Jan. 10, 2009
Final Stats
Contact: Greg Murphy
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CLEVELAND, Ohio - Cleveland State had three players in double figures and held another opponent under 55 points en route to a 54-49 win over Milwaukee in Horizon League action on Saturday evening in the Wolstein Center.
CSU, which has now won three straight home contests over Milwaukee, evened its overall record at 8-8 and improved to 2-2 in the Horizon League, while UWM slipped to 6-8 overall (1-2 HL).
Shawnita Garland led three Vikings in double figures with 18 points, adding five rebounds, four assists and three steals. Jessica Roque finished with 17 points and four boards, while Kailey Klein had 15 points and four rebounds.
Dominique Butler added a game-high 12 rebounds for CSU, which outrebounded the Panthers, 38-31.
CSU's defense was at it once again, holding their fourth opponent in the last five contests under 55 points as the Panthers shot just .370 (17-46) from the floor.
Traci Edwards did a lion's share of the work for the Panthers, scoring 23 points (8-12 FG) with 10 rebounds. In the process, she became the all-time leading score in Horizon League history, concluding the night with 2,023 career points.
Jodie McClain had 13 points as the duo scored 36 of Milwaukee's 49 points.
"I thought we did a great job of fronting Traci tonight and having someone behind her as well," head coach Kate Peterson Abiad said. "But she showed some versatility tonight, hitting some three's and taking it to the basket.
"Overall, I am extremely pleased with how we have been playing defense. We opened league play against four of the top teams and I feel very good about our defensive effort so far. Offensively, I don't think we are clicking or hitting shots that we are used to, but we are making up for it on the defensive end."
The Vikings jumped out to a quick 11-6 lead, but five straight points by Milwaukee evened the contest at 11-11 with 9:25 to play in the half.
Garland stopped the Panther run with a three-pointer and two free throws, giving CSU a 16-11 advantage, but UWM kept it within five points (20-15) when Edwards hit a three-pointer with 4:59 left in the half.
Roque answered with a three-pointer on the other end, igniting a 9-2 CSU run that pushed the lead to 12 points (29-17) with 2:31 left on another Roque three-pointer.
Three-pointers by McClain and Markita Barnes were sandwiched around a Klein layup to end the half with CSU leading, 31-23.
CSU pushed the lead to 11 points (43-32), the largest advantage of the second half, when Garland hit a jumper with 11:25 to play, but a 10-0 Panther run brought their deficit to one point (43-42) with 6:41 to play on McClain's layup.
Roque hit another three-pointer on the ensuing possession to push the lead back to four points, but the Panthers were not done, getting the CSU lead back to one point (47-46) with 2:33 left on a Turquoise McCain layup.
Garland hit a pair of free throws with 1:37 to play to give the Vikings a 49-46 lead and CSU played solid defense the rest of the way, forcing four UWM misses and one turnover to seal the game.
The Vikings, who used just seven players, also hit 5-of-6 free throws inside one minute.
"Just about every team in the league is running the same stuff they have run for the last year or two," Peterson Abiad said. "And my top seven players are very familiar with that. We have little margin for error in conference play so I decided to stay with my top-seven players."
The Vikings will have a week off before traveling to Youngstown State for a 2:05 p.m. contest next Saturday (Jan. 17).
