Like any great rivalry between capable teams, the still-nascent clash between Cleveland State and Purdue Fort Wayne has often evoked a pair of brawling heavyweights, each standing in the middle of the ring and alternating haymakers.
On January 12th, Lauren Ross hit a three-pointer with 2.5 seconds remaining to lift the Mastodons to their first win over CSU since 2004, while also ending the Vikings’ 29-game unbeaten run at the Wolstein Center and spurring head coaches Maria Marchesano and Chris Kielsmeier to exchange pointed words through the media.
About a month later, Cleveland State returned the favor by holding the Mastodons scoreless for the final 4:27 of a comeback victory, which snapped PFW’s school-record 17-game winning streak.
After nearly another month passed, Purdue Fort Wayne blitzed the Vikings from behind the arc to eliminate CSU from the Horizon League semifinals and advance to the program’s first conference championship game.
With all of that in mind, it’s certainly possible that CSU’s 76-65 victory over the Mastodons in the Great 8 quarterfinal round of the WNIT on Monday evening was simply a matter of it being the Vikings’ turn, in a season series that stretched for a sasquatch-rare four games. After all, the concept of a streak for a streak, and a tournament knockout for a tournament knockout, dates at least to the time of Hammurabi.
Then again, it’s worth pointing out that PFW’s second home defeat of the season – both against Cleveland State – pivoted largely on a moment when the boxing metaphor became a bit too literal.
With 5:27 remaining in the third quarter, and the Vikings holding a 44-40 advantage, Ross accidentally hit CSU’s Sara Guerreiro in the face while attempting to swim around the defending Viking and into a cut.
Following a lengthy review, the Dons’ leading scorer was charged with a flagrant foul, granting Guerreiro two free throws, and the visitors possession of the ball afterwards.
The sequence didn’t formally launch the 18-1 run that firmly put Cleveland State in control, Mickayla Perdue did that 1:46 earlier, by banking home a triple late in the shot clock. However, once Macey Fegan found a wide-open Jordana Reisma after an offensive rebound to complete what was essentially a four-point play, thanks to Ross’ infraction, the Vikings led 48-40 and had captured the highest-leverage stretch of the evening.
“That was a big moment right there,” Kielsmeier said. “It was certainly unintentional [by Ross], in the heart of the game, stuff like that happens.”
Kielsmeier feared that Guerreiro might have been dazed after the blow to her head, and questioned whether she should shoot the free throws, but hindsight proved those concerns foolish.
In fact, Guerreiro looked as if her green uniform might have been an Incredible Hulk costume. Once she was angered, Guerreiro helped fuel the decisive surge with a pair of steals, and became nearly perfect when shooting mid-range jumpers, finishing with 19 points and 11 rebounds for her ninth career double-double.
“She just walked up there and said ‘this is my moment,’ and played that way all night,” Kielsmeier said. “You just love to see kids respond that way.”
Perdue, who was also staggered during the contest and able to continue, added 19 points, including four free throws in the final minute of play to help lock down the result, while Destiny Leo led all scorers with 22 points.
The pair of HL Players of the Year combined to go 7-for-14 from three-point range, and Leo delivered a deep-ball uppercut with 1:18 remaining, while Purdue Fort Wayne desperately tried to erase the last eight points of CSU’s lead.
However, perhaps the most notable thing about Leo’s game was the way that a player who had largely become a three-point specialist offensively in the aftermath of her 2023-24 ACL tear suddenly had a diverse arsenal again. Eighty-three percent of the Eastlake North graduate’s field goal attempts this season have come from behind the arc, but on Monday, she was much closer to her pre-injury splits.
“She was making plays all night,” Kielsmeier said. “[Purdue Fort Wayne] knows what we’re doing, and it’s really hard to get any clean looks against them. The way Destiny was able to come off of ball screens, the way we found her in transition, we were able to free her up a little bit.”
Though Leo, Perdue, and Guerreiro combined for 62 of Cleveland State’s 76 points, Kielsmeier quickly veered attention towards their defensive performance. Those three players, along with Reisma and Fegan – a quintet that chewed up more than 180 of the 200 available minutes on the floor – out-rebounded the Mastodons 44-26 and limited their prolific-shooting hosts to 9-for-29 from three-point range.
Purdue Fort Wayne threats Ross, Sydney Freeman, and Amellia Bromenschenkel each scored at least 13 points, while Audra Emmerson fired home an important second-quarter three. However, their collective efficiency starkly contrasted with PFW’s victory in the Horizon League semifinals, when the Dons connected on 15 of their 28 tries from deep.
“How they played at Indy was outstanding,” Kielsmeier remebered. “I said going into this game that I hope they don’t shoot like that again, because they certainly have the ability to do that on any night. But we were ready tonight, our players really rose to the occasion, and we were able to get the last win.”
With that final word in an extremely memorable season series, the Vikings advanced to the WNIT’s Fab 4 and, after a turnaround of less than 48 hours, a meeting with Mid-American Conference foe Buffalo on Wednesday evening.
A win at UB’s Alumni Arena, followed by another against either Illinois State or Troy on Saturday, would give Cleveland State its second postseason tournament championship in program history. Both Kielsmeier and Leo prominently featured in the first title, at the 2021 Women’s Basketball Invitational.
“It’s surreal,” the coach said. “It just gives you goosebumps. You work year-round for this moment, and…I’ve never coached a game in April before, in 25 years, never once. I guess I will now.”
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