Lady Vikings Catches Fire in 79-37 Blowout Win over Youngstown State

Cleveland State Guard Sara Guerreiro, Guard Colbi Maples, Forward Carmen Villalobos, Guard Mickayla Perdue, Photo By: Austin Souvanarath

The Cleveland State Lady Vikings defeated the Youngstown State Lady Penguins 79-37 after returning home to Cleveland for the first time in nearly four weeks. Going into the matchup with a 12-3 record, the Lady Vikings were coming off their 64-59 win over Milwaukee, while the Lady Penguins had a 6-9 record after a 70-63 win over Green Bay. 

Youngstown State Guard Dena Jarrells, Photo By: Austin Souvanarath

1st Half:

Kicking off the matchup, the Lady Vikings came out quick with a 12-1 lead at the 2:40 mark of the 1st, finishing the quarter with a 21-4 lead over the Penguins. The Penguins kicked off the 2nd with a 7-0 run before the Vikings responded with a 11-2 explosion. The half ended with a 39-19 Viking lead. Guard Colbi Maples led the half with 16 points, while Guard Sara Guerreiro added 9 points and 10 rebounds. For the Penguins, Forward Emily Saunders finished the half with 7 blocks. 

Cleveland State Guard Sara Guerreiro, Photo By: Austin Souvanarath

Lady Vikings 2nd Half Explosion:

Continuing their dominance, the Lady Vikings kicked off the 3rd quarter with a 8-3 run to extend the lead to 47-22 at the 6:26 mark. The Vikings controlled the tempo for the rest of the quarter, closing the 3rd with a 9-2 run to end the quarter up 62-25 over the Penguins. In the final 10 minutes, the Lady Vikings continued their dominant momentum to victory over the Penguins 79-37, clinching victory over the neighboring Horizon League foe. 

Cleveland State Guard Colbi Maples, Photo By: Austin Souvanarath

Final Stats: 

Guard Colbi Maples finished with 17 points, 4 assists and 4 steals, while Guard Sara Guerreirio followed with 17 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 steals for the Lady Vikings. Forward Jordan Reisma also added 14 points, 8 rebounds and 4 blocks in the win. For the Penguins, Guard Haley Thierry finished with 7 points and 6 rebounds, while Forward Emily Saunders added 5 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals and 7 blocks, the most by a Youngstown State women’s basketball player in 20 years. 

Youngstown State Guard Haley Thierry, Photo By: Austin Souvanarath

What’s Next?

The Cleveland State Lady Vikings advanced to 13-3 with the win, and 4-1 in Horizon League. The Lady Vikings will host the Detroit Mercy Lady Titans at the Wolstein Center on January 10 at 7pm. With the loss, the Youngstown State Lady Penguins fell to 6-10, and 2-4 in the Horizon League. The Lady Penguins will travel to Green Bay, Wisconsin to take on the Green Bay Lady Phoenix on January 11 at 8pm.