A school named “Cleveland State University at Indianapolis” would certainly take some adjustment for all involved, though CSU might want to consider establishing an outpost somewhere in central Indiana to save on travel costs.
After all, following the third-seeded Vikings’ 92-61 rout of Detroit Mercy in the Horizon League quarterfinals on Thursday night at the Wolstein Center, Chris Kielsmeier’s squad is headed to the HL semifinals in Indy for the sixth consecutive year.
The conference’s marquee event moved to Naptown for the 2019-20 season after a three-year stay in Detroit. Just about every aspect of the tournament has changed since then, including the name of the Corteva Coliseum, the arena that hosts the games, and the design of the championship trophy. Cleveland State’s participation, however, has remained an uninterrupted constant.
It’s a record of success that even mighty Green Bay can’t claim, given that CSU defeated the Phoenix in the 2021 quarterfinals.
“It’s historic,” Kielsmeier said. “That’s a part of the program’s legacy forever, it’s a part of this team’s legacy, whether they were just a part of this first one, or whether they’ve been a part of five of the six. It’s theirs forever.”
“It’s definitely something special, because it’s hard to do,” added graduate guard Destiny Leo, who has been a part of the last five of those semifinalists. “Coach K always reminds us of how hard it is to do. It’s almost come to a point where it’s been something that’s regular for our program.”
To continue the unprecedented run, the Vikings dominated sixth-seeded UDM, holding the Titans to just 13 points over the first 15 minutes of the game, including a scoreless stretch that spanned nearly seven first-quarter minutes.
By the media timeout midway through the second quarter, CSU led 30-13. The Vikings then spent the rest of the contest slowly growing a margin that passed 20 points early in the third quarter, then touched 30 for the first time late in the period.
The home team accomplished that with a turnover-fueled explosion that featured 21 forced Detroit Mercy miscues, the highest count for a Vikings opponent since Cleveland State staggered IU Indianapolis for 28 turnovers back on January 20, 2024.
Mickayla Perdue and Filippa Goula helped that figure along with four steals each, leading the way for a swarming perimeter effort that also held the Titans under 40 percent shooting for the game, and just 3-for-15 from three-point range.
It was thorough-enough work to render Perdue’s game-high 24 points something close to an afterthought. The more important measure, according to the newly-crowned Horizon League Player of the Year, was 13 – the number of deflections she had on defense.
Goula added 11 of those tips to the internal statistic tracked by assistant coach Shelby Zoeckler during games, one that is a near-constant source of attention on the CSU bench.
Perdue mentioned that Kielsmeier relishes circling the team-wide number on his whiteboard during timeouts.
“You can’t really do it by yourself, it takes all five on the court for the defense, so shoutout to everybody,” Perdue said. “When the defense is flying, and the rotations are on, it’s easy to get deflections and steals.”
Leo added 11 points for the Vikings, including three of CSU’s four three-pointers, and was a team-best plus-34.
“These two both played really well offensively tonight,” Kielsmeier said of Leo and Perdue, “but they were both elite defenders.”
Jordana Reisma, despite being plagued by foul trouble for the second consecutive game, was nearly unstoppable during her 19:43 on the floor, compiling 18 points and five rebounds. She was supported by CSU’s other two post players, Mya Moore and Paulina Hernandez, who combined for 18 tallies.
“Once we got settled in, it was a really good night for us,” Leo said. “We played hard, and we did a lot of different things well. We had a lot of players off the bench play well.”
Detroit Mercy, meanwhile, was paced by all-conference selection Emaia O’Brien, who scored 22 points in her final collegiate game, as the Titans wrapped up their season 15-15 overall.
Cleveland State’s annual trip to Indianapolis for Monday’s semifinals will be met by second-seeded Purdue Fort Wayne, which defeated Wright State on Thursday to head downstate for the third straight time. Defending champion Green Bay and upstart Robert Morris will fill the other side of the bracket.
Kielsmeier often turns reflective when his team reaches milestones, as it did after its 24th victory of the season – the third-highest total in program history.
“We had the three most successful seasons in the history of this school in back-to-back-to-back years,” he said. “There’s been women’s basketball at Cleveland State for 52 straight years, and this three-year stretch that we’ve been on, the 49 before couldn’t touch.”
“Great players that have cemented their legacy significantly. Some of the best players that have ever played in this program. That’s powerful stuff.”
Of course, it would be even more powerful if the Vikings added a second tournament title to their six-year run of success, a fact that doesn’t slip past those players or anyone else involved with the program.
In other words, getting to Indy consistently is great. Winning in Indy is better.
“Our goal is to get to Indy, and to play well there,” Leo said. “That’s the main goal. This was just the beginning of it.”
