CLEVELAND — The Cleveland State women's basketball team is headed back to the Horizon League semifinals following a 65-52 win over Milwaukee Thursday evening at the Wolstein Center.
Seeded second in the tournament bracket, the Vikings earned their second consecutive victory over the seventh seeded Panthers, whom they also beat 63-56 in the regular-season finale. CSU opened up an eight-point halftime lead with an 11-1 run on its way to extending its program-best record to 28-4 on the year.
All-conference selection Brittni Moore led the way with 17 points and seven rebounds, and Gabriella Smith added 13 points. Horizon League Player of the Year Destiny Leo had an uncharacteristically rough night, scoring just nine on 3 of 13 shooting.
Megan Walsted paced Milwaukee (11-19) with a game-high 30 points and 11 boards on 12 of 19 shooting. The Panthers managed to close the gap to seven in the fourth quarter, but it wasn't enough.
Cleveland State now heads to the league semifinals in Indianapolis for the fourth year in a row, looking to advance to the championship round for the first time since winning the whole tournament in 2010. The Vikes will face either fifth-seeded Northern Kentucky or 9-seed Wright State Monday afternoon.