Feb. 1, 2007
Final Stats
Contact: Alan Ashby
CLEVELAND, Ohio - The second home game of the new year wasn't much of a homecoming for the Vikings as CSU managed just .375 shooting (21-56) in a 74-61 loss to Loyola on Thursday night in the Wolstein Center.
Freshman Kailey Klein was the only Viking to finish in double figures, scoring 18 of her game-high 23 points in the second half.
Marquise Hanser and Jenna Real led Loyola with 20 points each with Maggie McCloskey chipping in with 15. Real used her 20-point effort to become the 16th player in Loyola history to score 1,000 points, hitting the total on the nose with a pair of free throws with 6.7 seconds left.
The offensive struggles of the Vikings were evident from the very beginning as CSU made only one of its first eight shots to allow the Ramblers to open up a 15-3 lead at the 12:48 mark and never be seriously challenged the rest of the way.
"Kailey has been our one constant offensively since the start of league play, but no one else has stepped up to score on a consistent basis," CSU head coach Kate Peterson. "Tonight it seemed like we just couldn't get a defensive stop when we needed it."
CSU was playing its first home game since Jan. 11, going 1-5 during a January schedule that included two games in Chicago, two in Wisconsin and one at Youngstown State.
The Vikings appeared to have clawed back into the game, using a 13-7 run to pull to within 24-17 with 2:06 left in the first half, but the Ramblers ran off the final seven points of the first half to take a 31-17 lead into the locker room.
Loyola denied CSU an opportunity to get back into it in the second half, scoring the first three points of the stanza and never leading by fewer than 10 points the rest of the way.
Loyola was very efficient offensively, making 14 of its 21 second half field goals (.667) to shoot an even 50-percent from the field (28-56). The Ramblers also shot .462 from three-point (6-13) and .800 from the line (12-15).
The Vikings struggled from the perimeter, making just two of their 15 three-point attempts (.133) while also posting a 17-for-27 effort from the foul line (.630).
Cleveland State dropped to 5-17 overall and 2-7 in league play while Loyola improved to 6-14, 4-5.
The Vikings have little time to regroup, hosting UIC on Saturday (Feb. 3) beginning at 3:00 p.m. in the Wolstein Center.
