than a 23 percent year-over-year jump.
Even within 2024-25, there has been an observable trend. After starting off with a still-significantly-better 65.7 percent (65-for-99) over her first 20 games, Reisma has fired at an 86.0 percent (49-for-57) rate over her most recent nine.
Sara Guerreiro is the Vikings’ best free throw shooter (among players who receive regular minutes), as she converts 89.0 percent of her tries, while Mickayla Perdue is next at 84.7 percent. Essentially, Reisma has been one of Cleveland State’s best free throw shooters lately, without qualification.
So how much has she been working on them?
“A lot,” she said. “Coach [Chris Kielsmeier] has told me multiple times that it needs to get better, so I’ve put a lot of time into it.”
That time is no small investment, given that CSU’s preferred attack involves getting the ball inside frequently and, as needed, converting at the free throw line when the defense inevitably gets a bit too aggressive while trying to stop Reisma and others.
“We take a lot of pride in getting to the free throw line, but you gotta make free throws when you get there,” Kielsmeier added. “She’s worked hard on it, and she’s gone out and produced.”
Down with the Sickness
Cleveland State is hardly alone in dealing with what experts have called the worst flu season in the last decade. However, the Vikings have probably been affected more than most teams, as illness has been a recurring issue throughout the roster over the last several weeks, at least since mid-January.
Kielsmeier first cited sickness as a problem during CSU’s road trip to Green Bay and Milwaukee late last month. And, as of his weekly radio show on Monday, things haven’t really changed a whole lot.
“We’ve still struggled with that,” he said. “We had two players that didn’t practice today because of it, it just continues to be, I think, this is one of the worst flu seasons in however long. The sickness has been a factor for us.”
The remarkable thing is that it hasn’t noticeably affected anyone’s game availability. The Vikings’ starting lineup hasn’t been altered since late November and, outside of the usual tinkering, the bench rotations haven’t really changed much either.
“Our players have shown a lot of toughness with that,” Kielsmeier continued. “We’ve had a lot of players that have played through a lot, and you love to see their mentality, physically and mentally, to say ‘I’ve got an opportunity to play, I’m not going to let this sickness hold me down. Our players have done an incredible job with that.”
Surviving the Clark Tank
Last Tuesday, Guerreiro appeared on a weekly streaming show produced by Greenie Sports Cards, the people behind the autographed NIL trading cards that have recently become a notable presence in the local mid-major basketball world.
The interview (which begins at the 45:45 mark of the video) was obviously an opportunity to promote Guerreiro’s card, which features a creatively-obscured Caitlin Clark defending the versatile Portugal native. That Easter egg (of sorts) led to a conversation about competing against Clark and playing in front of a large crowd like the one supporting the Iowa team that CSU faced in Des Moines on December 16, 2023.
“It was awesome,” Guerreiro said. “I’m a big fan of [Clark], but when it’s gametime, the only thing going through my head is that I want to win.”
“She was guarding me the whole game. I had a decent offensive game, nothing compared to hers, but it was a great experience and having that atmosphere, just seeing all of the love she gets from everybody was amazing. I still watch her games, and I’m a big fan.”
Cutting the NET
Kielsmeier has often expressed frustration with the NET (NCAA Evaluation Tool) rankings, one of the primary metrics used for selection and seeding by the NCAA Tournament, as well as other postseason events. On one notable occasion, he veered into a plea for formula transparency during his press conference following CSU’s Horizon League championship loss to Green Bay last March, in response to a question about the Vikings’ tournament prospects.
“We’re one of the 68 best teams in the country, I believe that,” he said at the time. “These numbers, analytics, data, and stuff that they throw out there, some of it looks like it’s going against us. That’s what’s frustrating about it is…be transparent. Give us more information.”
“I’m a realist. I know it’s stacked against us, but we should be in. And this league should have two teams in it, I’m steadfast in that.”
Kielsmeier’s wish for two Horizon League teams in the NCAA Tournament won’t be fulfilled this season, but the realist in him has led to a reluctant acceptance of the NET – or at least of its importance.
During his radio show, he admitted to following the Vikings’ ranking while talking about Saturday’s win over Robert Morris.
“[We] helped our NET a few spots, which is something we’re talking about and tracking a lot right now, because we know we’re chasing a fifth consecutive postseason bid,” he said. “If the conference tournament doesn’t go our way, we want to make sure that we’ve got a seat at the table somewhere.”
Cleveland State’s NET has hovered just outside of the top 100 in recent weeks. That means, given Kielsmeier’s qualification of CSU’s time at the HL tournament ending with a loss, that metaphorical table would probably be located in the WNIT, which became women’s basketball’s third-tier tournament with the advent of the WBIT last season.
Although the Horizon League typically places a team in the WNIT more often than not (including a Super 16 run by Purdue Fort Wayne last year), Cleveland State has only played in the WNIT once: a first-round loss to Michigan to close the 2014-15 campaign.
