Dec. 29, 2008
Final Stats
Contact: Greg Murphy
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CLEVELAND, Ohio - Shawnita Garland made her first career collegiate start a memorable one.
Pressed into the starting lineup for Angel Roque who was nursing an injury, Garland made all eight of her shots for a season-high tying 18 points to go with four rebounds, three assists and two steals to lead Cleveland State to a 75-48 victory over Buffalo on Monday night in the Wolstein Center.
"Whether she is coming off the bench or starting like she did tonight, we know what we are going to get out of Shawnita," head coach Kate Peterson Abiad said. "She is really coming into her own and giving us positive minutes game in and game out."
CSU evened its record at 6-6 and avenged last season's 63-60 loss at Buffalo, while the Bulls slipped to 4-8 this season.
"I thought we did a great job today on both ends of the court," Peterson Abiad said. "We showed a lot of composure and were organized and played great team basketball. We are starting to show a lot of experience at a great time because our schedule gets very tough with league games coming up."
Kailey Klein scored a game-high 22 points with five assists, while Stephaine Crosley finished with six points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
Garland got off to a quick start, scoring 10 of CSU's first 12 points in helping the Vikings race out to a quick 16-4 lead seven minutes in.
However, eight straight points from Buffalo brought the Bulls back to within 16-12 with just over 10 minutes to play before Jessica Roque split a pair of free throws to stop the run.
Klein followed with a three-pointer that ignited a 16-0 run to push the Viking lead to 20 points (32-12) with three minutes left in the half, helping CSU seize control of the game.
The Vikings led at halftime, 36-17.
Garland nearly matched the output of the entire Bulls team in the first 20 minutes, scoring 14 points on a perfect 6-for-6 effort from the field. Klein chipped in 11 points as the duo accounted for 25 of CSU's 36 points. The Vikings also committed just six first half turnovers.
CSU left little doubt about the outcome early in the second half, making its first six shots of the stanza to push the lead to 50-21 with just under 16 minutes to play. The lead swelled to as many as 31 points.
The Vikings, who held a 39-33 rebounding edge, shot .471 (24-51) from the field, while holding the Bulls to an opponent season-low .250 (12-48) effort from the floor. CSU also held a 34-18 advantage in points in the paint and dished out 20 assists on its 28 baskets.
"We played really good team basketball tonight," Peterson Abiad said.
CSU will be back in action on Saturday, Jan. 3, when the Vikings begin league play with a 2:00 p.m. contest at Butler.
