Jan. 17, 2008

Final Stats

Contact: Greg Murphy

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Cleveland State snapped a two-game losing streak with a with a win against the University of Detroit Titans, by a score of 63-41 this Thursday, Jan. 17 at the Wolstein Center.

With the win, the Vikings improve to 9-7 (3-2 Horizon League), while Detroit drops to 3-12 (0-4 HL). With nine wins Cleveland State has now surpassed its win total from last season (8-21).

"There have been a lot of positive things happening with our program," head coach Kate Peterson-Abiad said, "We have set new standards and are striving for bigger and better things, and it was important for us to bounce back from our Wisconsin trip."

It was defense and an accurate offensive attack that allowed Cleveland State to record its fourth consecutive home win. The Titans were held to a paltry 32.7% shooting while CSU shot 48.8% from the field (20-for-41) while hitting 9-for-14 three-pointers for an impressive 64.4 percentage. With this 9-for-14 performance from three-point range, this is the highest percentage from three that a Viking team has managed in a single game since Jan. 2, 2000 against Green Bay. That game also saw CSU shoot 9-for-14 from three as a team.

"When we catch and shoot, we are a great shooting team," Peterson-Abiad said, "It's when we try to create on our own that we run into problems."

The Titans moved to take an early advantage in the game, taking their first lead following a fast-break jumper by Zemora Davis to make the score 6-3 in favor of Detroit. Viking Head coach Kate Peterson-Abiad squelched the Titans' momentum with a quick 30-second timeout, following which the Vikings moved to regain control of the game.

After a few changes of possession and missed shots, it was Kailey Klein who re-energized the Vikings with a three-pointer that made the score 6-6 at the 16:24 mark. From this point on in the game, CSU imposed its will upon the Titans, making the most out of clutch shooting to capitalize on 14 first half turnovers by Detroit.

The Vikings went 6-for-10 from beyond the three-point arc and 11-for-24 overall in the first half to close out that period leading the contest by 12, 31-19. Kailey Klein was the firestarter for the Vikings in the first half as her hot shooting (4-for-8 FG, 2-for-2 3-pointers) led the way with 11 points to go with her four assists. Brittany Korth also made a notable impact on the first half with three three-pointers on 3-for-5 shooting to give her nine points.

Cleveland State made a point of coming out in the second half with the same passion they displayed in the first. The Vikings opened the second half on a 20-10 run as the clock reached the 11:04 mark, widening their lead to 51-29 at that point, following a Dominique Butler jumper.

Detroit battled on throughout the second half, but there was little the Horizon League's lowest scoring team (52.6 ppg) could do to mount a comeback against the Vikings. Consistent offense from Kailey Klein and Brittany Korth, along with plenty of steals from Dominique Butler sealed the deal for the Vikings.

Klein led all scorers with 24 points on 7-for-12 shooting and made all three of her shots from beyond the three-point arc. Korth added 15 points on 5-for-8 shooting (4-for-6 three-pointers) as well as a team-leading six rebounds. Butler also grabbed six rebounds to go with five steals and eight points (3-for-6 FG).

The team did well to force turnovers, as the Titans turned the ball over 23 times in the game. However, the Vikings actually turned the ball over themselves 25 times, a fact that was certainly not lost on the head coach.

"We are beginning to play better as a unit but we still have a ways to go to compete at the highest level," Peterson-Abiad said, "We must correct the amount of times that we turn the ball over but its nice to see that we can win games and overcome that as we did tonight."

The Titans were led in their losing effort by Keashawn Bond, who had 10 points on 5-for-10 shooting as well as five rebounds and six steals.

The Vikings continue their current home stand this Saturday, Jan. 19 with a game against Wright State. The game will be part of a doubleheader with the men's team, and will begin at 5:00 p.m. EST at the Wolstein Center.