March 4, 2004

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CLEVELAND - Cleveland State and Butler entered their Horizon League Championship quarterfinal match-up headed in opposite directions. Both teams left the Convocation Center on Thursday night without changing course as the Bulldogs earned a 69-59 victory to advance to the conference semifinals. Streaking Butler improved to 14-14 with its fourth consecutive victory, while the Vikings dropped their sixth in a row to end their season at 12-16.

The Bulldogs led 39-35 at the half after recovering from an early six-point deficit thanks to nine points and nine assists from senior Nancy Bowden. CSU shot 53.3 percent in the first 20 minutes, but Butler converted eight turnovers into 10 points to gain the advantage.

The Bulldogs slowly pulled away in the second stanza, opening up the biggest lead of the game (54-42) with 10:29 remaining. However, the Vikings refused to go quietly, cutting the deficit to 55-52 with 6:39 remaining. But freshman Jackie Closser almost single-handedly carried the Bulldogs into the next round, scoring 11 of the team's final 14 points to put the game away.

Butler shot 43.9 percent for the game, while CSU connected on just 38.3 percent of their shots, including a 7-for-30 performance in the second half (23.3 percent).

Freshman Keena Rembert (Kentwood, Mich./Kentwood) scored a career-high 13 points, while senior Shannon Sword (Miamisburg, Ohio/Miamisburg) also tallied 13 points and nine rebounds. Senior Ashley Schrock (Wauseon, Ohio/Wauseon) added 12 points, six rebounds and six assists.

Bowden finished with 14 points, 12 assists six rebounds and three steals, while Closser added a game-high 17 points.