Dec. 23, 2009

Final Stats

Contact: Greg Murphy

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CLEVELAND, Ohio - Cleveland State had three players score in double figures, shot 49 percent from the field and 50 percent from three point in claiming a 74-63 win over Lake Erie on Wednesday afternoon in the Wolstein Center.

The Vikings, who have now won three straight, climbed back to .500 for the season at 5-5. Lake Erie fell to 8-7.

Shawnita Garland paced the Vikings with 18 points and seven assists, while Shalonda Winton and Kailey Klein scored 16 points each. Klein added seven rebounds and five assits.

Jen Caiola led all scorers with 20 points.

The Vikings opened the game with nine straight points, including three pointers by Garland and Winton, assuming early control of the contest.

The CSU lead grew to as many as 17 points (30-13; 8:50) in the first half on a Klein jumper, but the Storm used a 10-1 run to pull within eight points (31-23) with seven minutes to play in the half on a Reese Ames jumper.

Lake Erie would get as close as seven with 4:30 left in the half, but a free throw by Destinee Blue, a jumper by Takima Keane and a steal and layup by Honesty King closed the first half scoring, giving CSU a 39-27 lead at the break.

CSU pushed the lead to as many as 15 points four minutes into the second half, but an 18-5 run by the Storm over the next six minutes brought them all the way within two points (52-50) with 10:12 left in the game.

However, King answered with a three pointer, and Garland made a layup and three pointer to push the CSU lead back to double digits (60-50) with 8:31 left to play as the Vikings

A Winton three-pointer with 6:41 to play pushed the lead back to 14 points (66-52) and all but sealed the win.

The Vikings shot 28-of-57 (.491) from the field and hit 6-of-12 from three-point. They also held a 42-30 advantage on the boards, while making 12 steals.

Lake Erie hit 23-of-59 (.390) from the field and 7-of-23 (.304) from three-point.

Following a short break for the holidays, the Vikings will return to action on Tuesday (Dec. 29) when CSU travels to Eastern Michigan for a 7:00 p.m. contest.