Feb. 14, 2009

Final Stats

Contact: Greg Murphy

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CLEVELAND, Ohio - It was Valentine's Day, but Cleveland State showed no love to Youngstown State, knocking off the Penguins, 65-35, in Horizon League action in the Wolstein Center on Saturday night.

The 35 points were the fewest that the Vikings have given up this year and the least amount of points by a CSU opponent since a 62-24 win over Ashland on Feb. 8, 1983.

CSU, which ran its win streak against the Penguins to five straight, improved to 14-10 overall and remained in third place in the Horizon League at 8-4, while the Penguins fell to 2-21 overall and 0-12 in league action.

The Vikings have now won seven of their last nine games.

"I was worried we wouldn't be as mentally prepared as we needed to be today," head coach Kate Peterson Abiad said. "But we talked about starting strong all week and that's what we did. I was pleased with how we came out and that gave me the opportunity to substitute some of the younger players to get them some more experience."

Shawnita Garland led the Vikings with 18 points and five rebounds as she was the lone Viking to reach double figures. Jessica Roque added nine points, while Dominique Butler had six points and seven rebounds and Kailey Klein finished with eight points and a game-high eight rebounds.

All 11 Vikings scored at least two points as CSU shot .500 (27-54) from the field, while recording an assist on 18 of its 27 baskets.

The Vikings played today's contest in special pink uniforms as part of the WBCA's "Think Pink" efforts in support of Breast Cancer Awareness and Research. The uniforms were auctioned off silently during tonight's men's game with all proceeds benefiting Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

"We focused on why we were wearing pink uniforms today before the game," Peterson Abiad said. "I reminded the team why we were doing this and discussed to them that their ability as basketball players help make a difference. I told them to play with class and pride because they were indeed making a difference."

CSU claimed a quick 8-2 lead, highlighted by four points from Roque, but a three-pointer by YSU's Kaitlyn March brought the Penguins back to within 8-5 at the 13:52 mark.

It was all Vikings from there.

Roque nailed a three-pointer and Klein followed with a layup to start a 24-5 run for the Vikings to end the half. CSU went into the intermission with a 35-10 lead.

The 10 points represented the fewest points YSU has ever scored in a half in program history.

The Vikings shot a blistering .533 (16-30) from the field in the first 20 minutes, including 22 points in the point. They also held YSU to a paltry 4-for-19 (.211) effort from the field and the Penguins did not score any points in the paint during the first half.

CSU led by no less than 22 points in the second half, pushing the lead to as many as 31 when Destinee Blue converted a three-point play with 9:07 to play.

"We are starting to attack more on the post-up and I was happy with the way we did that tonight," Peterson Abiad said.

After losing the rebounding battle for the last two games, CSU came back in a big way, holding a 40-30 advantage on the glass. CSU also scored 40 of its points in the paint (YSU had just 12), and outscored the Penguins, 12-0 in transition points.

YSU shot a CSU opponent season-low .265 (13-49) from the field.

CSU will be back in action on Thursday, Feb. 19, when the Vikings host Wright State at 7:00 p.m. in the Wolstein Center.