Jan. 26, 2004

Box Score

CLEVELAND - Cleveland State (9-9) stepped out of conference for the last time this season and ran into the Amy Gearlds buzz saw. The IPFW forward scored 25 points, going 9-for-13 from the field and 7-for-9 from three-point range to lead the Mastodons (7-12) to an 82-81 victory on Monday night in the Convocation Center. The loss snapped the Vikings three-game winning streak and their five-game run at home.

Gearlds scored 17 points in the second half to help break at 36-36 tie at intermission. Included in the outburst was 11 straight points in a two-minute stretch to put IPFW in front 67-60 with 8:42 remaining. The teams traded baskets before CSU started cutting into the lead, eventually tying the score at 77-77 at the 4:09 mark.

The Mastodons went back up by three, only to have senior Shannon Sword (Miamisburg, Ohio/Miamisburg) trim the deficit to one at 82-81 with 1:08 left to play. After an IPFW turnover, CSU missed a jumper but corralled the offensive rebound with 27 seconds remaining. Opting to play for the last shot, the Vikings instead turned the ball over with seven-tenths of a second remaining.

"IPFW played a great game, they shot the ball well and were extremely aggressive," CSU head coach Kate Peterson said. "We played their style and they happen to be better at it than we are. If we had played any defense at all, it would have been a much different outcome."

IPFW shot 50.8 percent from the field (33-65), becoming the first team to shoot over 50.0 percent against the Vikings since William & Mary on Dec. 29, 2002 -- a span of 37 games. CSU made 50 percent of its field goals (31-62), but went just 2-of-10 from three-point range while the Mastodons knocked down eight of their 10 attempts.

Junior Mandy Sichting (Martinsville, Ind./Martinsville) made all seven of her field goal attempts en route to a career-high 17 points. Sword, the current Horizon League Player of the Week, also finished with 17 points and now needs just 11 to become the 18th player in school history with 1,000 career points. In addition, she went 4-for-4 from the charity stripe to set the school record with 28 consecutive made free throws. Senior Ashley Schrock (Wauseon, Ohio/Wauseon) added 13 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.

Verea Bibbs tallied 14 points and five rebounds for IPFW.

Still tied for the Horizon League lead with a 6-1 mark, Cleveland State is off for a week before traveling to UW-Green Bay on Monday, Feb. 2.