March 6, 2007

Contact: Alan Ashby

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Horizon League Quarterfinals
Game #30
at UIC (18-11, 11-5 HL)
Date: Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Site: Chicago, Ill.
Arena: UIC Pavillion (8,000)
Tip-off: 7:00 p.m. CST
Series: UIC leads, 26-20
Live Stats: www.CSUVikings.com
Watch: www.HorizonLeague.org
Listen: N/A

The Opening Tip
Cleveland State (8-21, 5-11 HL) opens play in the 2007 Horizon League Championship on Wednesday, March 7 at 8:00 p.m. EST at second-seeded UIC (18-11, 11-5 HL). Picked ninth in the preseason, the Vikings finished in a three-way tie for sixth place with Loyola and Youngstown State, earning the No. 7 seed. The Flames won both regular season meetings by comfortable margins and are 2-0 versus CSU all-time in the postseason. The Vikings are 6-12 in the league tournament

The Series With UIC
UIC leads the all-time series by a 26-20 margin, claiming the last five meetings. Cleveland State is just 8-16 all-time in Chicago, including a 65-63 loss in the 2001 Horizon League Championship. The other postseason meeting was also a two-point victory by the Flames (79-77) -- that coming in the 1996 MCC tournament in Green Bay.

Flames Burn Vikings Twice This Year
Unfortunately for Cleveland State, UIC dominated play this year, winning the head-to-head meetings by scores of 72-46 (Jan. 4 in Chicago) and 68-54 (Feb. 3 in Cleveland). The Flames shot .441 from the floor, while the Vikings connected on just 32.3 percent of their field goal attempts, including a dismal 2-for-21 effort from three-point (.095). CSU held a 73-66 rebound advantage, but committed 49 turnovers compared to 36 for the Flames. Kailey Klein averaged 15.0 points to lead the Vikings, while Jessica Roque contributed a steady 10.0 ppg. Meanwhile, LaShonda Grant was the only UIC player in double-figures, averaging 19.5 points in the two wins.

Noting The Vikings
The Vikings played well despite losing at Butler, 83-79, on Saturday. CSU employs a three-guard system, with freshmen Kailey Klein (11.0 ppg, 4.1 rpg), Angel Roque (3.2 ppg, 2.4 apg) and Jessica Roque (8.4 ppg, 2.3 apg) handling the backcourt duties. The Vikings have been led in the post by senior Nicole Thomas, who is averaging 7.5 points and 7.0 rebounds. With freshman Stephaine Crosley (6.8 ppg, 4.0 rpg) missing 18 games with a leg injury and sophomore center Stephanie Youdath (5.4 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 1.8 bpg) struggling with back problems, senior Chenara Wilson (6.7 ppg, 3.4 rpg) has been solid in making 12 consecutive starts. Junior Brittany Korth (6.7 ppg, 2.5 apg) and sophomores Dominique Butler (8.0 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.9 spg) and Natalie Miller (4.4 ppg, 2.5 rpg) give the Vikings solid guard play off of the bench, while junior Robyn Hoying (3.4 ppg, 2.7 rpg) provides depth in the front court.

Klein, Butler Honored By League
The All-Horizon League teams were released on Monday, and Cleveland State freshman Kailey Klein and sophomore Dominique Butler were among those recognized. Klein became the first Viking to earn newcomer of the year accolades in 13 seasons in the league, while Butler was named to the all-defensive squad for the second year in a row. Klein is CSU's seventh all-newcomer pick, while Butler is the fifth all-defensive honoree and the first to be recognized twice. (You can read more about their exploits later in the notes.)

On The Rebound
One of Cleveland State's greatest areas of improvement in Horizon League play has been the Vikings' work on the boards. CSU leads the league this year with a +4.8 rebound margin, compared to a -3.9 mark last season. Since the start of conference play, the Vikings have been out-rebounded just twice, posting a season-high +17 mark in the Feb. 17 game against No. 25 UW-Green Bay. At +1.6 overall, CSU is attempting to post just its second positive rebound margin since the 1982-83 season (2003-04 was the other).

A League Of Her Own
Horizon League play has been just what the doctor ordered for freshman guard Kailey Klein. While her 26-point effort at Western Michigan on Dec. 7 was a brief glimpse of things to come, the Cherry, Ill. native has been much more consistent as of late, ranking fourth in league play with a team-best 16.3 ppg. Additionally, she ranks second in offensive rebounds (3.50 -- just one board behind Traci Edwards), seventh in steals (1.56), eighth in rebounds (5.8) and 10th in free throw pct. (.739). In CSU's 13 non-league games, she averaged just 4.0 points in 10.0 minutes of playing time, but now leads CSU at 31.8 minutes a game in league play, which ranks eighth.

Klein Majors In Philanthropy
A big factor in Kailey Klein's consistent scoring output in Horizon League play has been her ability to get to the charity stripe on a regular basis. In CSU's 16 conference contests, she took 36 percent of the team's free throw attempts (119 of 331), making 88 to rank second on the squad at 73.9 percent. Thanks in part to a career-high 14 attempts at the stripe on Feb. 1 against Loyola, Klein ranked second the league in free throw tries. Overall, her 143 attempts stand just behind Mahogany Green's total in 1999-00 (144) which is 10th in CSU's season records.

Wilson Enjoys Resurgence
Center Chenara Wilson has excelled since moving into the starting line-up 12 games ago. She has averaged 10.5 points and 5.1 rebounds as a starter, after posting just 4.1 points and 2.2 boards in 17 contests off the bench. In the dozen games, Wilson has tallied seven double-figure efforts, including a career-high 19 points on March 3 at Butler and a pair of 18-point outbursts. The Cleveland native had quite a Senior Day to remember in the Feb. 24 win over Youngstown State, tallying 18 points and 10 rebounds to earn Horizon League Player of the Week honors for the first time in her career. She was 6-for-12 from the floor and 6-for-8 from the line while posting her second career double-double.

Welcome Back Crosley
Sophomore forward Stephaine Crosley finally made her return to the court last Thursday at Wright State, scoring three points in 10 minutes off of the bench. The Milwaukee native had been sidelined since Dec. 7 with a leg injury. She started CSU's first nine games, averaging 8.0 points and 4.8 rebounds.

Freshman Scoring Record Falls
Kailey Klein scored a CSU freshman record 33 points (tied for 13th-best overall) on Feb. 10 at Detroit to help the Vikings earn just their second win in 17 tries all-time at Calihan Hall. She also set or tied career-highs for field goals (10), three-pointers (4), rebounds (8), assists (4), blocks (1) and minutes played (38), while not committing a single turnover. She had 16 points in the first half and 17 in the final stanza, including a pair of free throws with 16 seconds remaining that provided the final margin. The last time a CSU player scored 30 or more points was on Jan. 5, 2004 when Ashley Schrock tallied 35 in a win at UIC.

...As Part Of Recent Barrage
Klein is averaging 18.4 ppg over the last 10 contests to raise her scoring average a team-high 11.0 ppg. With the season winding down, she is all but assured of becoming the first freshman to lead the team in scoring since Deb Taylor did so in 1987-88 (13.8 ppg). In addition to her 33 points at Detroit, she has topped the 20-point plateau five other times in conference play to rank third in the league with six 20-point performances. As the owner of a conference record 2,496 points in high school, Klein is no stranger to scoring outbursts.

Home, Sweet Road?
While Cleveland State has picked up six of its eight wins this season in the Wolstein Center, the Vikings have struggled to shoot the ball consistently at home. On the road, CSU has connected on 38.9 percent of its shots from the floor, compared to just 36.0 percent at home. The numbers are also odd from the free throw line, with the Vikings making 70.8 percent on the road versus 67.4 percent in the Wolstein Center. Unfortunately, the dip in shooting has played a significant role in CSU losing five home games by a total of 11 points.

Depth Takes A Hit
Before the season started, head coach Kate Peterson felt that despite having just 12 players on the roster, the Vikings were as deep as they had ever been in her four seasons at CSU. Talk about jinxing yourself. Since the beginning of the year, five different players have combined to miss a total of 41 games due to various maladies. Stephanie Youdath has missed 14 games with back problems, Dominique Butler (four games) was out from Nov. 17-25 with a knee injury, Stephaine Crosley was sidelined 18 contests with a leg injury and Kailey Klein (one game) and Natalie Miller (four) have both sat out with various maladies. Peterson has had her full compliment of players to work with just three times this year: versus Buffalo (11/28), at Toledo (12/2) and against St. Bonaventure (12/4).

Thomas Redoubles Efforts
Talk about senior leadership. Forward Nicole Thomas came into this season averaging 3.5 points and 4.7 rebounds in her first two seasons as a Viking. Finally healthy for the first time, the San Antonio native has been a solid presence in the paint for CSU, posting arguably the best game of her career at Loyola on Jan. 6, going 10-for-14 from the floor, with 22 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and three steals. The owner of a team-best six double-doubles (third in the league), she also ranks second in the league in rebounding (7.0) while scoring 7.5 ppg. The most amazing stat -- considering her past health issues (11 games missed in two years) -- is the fact that Thomas is third on the team in minutes played at 25.5 per game.