Cleveland State's Mariah Miller Cements her Legacy in Senior Season with Vikings
By Josh Ayen
Sports Capital Journalism Program, IUPUI
Chris Kielsmeier knew how special Mariah Miller was from the moment he addressed the team as the program’s new head coach in April 2018.
“It became very apparent how much she loves to win and how competitive she is,” Kielsmeier said in a phone interview. “Doesn’t matter what drill it is. If it’s got a competition to it – if there’s a winner and a loser – she wants to win it. That has really drove this program over the last two years.”
Miller, referred to as “Mo” by her teammates, has been a cornerstone piece for the Cleveland State women’s basketball program. She is one of the best two-way players in the Horizon League, a pure scorer who is also one of the top rebounders in the League. Her 16.9 points per game is third best in the League. Miller is also sixth in the League in rebounding, averaging 7.5 rebounds per game.
Miller was quick to make an impact on the program. She earned a spot in the starting lineup by her sophomore year. In Miller’s junior season, her first with Kielsmeier, she averaged a team-leading 15.5 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. Her breakout junior season landed a spot on the 2018-2019 first team all-Horizon League.
Despite Miller’s individual accolades last season, that success didn’t equate to wins on the court. The 2018-2019 Cleveland State team finished with a 10-20 record, including a 7-11 mark in conference play.
That year resulted in many growing pains as Kielsmeier worked to gain the trust of his team. Miller was among the first to buy in, according to her coach, and a foundation was set to building a winning culture.
“We never lost faith in what we were trying to do or what we were trying to accomplish – like the big picture,” Miller said. “It was rough, but we got through it together.”
Shortly after the 2018-2019 season ended, Kielsmeier sat down with returning members, including Miller, to discuss goals for next season. Miller didn’t view last season as a failure, but rather a first step to grow from under Kielsmeier’s tutelage.
As a team, the Vikings set goals to stay competitive in every game and ultimately improve their win total.
Individually, Miller wanted to improve her scoring efficiency and leave everything on the floor in her final season at Cleveland State.
How does one of the best scorers in the Horizon League continue to evolve? For Miller, that meant expanding her game outside the arc. Kielsmeier challenged Miller to become a more consistent 3-point shooter.
Challenge accepted.
A few months after the 2018-2019 season ended, Kielsmeier realized how much Miller took that challenge to heart.
“In the fall/late summer when we realized how consistent she was shooting the ball from the perimeter, we kind of knew she was in for a big year,” Kielsmeier said. “She can flat out score the basketball and once she added another dimension to her game, she was going to that much more difficult to guard.”
Miller took a huge leap between her sophomore and junior seasons, but no one could have predicted that Miller expand her game even further in her senior season. In her junior season, Miller converted 38.9% of her field goals, including a 30.8% mark from 3-point range. Heading into the final week of the regular season, the senior has knocked down 43% of her field goals, including 35.4% from the perimeter.
Miller’s continued improvement has gone hand in hand with the team’s success this season. A year after finishing with a 10-20 record, Cleveland State improved to 19-10, including a 9-9 record against Horizon League opponents.
This season’s success does not surprise Miller. She saw signs that better times were ahead during last year’s turbulent season.
“We always knew that we had so much potential. It was just us coming together and making sure we were on the same page,” Miller said.
A lot of the team’s success this season is owed to Miller, but Kielsmeier said the senior’s performance on the court pales in comparison to what she’s done to help the program succeed.
“Mo was definitely a huge part of (building the culture), because so many returning players, younger players looked to her for how she was going about things,” Kielsmeier said. “For her to embrace those things made it a lot easier for everyone else to accept change.”
With Cleveland State’s senior night in the rearview mirror, Miller realizes her days are numbered in a Cleveland State uniform. The senior still has opportunities to extend her college basketball career as Miller will look to lead the Vikings to win their first Horizon League tournament title since 2010.
When her career ends in the Horizon League tournament, the WNIT or even the NCAA tournament, Miller wants to be remembered for her infectious energy and her desire to reestablish a winning culture at Cleveland State.
?“(I want to be remembered as) someone who is almost contagious with their work ethic and just able to be a leader on and off the floor, and just set a great example for my teammates, my underclassmen, just help them find their way,” Miller said. “I think that’s something that defines me and how I play. I never want to lose my work ethic and my desire to win. That’s what I want to leave when I leave Cleveland State.”