Nov. 17, 2007

Final Stats

Contact: Greg Murphy

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Cleveland State raced out to an 11-2 lead, shot 48 percent (24-50) from the field and used a stingy defensive effort to claim a 59-47 nonconference win over Akron on Saturday afternoon in the Wolstein Center.

"I felt like we were the better team on the court today and that is a big step from where we were at this time last season," head coach Kate Peterson Abiad said. "We worked on some things in practice this week and executed them very well. We have really matured as a team and I am starting to see signs of where we can be as a team."

The Vikings scored the first five points of the game as Brittany Korth hit a three-pointer and Kailey Klein made a layup to give CSU a quick 5-0 lead. After an Akron bucket, Robyn Hoying, Klein and Dominique Butler made consecutive layups to push the advantage to nine points (11-2). Akron was able to stay close as the Zips cut the lead to 21-16 with 6:07 to play.

However, CSU finished the half on an 8-0 run, including three-pointers from Angel Roque and Korth, to head into the locker room with a 12-point (28-16) advantage.

The Vikings held Akron to just 6-of-21 shooting from the field in the first half, including only 1-of-8 from three-point land.

"I thought Angel Roque really played a great game defensively," Peterson Abiad said. "She really put a lot of pressure on the ball and set the tone for us."

Roque was also a big contributor on the offensive end as she hit a three-pointer to start an 8-0 Viking run to open the second half and extend the lead to 20 points, 36-16, with 18:18 to play in the game. Korth also hit a three, while Klein made a layup to help CSU take control of the game early in the second half.

CSU extended the lead to as many as 30 points (51-21) on a jumper from Stephaine Crosely with 10:42 to play. The Zips managed to close the game on a 23-8 run from that point, but it was to late.

"For as well as we played today, we did struggle a bit down the stretch," Peterson Abiad said. "But we will work on that and get better at closing out games as we learn how to stay focused for 40 minutes."

Korth led the Vikings with 15 points, four rebounds, six steals and three assists, while Klein added 13 points, seven rebounds and four steals. Shawnita Garland came off the bench to contribute nine points.

"Shawnita really came in and gave us a nice spark," Peterson Abiad said. She is so explosive and can do so many things offensively and defensively."

Akron (1-2) was led by Tokodi who scored 15 points, but shot just 3-of-15 from the floor. Keyla Snowden added 14 points, while Riana Miller finished with seven.

CSU will return to action on Tuesday at the Carrs/Great Alaska Shootout with an opening round game at 10:00 p.m. EST against host Alaska Anchorage. The Vikings will also play on Wednesday in the consolation or championship game against either Bradley or Santa Clara.

"It's nice to be able to head to Alaska after getting a good win and playing so well," Peterson Abiad said. "The team is really looking forward to the tournament."