Dec. 22, 2005

Final Stats

CLEVELAND - Ohio extended Cleveland State's losing streak to seven games with a 76-64 victory on Thursday night in the Wolstein Center. The loss drops the Vikings to 2-8 on the year, while the Bobcats move to 3-7.

CSU led 6-2 two minutes into the contest, but Ohio ran off 23 of the next 26 points to take a commanding 25-9 advantage midway through the opening stanza. The Bobcats carried a 37-17 lead into the half and extended the margin to as much as 24 in the second half.

The Vikings were able to cut the deficit to 10 with 2:45 remaining (68-58) on three Omega Harrington three-pointers in a two-minute span, but a three-point play by Rachel Frederick and five late points by Simone Redd staved off any further thoughts of a comeback.

Ohio shot 46.3 percent from the floor (25-54), while CSU connected on 42.6 percent (26-61) of its field goal attempts for the contest. The Vikings were just 7-of-25 in the first half (28.0 percent) before knocking down 19-of-36 (52.8 percent) in the final 20 minutes.

"Tonight was a tale of two halves," CSU head coach Kate Peterson said. "If we'd played with the same intensity from the opening tip it would have been a different game. We just couldn't find any energy in the first half. We have to learn to put two good halves together."

Erin Martin scored a season-high 17 points to pace CSU, while Harrington added 13 points. Nicole Thomas matched her career-high with 13 rebounds to lead all players.

The Bobcats were led by the one-two punch of Redd and Frederick, who finished with 26 and 25 points, respectively.

The Vikings drained five three-pointers to extend their consecutive games streak with at least one triple to 368 contests. The run is the second-longest in NCAA history, trailing only Louisville's 394 game streak that came to an end last season.

After a short break for the holidays, Cleveland State continues its three-game homestand when the Vikings host Robert Morris on Dec. 28 at 7:00 p.m.