Iowa Women's Basketball Tip Time Preview: Cleveland State

CLEVELAND STATE VIKINGS (9-1) VS #4 IOWA HAWKEYES (10-1)

TIME: 6:00pm CT

TV: Big Ten Network – Sloane Martin and Meghan McKeown

SERIES: First Ever Meeting – Iowa is 9-1 all-time against the Horizon League

THE NUMBERS

OFFENSE: IOWA: 88.6 PPG, 50.8% FG, 36.5% 3PT, 13.5 TO CLEVELAND STATE: 79.7 PPG, 47.8% FG, 34.9% 3PT, 14.0 TO

DEFENSE: IOWA: 64.5 PPG, 37.0% FG, 26.6% 3PT, 14.6 TO, +8.6 REB MARGIN CLEVELAND STATE: 60.2 PPG, 38.2% FG, 32.8% FG, 19.1 TO, +6.8 REB MARGIN

Injury Report

Cleveland State G Destiny Leo– OUT (leg)

The Vikings lost Horizon League Player of the Year Destiny Leo in their seventh game of the season against UMKC and she will miss the rest of the season. Leo averaged 17.9 points per game last season and was averaging 20.7 points per game through six games this year.

IOWA HAWKEYES PROJECTED LINEUP

Caitlin Clark	Point Guard	6-0/ Sr.	Averaging 29.5 PPG, 6.9 REB and 7.4 AST. Second in the country in three-pointers (47). 28 pts, 9 reb, 5 ast vs Wisconsin
Molly Davis	Guard	5-7/ 5th Sr.	Averaging 5.3 PPG, 3.3 REB and 3.5 AST. Third on the team in minutes per game (25.2). Second on the team in assists (38).
Gabbie Marshall	Guard	5-9/ 5th Sr.	Averaging 4.5 PPG and shooting 30.6% from 3pt range. Second on the team in made threes (15). Made a three in five of last six games.
Kate Martin	Guard	6-0/ Grad Sr	Averaging 11.1 PPG, 5.0 REB and 2.1 AST. Shooting 55.7% from the field. Second on the team in made field goals (49).
Sharon Goodman	Center	6-3/RS Jr.	Averaging 9.1 PPG and 5.1 REB. Shooting 70.0% from the floor. Second on the team in offensive rebounds (19).

CLEVELAND STATE VIKINGS PROJECTED LINEUP

Colbi Maples	Guard	5-8/ Jr.	Averaging 16.4 PPG and 3.3 AST. Leads the team in made field goals (57). Scored 20+ points four times. 17 pts, 3 reb, 7 ast vs Akron.
Mickayla Perdue	Guard	5-6/ Sr.	Averaging 12.1 PPG and leads with team with 14 made three-pointers. Scored in double figures in each of the last six games. 25 pts vs Akron.
Sara Guerreiro	Guard	5-10/ Sr.	Averaging 5.8 PPG and 5.1 REB. Pulled down 7+ rebounds in four games. Career-high 22 pts, 8 reb vs Niagara (12/6).
Carmen Villalobos	Guard	6-1/ Fifth Yr.	Averaging 5.9 PPG and 6.7 REB. Team-leading 52.6% shooting percentage. Pulled down 7+ rebounds in seven of ten games.
Jordana Reisma	Forward	6-3/ Soph.	Averaging 7.0 PPG and 5.4 REB. Shooting 50.9% from the floor and has scored in double figures four times. 10 pts, 9 reb vs Akron.

CLEVELAND STATE PLAYER TO WATCH: G Mickayla Perdue

When your Horizon League Player of the Year goes down in the seventh game of the season, someone has to step up to keep things from spiraling out of control offensively. That player for Cleveland State has been senior guard Mickayla Perdue. She made the DII Final Four last season with Glenville State and has quickly settled in as a solid scorer for the Vikings. She is averaging 12.1 points per game and leads the team with 14 made three-pointers. In the first six games of the season she averaged just 6.6 points and 5.8 shot attempts. Since Leo was injured early in the game against UMKC, Perdue is averaging 17.6 points and 13.2 shot attempts per game, including six straight games in double figures.

KEY MATCHUP TO WATCH: Three-Point Shooting

The three-pointer can be a great equalizer on the basketball court, especially when one team is a big underdog. Unfortunately for Cleveland State, that is not a huge part of their game. They rank 312th in three-point attempts per game (14.6) and 318th in three-point attempt rate (25.2%). Meanwhile, Iowa ranks 22nd in attempts per game (26.2), 51st in attempt rate (36.5%) and averages 9.6 three-point makes per game. The Vikings have not made more than eight threes in a game, while the Hawkeyes have done it seven times this season. The bigger the gap is in three-pointers made, the tougher the task will get for Cleveland State. Mickayla Perdue has attempted 23 three-pointers over the last three games, so she is the player that has to be defended well from behind the arc.

THE BREAKDOWN

Cleveland State has made a postseason tournament in each of the last three seasons, including an NCAA Tournament appearance last season. So far the Vikings are off to a 9-1 start, but the schedule has been pretty easy. They have played 8 Q4 games and lost their only matchup against a team in the NET Top 170.

Looking at the rest of the Vikings starting lineup, Grambling State transfer guard Colbi Maples is averaging a team-high 16.4 points and 3.3 assists per game. She has scored in double figures in eight of ten games, including scoring 20+ points in four games. Maples is averaging 11.5 shot attempts per game and has made a team-leading 57 field goals. Lisa Bluder mentioned her as a player to watch after the injury to Destiny Leo.

Rounding out the starting guards is fifth year senior Carmen Villalobos and senior Sara Guerreiro. Villalobos is averaging 5.9 points and 6.7 rebounds per game, including seven games with 7+ rebounds. She leads the team with a 52.6% field goal percentage. Guerreiro is averaging 5.8 points and 5.1 rebounds per game, including 22 points and eight rebounds against Niagara. She has pulled down 7+ rebounds in four games.

6’3 forward Jordana Reisma gives Cleveland State some height in the starting lineup. She is averaging 7.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game. Reisma is second on the team with a 50.9% field goal percentage, while she has scored in double figures in three of the last five games.

Off the bench, the Vikings have three players that played in all ten games, starting with Howard forward transfer Brooklynn Fort-Davis. She was a Third Team All-MEAC selection for the Bison last season, while she is averaging 4.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 12.1 minutes per game this year. Fort-Davis scored a season-high 15 points on 5/6 shooting against Niagara.

Other options include, 6’1 F Faith Burch and 6’0 F Grace Ellis. Burch is averaging 4.0 points, 3.8 rebounds and 9.6 minutes per game, including a season-high 12 pts and ten rebounds vs Chicago State. Ellis is averaging 3.1 points, 2.5 rebounds and 16.2 minutes per game.

A deeper look at the stats behind the matchup between the Hawkeyes and Vikings…

THE PICK

You never want to see injuries in any sport, especially to the best players. Destiny Leo being out for Cleveland State changes things, but the Vikings have been able to keep it together, winning all four games without her. However, their team stats have been inflated a bit due to an easy schedule. The average NET ranking for their opponents is 249.6, including seven games against teams lower than 225. The toughest offense they’ve faced ranks 107th in points per 100 possessions (Bowling Green), while Iowa is 12th in that category. The Vikings might be able to contend in the Horizon without Destiny Leo, but today they will miss her on the court. Warren Nolan projects Iowa to win 83-60. The Hawkeyes win comfortably in front of a sold out Wells Fargo Arena crowd. IOWA 91 CLEVELAND STATE 62