Nov. 12, 2006

Final Stats

CLEVELAND - Cleveland State fell to 0-2 on the year despite rallying from 18 points down in the final 7:26 of regulation as Niagara (2-0) pulled out an 84-83 victory in overtime on Sunday afternoon in Goodman Arena.

Trailing 69-51, a three-pointer by Brittany Korth jumpstarted a 23-5 run down the stretch, as the junior guard went on to score 11 of her team- and career-high 18 points during the closing burst.

Still down six with less than four minutes remaining, a lay-up by Natalie Miller cut the margin to four, and after a defensive stop, Korth trimmed the deficit to two with a pair of free throws.

Following a steal, Miller canned two free throws and then grabbed a defensive board, was fouled and drained two more from the charity stripe to give CSU its first lead of the game with 1:35 left to play.

After yet another defensive stop, the Vikings misfired on offense and Niagara knotted the score at 74-74 on a Michelle Mandredi jumper with 29 seconds remaining. CSU worked the ball for the last shot, but sophomore Dominique Butler's jumper rimmed out.

The Purple Eagles opened the extra session with a three and clung to the lead for the next two minutes until senior Nicole Thomas knocked down a free throw and a jumper to put the Vikings up, 81-79. Niagara answered with their 12th three-pointer of the game, but a Jessica Roque lay-up at the other end put CSU back up, 83-82 with 44 seconds remaining.

Once again, Manfredi had the answer, draining a jumper with 21 second remaining. Butler's three-pointer with three seconds remaining, bounced around the rim and fell off.

"The fact that we've lost two games by a total of three points is a testament to how far we've come since last year," CSU head coach Kate Peterson said. "However, it's also a sign of how far we still have to go -- we have to get over the hump and learn how to win."

Thomas finished with 17 points, a career-high 16 rebounds and three blocks for her second straight double-double, while Butler added 13 points and matched her career-high with eight steals, despite playing just 22 minutes due to foul trouble.

Niagara's Jennifer McNamee knocked down five three-pointers en route to a game-high 21 points. Chantelle Wilson tallied 19 points, while Manfredi added 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Niagara shot 42.9 percent from the field (30-70) while CSU connected on 28 of its 73 attempts (38.4 percent). The Vikings held a slim edge in rebounds (48-46), but had 20 offensive boards that led to 36 points in the paint and 23 second-chance points.

Cleveland State is off until next Friday (Nov. 17) when the Vikings travel to Athens, Ohio for an 11:00 a.m. tip with Ohio.