Jan. 11, 2007
Final Stats
Contact: Alan Ashby
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Detroit scored 13 straight points early in the second half to overcome a nine-point Cleveland State halftime lead as the Vikings dropped a 64-61 decision on Thursday night in the Wolstein Center.
The loss drops CSU to 5-13 on the year and 2-3 in Horizon League play while the Titans improved to 4-12, claiming their first league win in three contests.
Kailey Klein led CSU with 16 points and four assists while Nicole Thomas added 12 points and 12 rebounds and Chenara Wilson chipped in with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Joyce Massey paced the Titans with 14 points and six assists while Heather Hatter added 11 points.
Cleveland State had three opportunities to tie the game down the stretch, but the Vikings missed their last three field goal attempts and had a critical turnover with 44 seconds left.
Cleveland State struggled in the second half offensively, shooting .346 from the field (9-26) to finish the night with .396 shooting (21-53). The Vikings committed 23 turnovers.
It wasn't just the number of turnovers -- it was the fact that we made mistakes at inoppurtune times," CSU head coach Kate Peterson said. "As a fairly young team, we're not good enough to have lapses in concentration. I am very disappointed with this loss."
Detroit warmed up in the second half, making 15 of its 28 field goal attempts (.536) to shoot .446 for the contest (25-56)
The first 16 minutes of the game was a back-and-forth affair, featuring six ties and five lead changes with neither team leading by more than five points.
Detroit grabbed its largest lead early, jumping out to a 12-7 lead with 14:00 left in the half. The Vikings battled back to take a 17-14 advantage with 9:04 left when Angel Roque buried a three-pointer from the left side.
The game turned to Cleveland State's favor in the final four minutes of the half when the Vikings ran off 11 of the last 13 points of the half to take a 30-21 lead into the locker room.
Klein, Wilson and Robyn Hoying keyed the run for CSU as Wilson and Hoying each scored a pair of baskets while Klein added three points on a basket and a free throw. The Vikings took the lead, 23-21, at the 3:33 mark when Wilson put back a missed Brittany Korth jumper.
Klein made one of two free throws on the next possession and Hoying closed the half with a pair of jumpers.
The lead would be extended to 10 (40-30) on a Nicole Thomas field goal with 15:55 left before the Titans would come back, running off 13 straight points.
Massey would do most of the damage during the run, scoring six of her 12 second half points, including the last field goal of the spurt that gave Detroit a 43-40 advantage with 11:24 remaining.
The Vikings answered the run with seven straight points, including the last five by Wilson, to take a 47-43 lead with 9:53 left.
After both teams traded baskets, Detroit scored six straight points, including three by Hatter, to regain the lead, 52-49 with 7:37 left. The lead would grow to as many as five (58-53, 5:39) before the Vikings would fight back, closing to within 61-60 on a Wilson basket with 2:07 left .
Cleveland State would come no closer as Detroit scored its final three points from the foul line.
Cleveland State played without starting center Stephanie Youdath, whose back problem that caused her to miss five games earlier this year, flared up.
The Vikings will have a rare Saturday off during conference play, returning to action next Thursday (Jan. 18) when they travel to UW-Green Bay for an 8:00 p.m. contest. CSU then plays at UW-Milwaukee on Saturday (Jan. 20) as part of a three-game road trip to end the month of January.
