Wednesday, January 21
Fort Wayne, Ind.
7 PM
Purdue Fort Wayne
12-8,6-4Horizon
80
vs
70
Cleveland State
15-6,5-5Horizon
1
2
3
4
F
Cleveland St.
14
16
22
18
70
Purdue Fort Wayne
27
20
17
16
80
Alana Nelson
Photo by: Josh Gales
'Dons Never Trail in 10-Point Win Over Cleveland State
1/21/2026 9:38:00 PM | Women's Basketball
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - For the first time in the series history, the Purdue Fort Wayne women's basketball team beat Cleveland State in Fort Wayne. The Mastodons won in wire-to-wire fashion on Wednesday night (Jan. 21) in an 80-70 victory over the visiting Vikings.
The Mastodons shot 51.8 percent from the floor (29-of-56). This is the fourth time this season that the 'Dons have shot over 50 percent. Unlike those other three games, though, the Mastodons hit their first seven shots in Wednesday's contest. Alana Nelson, Jordan Reid (2), Lili Krasovec (2), Rylee Bess and Ella Riggs all scored in the 16-5 start that was capped off by a pair of 3-pointers from Reid and Riggs.
In the second quarter, the Mastodons built a lead as large as 21 after an 8-0 spurt. Nelson had a layup, then the duo of freshmen Destiny Macharia and Bess each hit a triple. Free throw shooting kept Cleveland State in the game. The Vikings finished with 28 freebies, 16 of which came after the halftime break. The Mastodons kept the Vikings honest everywhere else on the floor though, holding CSU to 38.5 percent from the floor (20-of-52) and 16.7 percent from 3-point range (2-of-12).
The Vikings had an 8-0 run in the third quarter to cut the Mastodons' lead to just eight, but momentum swung back to the Mastodons in the early moments of the fourth. Lauren Lee hit a 3-pointer with 7:36 left to go up 15 and put the game out of reach. The Vikings did not get closer than the final margin of 10 the rest of the way.
Nelson played her most complete offensive game in two weeks, as she finished with 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting (75 percent) and a 4-for-5 (80 percent) effort from 3-point land. She also added a team-high six rebounds and two steals. Bess joined Nelson in double-figures with 13 points, 10 of which came in the first 20 minutes.
Cleveland State had a 36-30 edge in points in the paint, but Purdue Fort Wayne led in points off turnovers (23-16), second chance points (10-9), fast break points (9-8) and bench points (18-6). Izabella Zingaro had 22 points, all coming in the paint or from the stripe. Jada Leonard had 18 and Macey Fegan had 16 in the same fashion as Zingaro.
The Mastodons held Horizon League Preseason Player of the Year Colbi Maples to just five points on 1-of-8 shooting.
Purdue Fort Wayne improved to 12-8, 6-4 in Horizon League play, while Cleveland State fell to 15-6, 5-5 in the HL. The Mastodons have a revenge game next on the calendar with a trip to Highland Heights on Saturday (Jan. 24) to play Northern Kentucky at 1 p.m.
The Mastodons shot 51.8 percent from the floor (29-of-56). This is the fourth time this season that the 'Dons have shot over 50 percent. Unlike those other three games, though, the Mastodons hit their first seven shots in Wednesday's contest. Alana Nelson, Jordan Reid (2), Lili Krasovec (2), Rylee Bess and Ella Riggs all scored in the 16-5 start that was capped off by a pair of 3-pointers from Reid and Riggs.
In the second quarter, the Mastodons built a lead as large as 21 after an 8-0 spurt. Nelson had a layup, then the duo of freshmen Destiny Macharia and Bess each hit a triple. Free throw shooting kept Cleveland State in the game. The Vikings finished with 28 freebies, 16 of which came after the halftime break. The Mastodons kept the Vikings honest everywhere else on the floor though, holding CSU to 38.5 percent from the floor (20-of-52) and 16.7 percent from 3-point range (2-of-12).
The Vikings had an 8-0 run in the third quarter to cut the Mastodons' lead to just eight, but momentum swung back to the Mastodons in the early moments of the fourth. Lauren Lee hit a 3-pointer with 7:36 left to go up 15 and put the game out of reach. The Vikings did not get closer than the final margin of 10 the rest of the way.
Nelson played her most complete offensive game in two weeks, as she finished with 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting (75 percent) and a 4-for-5 (80 percent) effort from 3-point land. She also added a team-high six rebounds and two steals. Bess joined Nelson in double-figures with 13 points, 10 of which came in the first 20 minutes.
Cleveland State had a 36-30 edge in points in the paint, but Purdue Fort Wayne led in points off turnovers (23-16), second chance points (10-9), fast break points (9-8) and bench points (18-6). Izabella Zingaro had 22 points, all coming in the paint or from the stripe. Jada Leonard had 18 and Macey Fegan had 16 in the same fashion as Zingaro.
The Mastodons held Horizon League Preseason Player of the Year Colbi Maples to just five points on 1-of-8 shooting.
Purdue Fort Wayne improved to 12-8, 6-4 in Horizon League play, while Cleveland State fell to 15-6, 5-5 in the HL. The Mastodons have a revenge game next on the calendar with a trip to Highland Heights on Saturday (Jan. 24) to play Northern Kentucky at 1 p.m.
~ Feel the Rumble ~
Team Stats
CSU
Pur-FW
FG%
.385
.518
3FG%
.167
.393
FT%
.800
.733
RB
32
29
TO
16
15
STL
12
7
Game Leaders
Pts
23
FGM
9
3FGM
4
FTM
1
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
G
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