Nov. 25, 2005

Final Stats

AKRON, Ohio - Cleveland State battled through foul trouble and a huge rebound deficit en route to a 62-59 victory over Akron in Rhodes Arena on Friday evening. Omega Harrington's 19 points -- 16 of which came after halftime -- helped the Vikings improve to 2-1 on the year, while keeping the Zips winless at 0-3.

Trailing 22-8 at the 10:30 mark of the first half, Harrington followed a pair of Erica Hormig free throws with a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 11. Erin Martin then erupted for 14 consecutive points as CSU closed out the period on a 21-7 run to knot the score at 29-29 heading into intermission.

The teams traded baskets for the first 10 minutes of the second stanza before the Zips opened up a six-point bulge (49-43) at the 9:28 mark. However, Harrington (eight) and Chenara Wilson (five) would combine for 13 points over the next six-and-a-half minutes to put the Vikings up 57-53 with 2:51 remaining.

Akron answered by rattling off four straight points to tie the score at 57-57 with a minute left to play. With the shot clock winding down on CSU's next possession, Dominique Butler drained a 17-foot jumper with 34 seconds remaining to put the Vikings up for good. Harrington would seal the victory by draining 3-of-4 from the free throw line in the final 10 seconds.

"We're showing signs of maturing and learning how to compete on each and every possession," CSU head coach Kate Peterson said. "We're still making mistakes, but we are able overcome them by stepping up and making big plays. I thought after the first 10 minutes we really stepped up our defensive pressure and disrupted their offense."

The Zips dominated the glass by a 46 to 25 margin, including 23 offensive rebounds. However, the Vikings countered by knocking down eight three-pointers and committing just 13 turnovers to 23 for Akron.

Martin finished with 15 points, while Wilson and Butler both added seven. Wilson and Brittany Korth paced CSU with four rebounds each.

Jessie Crooks led the Zips with 17 points, 12 of which came in the game's first eight minutes. Niki McCoy added 12 points, six rebounds and four assists.

Cleveland State is in action again when the Vikings host No. 8/6 Connecticut on Sunday, Nov. 27 at 5:30 p.m. The first-ever meeting with the Huskies closes out a stretch of four games in eight days to open the season. Call (216) 687-4848 for ticket information.

"We know going into Sunday, that we're facing one of the top teams in the country," Peterson noted. "We don't have anything to lose, so we're just going to have to play our hearts out and see what comes of it."