Nov. 30, 2008
Final Stats
Contact: Greg Murphy
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WASHINGTON, D.C. - American used a 12-0 run midway through the second half to break a 50-50 tie en route to a 77-59 victory over Cleveland State on Sunday afternoon at Bender Arena.
The loss drops CSU to 3-3, while American improved to 4-3.
AU, which led by one at the half, outscored the Vikings in the second half, 40-23.
Kailey Klein led the Vikings with 23 points, including 15 in the second half. Angel Roque added 13 points, while Jessica Roque had nine. Stephaine Crosley grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.
AU had four players in double-digits, led by 16 points from Nicole Ryan. Michelle Kirk added 15 points, while Liz Leer had 14 points and seven rebounds. Talicia Jackson chipped in 12 points and seven rebounds.
Leading 12-11 with 12:03 to play, the Eagles went on a 12-4 run to take a nine-point lead, their biggest of the half, on a pair of free throws from Michelle Kirk with 8:29 to play.
But CSU scored the next eight points, including a pair of three-pointers from Angel Roque, to pull back within one point (24-23) with 5:39 left in the half.
A pair of Kirk free throws pushed the AU lead back to three (26-23), but the Vikings responded with an 11-2 run to assume a 34-28 lead on Takima Keane's three-pointer with 2:52 left in the half. It was Keane's first collegiate basket. Angel Roque added four points during the run for the Vikings.
The Vikings still had a six-point advantage with two minutes left in the half, but a 7-0 run by the Eagles to close the half gave AU a 37-36 lead as the teams headed for intermission.
Angel Roque led the Vikings with 10 first half points, while Jessica Roque added nine as the twin sisters combined to hit three of their six three-point attempts.
In addition, both teams aided their own cause at the free throw line as there were a combined 24 first half fouls. The Vikings hit 10-of-13 at the charity stripe, while AU hit 11-of-15.
CSU did hold American without a field goal for more than seven minutes in the first half. After Kirk hit a jumper at the 8:29 mark, AU did not convert another field goal until Janelle McDonald hit a layup at the 1:47 mark. However, the Eagles were able to stay close by going 7-for-8 at the free throw line during that stretch.
The first part of the second half remained close until the Vikings took a 45-41 lead on Angel Roque's third three-pointer of the game with 13:27 left. But four straight Eagle points tied the game at 45-45 two minutes later and the teams traded baskets and free throws until a Ryan three-pointer with 7:38 left broke a 50-50 tie and ignited the Eagle run. Ryan also added another three-pointer later during the stretch.
The Vikings had one final run left, cutting the lead to 66-57 on a Klein three-pointer with 3:19 to play, but Jackson responded with a three-pointer on the next possession and following a CSU missed shot, Leer converted a layup in the paint to push the lead back to 14 points with two minutes to play.
CSU shot .408 (20-49) from the field and held AU to a .394 (26-66) effort. The Eagles outrebounded CSU, 43-37, including 19-9 on the offensive glass. American also forced 25 turnovers, committing just 14 of their own.
CSU returns to action on Wednesday, Dec. 3, when the Vikings travel to Akron for a 7:00 p.m. contest.
