Nov. 6, 2007
Final Stats
Contact: Greg Murphy
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Kailey Klein started her sophomore year out on the right foot, scoring a game-high 23 points as Cleveland State raced past Ashland, 78-42, in an exhibition game in the Wolstein Center on Tuesday night.
Senior Brittany Korth added 14 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and four steals and Dominique Butler chipped in with 12 points, eight rebounds and seven steals as the Vikings dominated the smaller Eagles.
"I challenged them to come out with a lot of intensity and they responded," head coach Kate Peterson Abiad said. "I thought our defensive intensity was outstanding and that led to a lot of easy offensive opportunities. I want the team to play free and not worry about what has happened here in the past. We want to make a new name for Cleveland State."
The Vikings played with a roster featuring just 10 players, including nobody taller than 6-foot, but that was not an issue.
"I don't want us to use our lack of height or depth as an excuse," Peterson Abiad said. "I've challenged everyone to stay in good shape and eat healthy because everybody is going to play some minutes this season."
Klein, a first team preseason All-Horizon League selection this year who led the team with an 11.0 scoring average a year ago, continued her torrid scoring ways. She made 11 of her 20 field goal attempts, most of which were taken from within six feet of the basket.
"Kailey was big for us tonight," Peterson Abiad said. "She shot the ball well and had a lot of easy looks at the basket early on that got her going.
Although the Vikings never trailed in the contest, the match was tight for the first five minutes as CSU held a slight 10-8 edge with 14:46 left.
The Vikings never looked back after that, running off 17 straight points over the next eight minutes to take a decisive 25-8 lead with 6:34 left in the first half.
Klein helped key the run by scoring the final three baskets with Butler chipping in with four points during the spurt.
CSU extended the lead to 42-23 at the intermission and led by no fewer than 18 points the rest of the way.
Utilizing a four-guard lineup, the Vikings took advantage of their speed advantage. CSU forced the Eagles into making 30 turnovers, 18 of which came in the first half, making 19 steals in the process.
The speed also showed offensively as CSU worked the ball patiently all night long, allowing the Vikings to continually get to the basket for easy shots. CSU shot .500 from the field for the game (31-62), including .576 in the first half (19-33).
Ashland was limited to .276 shooting for the contest (16-58), including a .207 effort in the second half (6-29).
With Korth making four of her six three-point attempts, CSU had a decisive advantage shooting from beyond the arc. The Vikings shot 50-percent from three (6-12) as opposed to Ashland, which made just three of its 14 three-point attempts (.214).
The Vikings have little time to enjoy the victory, opening the 2007-08 season at home against 27th-ranked Wisconsin on Friday, Nov. 9 beginning at 7:00 p.m. in the Wolstein Center.
