Dec. 17, 2007
Final Stats
Contact: Greg Murphy
NIAGARA, N.Y. - Kailey Klein scored 22 points and added eight rebounds as Cleveland State rebounded from a disappointing loss on Saturday to defeat Niagara, 64-54, in nonconference action Monday night at the Gallagher Center.
"I was pleased with how we were able to rebound after losing such a tough game at Buffalo on Saturday," head coach Kate Peterson Abiad said. "We came into the game wanting to limit transition three's and shots off ball screens and I think we did a very good job of that. I am pleased to get out of here with a win."
CSU, which also avenged last season's 84-83 overtime loss to the Purple Eagles in Cleveland, improved to 4-5, while Niagara slipped to 3-7.
Brittany Korth was the only other Viking to reach double digits as she scored 13 points, while chipping in seven rebounds and five assists. Angel Roque scored eight points, all in the second half, and dished out four assists, while Dominique Butler recorded four points and six rebounds.
Jennifer McNamee led Niagara with 11 points. Sarah Wilson finished with nine points and seven rebounds.
CSU and Klein got off to a quick start, racing out to a 10-4 lead as Klein scored six of the points. The Vikings pushed the lead to double figures (18-6) on a Klein three-pointer with 13:51 left in the first half and took their biggest lead of the game (19-6) on a Klein free throw with 12:56 to play.
"Kailey did a great job of getting to the line tonight," Peterson Abiad said. "She is a very aggressive player and goes to the basket hard. Her ability to get to the basket really opens things up for the other players, especially in the second half."
Klein scored 18 of her game-high 22 points in the first half.
Despite leading by 13 points in the first half, CSU could not pull away as Niagara went on a 21-8 run to knot the game at 27-27 with 5:16 to play in the first half. However, CSU closed the first half by scoring nine of the final 11 points and went into intermission with a seven point advantage (36-29).
The Vikings opened up another double-digit lead (46-35) when Roque connected on a three-pointer with 15:11 left in the game. The Purple Eagles scored the next five points to cut the CSU lead back to six points (46-40), but the Vikings proceeded to break the game open with an 11-3 run, highlighted by consecutive three-pointers from Roque and Korth, to assume a 57-43 lead midway through the second half.
Niagara would not threaten from there, as the Vikings held them to a .270 (17-63) shooting effort from the field, including only 5-of-17 (.294) from three-point. CSU shot .408 (20-49) from the floor, while hitting .346 (9-26) from behind the arc. Niagara did hold a distinct 48-33 advantage on the boards, including a 21-6 edge in offensive rebounds.
CSU finished with 17 assists on its 20 baskets to go along with 11 steals.
The Vikings will conclude their current five-game roadtrip on Friday (Dec. 21) when they travel to Colgate for a 7:00 p.m. contest. It will be CSU's final game before an eight-day layoff for the holidays.
