Nov. 15, 2009

Final Stats

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Contact: Greg Murphy

TOLEDO, Ohio - Allie Clifton scored 22 points and Toledo used a 15-4 run midway through the second half to pull away and claim a 72-62 win over Cleveland State on Sunday afternoon at Savage Hall.

The Vikings fell to 1-1 overall, while Toledo improved to 1-1.

Kailey Klein led CSU with 19 points and seven rebounds, while Jessica Roque had 14 points, five rebounds and three assists. Shalonda Winton added 11 points and six boards, while Stephaine Crosley chipped in eight points and four steals.

Things started out poorly for the Vikings when Shawnita Garland had to go to the bench less than two minutes in after picking up two quick fouls.

"Shawnita is a key component of our team and we lose a lot when she is not on the court so it hurt when she had to come to the bench so early," Peterson Abiad said.

Without Garland, Toledo took advantage and claimed a 15-8 lead midway through the half. However, a 9-3 run by CSU, highlighted by three-pointers from Klein and Angel Roque, brought the Vikings within 18-17 with 4:32 to play.

Despite playing most of the first half without Garland, the Vikings trailed just 23-19 as the teams headed to the locker room.

"We didn't play our best basketball in the first half, but we battled hard and hung around," Peterson Abiad said. "I thought when we ran our offense we were able to get some easy looks at the basket."

Toledo pushed the lead back to seven points (30-23) with 17:14 to play in the game on a free throw by Clifton, but a free throw by Klein capped a 10-2 CSU run and gave the Vikings their first lead of the contest at 33-32 with 13:52 to play.

However, the Rockets came storming back with a 22-6 run, capped by a Courtney Ingersoll three-pointer, gave Toledo a 54-39 advantage and the Vikings would not get the deficit under double digits the rest of the way.

"Toledo did a good job of throwing some different looks at us all game and we didn't do a good job adjusting," Peterson Abiad said. "We had some breakdowns on defense that they were able to take advantage. We didn't shoot the ball well either and missed a lot of good looks at the basket.

CSU hit just 21-of-61 (.344) from the field and was outrebounded, 41-38. The Vikings also committed 20 turnovers.

Toledo hit .426 (26-61) from the field, including 10-of-24 (.417) from three-points.

The Vikings will be out of action until next Sunday (Nov. 22) when CSU travels to Wisconsin for a 2:30 p.m. EST contest.