Feb. 22, 2006

Contact: Alan Ashby

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Game #27
at Butler (13-12, 8-6 HL)
Date: Thursday, Feb. 23, 2006
Site: Indianapolis, Ind.
Arena: Hinkle Fieldhouse (11,043)
Tip-off: 7:00 p.m. EST
Series: Butler leads 15-8
Live Stats: www.csuvikings.com
Watch: www.horizonleague.org

The Opening Tip: Cleveland State (4-22, 2-13 HL) puts a lid on the 2005-06 regular season on Thursday at Butler (13-12, 8-6 HL). With a win over the Bulldogs and a Youngstown State victory over Loyola, the Vikings could host the first round game (8 v. 9) with the Ramblers depending on how the tiebreakers fall.

A Look At The Series: Butler leads the all-time series by a 15-8 margin. The Bulldogs won the first eight meetings and the last five, while the Vikings dominated in the middle, claiming 8-of-10. Cleveland State is 2-8 against Butler in Indianapolis.

A Glance At The Vikings: Cleveland State heads into Thursday's game on the heels of a 59-51 loss at Wright State on Monday. The Vikings are shooting .389 from the field and have knocked down 30.3 percent of their three-point attempts en route to averaging 57.5 points. Omega Harrington (10.7 ppg) leads the team in scoring, while Dominique Butler (10.0) and Erin Martin (8.7) follow closely behind. Martin paces the squad in rebounds (5.4) and assists (3.73) and Butler leads in steals (2.77).

Noting The Bulldogs: Butler enters Thursday's contest at 13-12 overall and 8-6 in the league. The Bulldogs have split their last six games, including an 85-66 loss at UIC on Saturday. Butler is shooting .426 from the field en route to posting a 69.9 scoring average, while its opponents are averaging 70.9 points on a .451 field goal percentage. The Bulldogs are led offensively by the trio of Lade Akande (15.4), Jackie Closser (15.0 ppg) and Ellen Hamilton (13.4). Akande paces the squad in rebounds (7.9), while Closser is tops in assists (5.4). Head coach Beth Couture is 47-64 in four seasons in Indianapolis and 305-181 in 17 years overall.

Freshman Stock On The Rise: As the season has progressed, Dominique Butler has become more and more comfortable with the level of play in college, as evidenced by her performance in the Horizon League. The freshman from Milwaukee leads the Vikings in scoring (11.0), rebounds (6.1) and steals (3.1), ranking in the top 20 in all three categories in league games only. Those numbers are a noticeable improvement from her efforts in CSU's non-conference contests where she averaged 8.7 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.3 steals.

Butler Ranked Nationally: Dominique Butler's eight steals on Feb. 13 against Youngstown State not only moved her into the lead in the Horizon League (2.77), but it propelled her to 29th in the nation (as of Feb. 13). Her theft total against the Penguins ranks fifth in school history, tied with six other players.

Quartet Carries Load: In the last two games, the quartet of Dominique Butler, Omega Harrington, Erica Hormig and Erin Martin have combined to score 98 of the team's 122 points (80.3 percent), while grabbing 57 of 83 rebounds (68.7 percent). Butler and Harrington are averaging 12.5 points, while Hormig and Martin are at 11.5. All four are playing more than 30 minutes a game.

Martin Reaches Milestone: With 14 points on Feb. 13 against Youngstown State, Erin Martin became the 19th player in school history to score 1,000 career points. She is the first Viking to tally 1,000 points since Ashley Schrock and Shannon Sword both did so within a two-week span in 2003-04. The Canfield, Ohio native ranks among the top 10 in Cleveland State annals in steals (8th-194), three-point field goals (8th-109), free throws made (9th-248) and games started (T6th-85).

Charity In The League: Cleveland State's concentration at the free throw line appears to have gone up since the start of Horizon League play. With one game remaining, the Vikings are third in the league with a .716 percentage, knocking down 149 of their 208 freebies. In a bit of a statistical oddity, CSU has gained its lofty standing with just one player ranked in the league's top 15 in free throw percentage (Butler - 9th, .750). In its 11 non-conference games, CSU hit just 66.4 percent of its attempts from the charity stripe (101-152).

Stolen Property: The Vikings have notched double-digit thefts in 18 of 26 games this year, including a season-high 17 swipes against Robert Morris on Dec. 28. CSU, which had just five double-figure steal games all of last season, ranks third in the league and 46th in the nation (as of Feb. 13) averaging 10.54 steals. Dominique Butler, Brittany Korth and Erin Martin lead the way with 72, 43 and 43 thefts, respectively. It only took the Vikings 19 games to eclipse their steal total from all of last year (207 in 29 games).

Triple Threat: Cleveland State heads into Thursday's game having made a three-point field goal in 384 consecutive contests -- the longest active run in the nation and the second-longest streak ever. Louisville (394 games) ranks first all-time in NCAA annals, although the Cardinals had their streak come to an end during the 2004-05 campaign. The last time the Vikings failed to drain at least one three-pointer in a game was in a 78-55 loss at Cincinnati on Dec. 17, 1992. CSU has made 2,265 triples during the run, an average of 5.9 per game. The 1995-96 team led the nation in three-pointers made per game with 8.5.

Internet Provides Limitless Horizons: Under a new plan put in place during the off-season, all Horizon League women's conference games will be available via video streaming on the League's official web site at www.horizonleague.org. All games will be shown live on the web through a new partnership with College Sports TV Online, which also is the web provider for five league schools as well as the conference office. The service, which a available for free, can be accessed on www.CSUVikings.com or via the League's web site. Each broadcast will feature the radio play-by-play of the host school and video taken from at least three camera angles. For a complete schedule of all games, log on to www.horizonleague.org.

Hormig Responds To Starting Nod: Erica Hormig had a breakout game on Feb. 9 against UIC, going 8-for-10 from the field (tied for the eighth-best mark in school history) en route to a then career-high 16 points. In starting the last nine games, the Windom, Minn. native is averaging 7.8 points and 3.4 rebounds while shooting 50.0 percent from the floor (31-62). In 16 appearances of the bench, she went just 14-for-36 from the field (.389), while averaging 2.2 points and 1.6 boards. In Saturday's win over Loyola, she posted career-highs for both points (17) and rebounds (9).

The Butler Did It: Freshman guard Dominique Butler came into Cleveland State as one of the most highly-recruited players in the program's history. Rated the 20th-best shooting guard in the nation as a high school senior by All-Star Girls Report, she stands 20th in the league in scoring (10.0), 17th in rebounding (4.5), eighth in field goal percentage (.478), first in steals (2.77) and ninth in blocks (0.62). The Milwaukee native made her collegiate debut by leading the Vikings with a career-high 14 points in 30 minutes off the bench at Wisconsin on Nov. 20. Since then, Butler has gone on to lead the team in scoring seven more times, shooting above 50.0 percent on 14 occasions. She has posted back-to-back double-doubles, averaging 12.5 points and 12.0 boards against Loyola and Wright State. Earlier in the year, she tallied a career-high 20 points (all in the second half) against Butler (Feb. 4) and posted all 11 of her points (5-5 FGs) in the final 6:42 on Dec. 31 to help stave off a late Detroit rally.

Page-Turner: The old saying goes: Don't judge a book by its cover. Omega Harrington is proof enough of that. In Cleveland State's two exhibition games, she went 1-for-10 from the floor and 0-for-4 from three-point range en route to scoring just five points. The Indianapolis native has completely turned things around in the regular season, leading the Vikings and ranking 18th in the league in scoring at 10.7 ppg. She has paced the team in scoring 10 times and posted double-figure totals on 15 occasions this year, including a career-high 29-point effort at UW-Green Bay on Jan. 26 and 17 points in the Dec. 31 victory over Detroit.

Harrington Has Been On The Mark Too: A 32 percent shooter last year from both the field and behind the arc, Omega Harrington has raised her shooting accuracy so far this season, ranking 13th in three-point percentage (.378) while connecting on 36.2 percent of her shots overall. She has knocked down at least one three-pointer in all but one game this season (ranking third in the league at 2.17), after draining a triple in 15-of-21 contests last year.

Streak Halted: Cleveland State's win over Loyola on Saturday snapped the Vikings' 12-game losing streak. The skein was the second-longest in school history, trailing only the 1988-89 squad that dropped 15 in a row.

Line-up Shuffles: In her first season on the Cleveland State sidelines, Kate Peterson had the luxury of using just three different starting line-ups, including the same five for 22 of 28 games. However, the 2003-04 squad boasted three seniors that combined to start 83 out of 84 chances. Since then, Peterson has used 14 different line-ups, including six this season.

As Multidimensional As Ever: While Erin Martin may be struggling with her shot -- she's averaging 8.7 points on 33.3 percent shooting -- that hasn't taken away from the rest of her game. A preseason second team All-Horizon League selection, Martin ranks fourth in the league in assists (3.73), 10th in rebounds (5.4), 11th in steals (1.65) and 13th in assist-to-turnover ratio (0.98). The Canfield, Ohio native had 17 points, a career-high tying eight assists and five steals at Youngstown State on Jan. 19 and nearly posted her first career triple-double on Dec. 11 against Western Michigan, recording 12 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.

Doubled-Up: With her 14-point, career-high 14-rebound effort on Feb. 13 against Youngstown State, Erin Martin moved into a tie for fourth in the Horizon League with four double-doubles. She has all but two of the team's six double-doubles on the season, bringing her career total to seven.

Head Coach Kate Peterson: The sixth head coach in 33 seasons of Viking women's basketball, Kate Peterson is 20-63 (.241) in her third year directing the Cleveland State program. In 2003-04, she guided the Vikings to a 12-16 record, including a school-record nine league wins. Prior to her arrival in Cleveland, Peterson spent six years as an assistant at Wisconsin, serving as the recruiting coordinator starting in 1998. She also worked at Eastern Illinois (1993-97) and Indiana (1991-93). A 1991 graduate of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, she earned Kodak All-America honors her senior season after setting the NCAA Division III record for three-point field goals per game at 3.85.

Raider Runs Ruin Vikings: Wright State used a sizeable run in each half to claim a 59-51 victory over Cleveland State in a defensive-minded affair on Monday night in the Nutter Center. The Raiders went on a 14-2 jaunt in the first half and a 17-5 burst in the final 20 minutes to outdistance the Vikings. Both teams shot under 40 percent for the contest, with WSU holding a slight advantage on the boards, 41-37. Erin Martin led the Vikings with 15 points, while Dominique Butler added 11 points and a career-high 14 rebounds for her second straight double-double.

Petrecca Enters Hall: On Jan. 28, Mary Petrecca became the ninth women's basketball player to be enshrined in the CSU Athletics Hall of Fame. Joining her in this year's class were Matt Ghaffari (wrestling, 1983-84), Tim Holden (baseball, 1970, 1972-73) and Joe Kaderabek (baseball, 1963-66). Petrecca, a four-year starter on the women's basketball team from 1983-86, currently ranks fourth all-time in rebounding (869), seventh in scoring (1,229) and eighth in blocked shots (60). She averaged in double figures in each of her first three seasons and grabbed at least 190 rebounds in every season. She was honored as the team's Most Outstanding Player as a senior in 1985-86. When she graduated in 1987, she ranked second in school history in points, rebounds and blocks.

Wilson Has Her Way: Junior college transfer Chenara Wilson was recruited to give the Vikings more of an offensive presence in the paint. On Jan. 14 against UW-Milwaukee, she erupted for a career-high 18 points in 24 minutes of play, knocking down nine of her 14 field goal attempts. In CSU's 15 league games, she is averaging 5.3 points while shooting 42.6 percent from the field (29-68).

Miller Has Breakout Game: Natalie Miller had the best day of her young career on Jan. 7 at Loyola. The Dover, Ohio native went 7-for-9 from the field, setting career-bests for points (15) and rebounds (5) in a career-high 25 minutes of action. In Cleveland State's 15 league games, she is averaging 6.1 points and 2.4 rebounds while shooting 56.5 percent from the floor (35-62).

Three-Point Barrage: Omega Harrington matched the school record with seven three-pointers en route to a career-high 29 points on Jan. 26 at UW-Green Bay. Erin Martin and Mahogany Green (twice) are the other two players to accomplish the feat. Her 7-for-10 performance from behind the arc was also good for the sixth-best percentage in school history (.700). Harrington's stand-out performance is indicative of how CSU's last three meetings with the Phoenix have gone as the teams have combined to knock down 68 triples over that span.

NCAA Regional Comes To Cleveland: Cleveland State continues its tradition of hosting first class NCAA events when the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship comes to Cleveland for the first time. Along with the Mid-American Conference, CSU will welcome four of the nation's top teams to Quicken Loans Arena on March 26 & 28, 2006 for the Cleveland Regional. All-session tickets are available and range in price from $20 for the three games, up to $60 for the best seats in the house. If available, single session tickets may go on sale the week of the competition. Call 216-420-2200 for an order form or for additional information or log on to www.theqarena.com to download a ticket brochure.

In Celebration of Dr. King: In recognition of the honorable Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Horizon League held its second annual Martin Luther King Celebration in conjunction with six league basketball games played from Jan. 14-16. Each host institution chose a local elementary school to implement a contest among upper-elementary students involving essay, music or art to celebrate Martin Luther King Day. Fifteen winners from Marion Sterling Elementary in Cleveland were recognized prior to the Jan. 14 tip-off with UW-Milwaukee. The winners were accompanied by student-athletes from each team during pregame introductions and received complementary tickets to the game, a commemorative T-shirt from the Horizon League and Margaret Davidson's book entitled I Have a Dream: The Story of Martin Luther King.

Home Cooking: Cleveland State's schedule features a record 14 home games. Prior to this year, the Vikings had played 13 regular season home games on eight occasions, the most recent time coming in 2003-04. Unfortunately, CSU was unable to take advantage of the favorable scheduling, going just 3-11 in the Wolstein Center.

Charity Starts At Home: Cleveland State head women's basketball coach Kate Peterson came up with a unique way to help break the Viking women's attendance record. When CSU hosted No. 8 Connecticut in front of a record 2,948 fans on Nov. 27, Peterson donated $1 for every person in attendance (until the previous record of 2,173 was broken) to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
Peterson presented a check to JDRF for $2,174 during the the men's game against John Carroll on Dec. 22 to recognize freshman guard Natalie Miller, who suffers from the disease. JDRF is the leading charitable funder and advocate of type 1 diabetes research worldwide. The mission of JDRF is to find a cure for diabetes and its complications through the support of research. Type 1 diabetes is a disease which strikes in childhood, adolescence, or adulthood, but lasts a lifetime. JDRF provided more than $98 million to diabetes research in the 2005 fiscal year, and is responsible for more than $900 million in direct funding since it was founded.

Four Ink With Vikings: The continued building of Cleveland State's women's basketball program received a big boost with the signing of four players during the November early signing period.
Kailey Klein (Cherry, Ill.), twin sisters Angel and Jessica Roque (Mississauga, Ontario) and Stephanie Crosley (Milwaukee, Wis.) have signed National Letters of Intent to attend Cleveland State and play basketball beginning in the fall of 2006.
Klein averaged 22.0 points, 11.3 rebounds and 5.4 steals as a junior at Hall High School en route to earning multiple all-state honors. A 5-11 guard/forward, she was the Peoria Journal Star Class A Player of the Year in 2005 and a two-time first team all-conference pick. A gifted athlete, she was honorable mention all-state in volleyball and reached the state finals in discus (2004 & `05) and as a member of the 800-meter relay team (2005).
Angel Roque, a 5-5 point guard, was named a 2005 Top Five All-Star by the Toronto Sun. She is averaging 15.0 points, 10.0 assists and 7.0 steals this year to lead Father Michael Goetz High School to a 32-2 record. She was a member of the Ontario provincial team that claimed the gold medal at the national tournament in 2003 and 2004.
Jessica Roque is currently averaging 17.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 3.0 steals for Father Michael Goetz and was recently invited to train with the Canadian Junior National Team in late December. A 5-7 shooting guard (and three minutes older than her sister), Jessica joined Angel as a Toronto Sun 2005 Top Five All-Star -- the first time a pair of teammates have received the honor in the same season.
Crosley, a 5-11 forward at King High School, was a first team all-conference and honorable mention all-area selection last year after averaging 13.8 points. She led the team in scoring (13.6 ppg) as a sophomore, earning second team all-conference accolades.

Like Father, Like Daughter: Viking basketball has an interesting first this year as Dave and Stephanie Youdath are believed to be the first father-daughter combination to each suit up for Cleveland State. Dave, who lettered all four seasons from 1981-84 and was named Varsity "C" Player of the Year in both 1983 and `84, currently ranks 10th in school history with 1,306 career points. Stephanie, a 6-4 sophomore from Eastlake North High School, played her freshman season at Marist College and will sit out the 2005-06 season after transferring to CSU for the fall semester.

Women's Hoops On The Radio: For the second year in a row, the women's basketball team will have all of its home games broadcast live over the internet. The women's program made it's inaugural appearance over the airwaves towards the end of the 2003-04 campaign and has grown its visibility ever since.
David Wilson will serve as the voice of the Vikings for the third straight year. The Chagrin Falls resident doubles as the voice of the Lake County Captains (a Class A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians).
Cleveland State recently announced a partnership with WHK 1420 AM to broadcast all of the Vikings' postseason action live over the airwaves. In addition, the Feb. 18 Senior Day contest with Loyola aired live as part of a doubleheader with the men's team on WKNR 850 AM.

Up Next: The Vikings open play in the 2006 Horizon League Championship on Tuesday, Feb. 28. Cleveland State will square off against the loser of Thursday's game pitting Loyola and Youngstown State. The site is yet to be determined.