GREEN BAY, Wis. - – In the semifinals of the Horizon League Tournament on Friday, Wright State defeated Cleveland State 99-87 and set a conference tournament scoring record. The Raiders had three players record double-doubles and five players scoring in double figures.
Horizon League Player of the Year Tay’ler Mingo led the Raiders with 27 points and 10 assists, collecting her fourth double-double of the season.
“We’re jelling right now,” said Mingo. “We know it’s crucial. We’re just trying to play our best basketball at this point.”
Cleveland State jumped ahead early by two with a jump shot by Alexis Eckles. The lead would be their largest of the game as the Raiders responded with a 12-2 run led by Mingo, Taylor Stanton and Symone Denham each scoring four points.
Courtney Boyd hit back to back 3 pointers for the Raiders with 8:16 left in the half during a 17-11 run. The Vikings retaliated with five straight points but allowed a 17-7 run by the Raiders leading into the break.
The Raiders collected 30 points in the paint in the first half and shot 48.6 percent from the floor. Foul trouble for Stanton and Richelle van der Keijl led to more minutes for Lexi Smith. She stepped up big and scored six points in less than a two minute span for the Raiders.
“She gave us some big minutes and we needed that at the time” said Bradbury. “It was very important.”
Cleveland State bounced back in the second half with an 18-9 run led by Allison Mitchell and Cori Coleman. With 9:47 left the Raiders scored eight straight points with six by Mingo.
The Vikings fought until the end cutting the lead down to nine with 45 seconds remaining in the game.
“Give Cleveland State credit,” said Bradbury, “there’s no quit in that team. They’ll be playing hopefully in the NIT. A lot of credit to them they make it hard.”
Five players for the Vikings recorded double digit points. Eckles posted a double-double with 17 points and 19 rebounds. Kiersten Green led the team with 21 points followed by Imani Gordon with 14, Coleman with 20 and Mitchell with 11.
Denham recorded a career high of 19 points while Boyd drained three 3 pointers for 11 points. Smith and Breanna Stucke each posted double-doubles. Stucke collected 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds while Smith grabbed 10 rebounds and scored 12 points.
“We have goals set and we’re trying to accomplish them one day at a time,” said Mingo. “We stick together. I think it’s not about confidence but believing in each other.”
The Raiders have won six straight games dating back to the regular season. They will attempt to repeat as conference champions on Sunday against Green Bay.
“We just have to get ourselves prepared tomorrow to play on Sunday,” said Bradbury. “We’ll have a plan, we’ll get prepared and we’ll go play.”
Last season the Raiders defeated Green Bay 88-69 to win their first ever Horizon League Championship. Tip-off will be at 3 p.m. Eastern time.
