Jan. 3, 2009
Final Stats
Contact: Greg Murphy
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INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Kailey Klein scored a game-high 27 points, but a short-handed Cleveland State squad fell to Butler, 55-46, in the Horizon League opener for both squads on Saturday afternoon at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
CSU fell to 6-7 overall (0-1 HL), while the Bulldogs improved to 6-6 this season and 1-0 in league play.
Klein, who came into the game tied with Milwaukee's Traci Edwards for the league scoring lead (19.2 ppg), hit 10-of-19 shots from the field, including 4-of-8 from three-point, and was 3-of-4 at the free throw line. She added three rebounds and an assist.
Stephanie Crosley and Dominique Butler chipped in six points apiece, while Butler added nine rebounds and Crosley six boards.
"We were a little short-handed today, but I was happy with the way we battled and never gave up," head coach Kate Peterson Abiad said. "We gave up a few to many offensive rebounds in the first half, but I was proud of the way our kids hung in there and refused to give up."
The story of the game was on the glass and at the free throw line and the Bulldogs won both, including a 38-27 advantage on the boards. In addition, Butler went 12-of-16 from the free throw line, compared to just 5-of-9 for the Vikings.
The Vikings raced out to a quick 8-2 lead just four minutes into the contest as four different players had a bucket.
A quick 6-0 Butler run evened the contest at 8-8, but a Klein three-pointer put CSU back ahead, 11-8, with 12:36 to play. From there, the Vikings maintained the lead until a Mel Thornton layup gave the Bulldogs an 18-16 advantage with just over six minutes to play.
Back-to-back three-pointers from Klein pulled CSU back ahead, 22-18 with 4:39 to play, but the Bulldogs closed the first half on a 9-4 run to take a 27-24 lead into the locker room.
Klein scored 13 of CSU's 24 points.
"Kailey was outstanding for us again," Peterson Abiad said. "She is playing some of the best basketball of her career and really carried us in the first half."
The Vikings hung tough to begin the first half, pulling to within three points (35-32) with 15:52 left on a Klein layup. However, the Bulldogs scored the next six points to begin to slowly pull away and eventually pushed their lead to 13 points (49-36) with 9:08 to play.
A three-pointer by Klein, her fourth of the contest, brought CSU back within 10 points (49-39) with just under eight minutes to play, but both teams hit a dry spell from there, combining to go scoreless over the next 5:09.
A pair of Brittany Bowen free throws stopped the scoreless stretch and Butler went on to make 6-of-8 free throws down the stretch to seal the game.
In fact, the Vikings did hold the Bulldogs without a field goal for the final 9:08 of the game after a Devin Bierly layup.
"We did a good job on the defensive end," Peterson Abiad said. "We were very aggressive and did a good job taking them out of an offensive rhythm. Unfortunately, we couldn't get much going on the offensive end either."
Butler was led by 14 points and six rebounds from Lade Akande, while Brittany Bowen scored 11. Mel Thornton grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.
The Vikings shot .367 (18-49) from the floor, but did hit 5-of-15 (.333) from three-point, while the Bulldogs went 21-of-50 (.420) from the floor and 1-of-6 (.167) from three-point.
CSU concludes its two-game swing through Indiana when the Vikings play at Valparaiso on Monday night. Tipoff is slated for 8:05 CST.
