Feb. 28, 2009
Final Stats
Contact: Greg Murphy
CHICAGO, Ill. - Cleveland State had three players in double figures and outscored Loyola, 38-29, in the second half to win for the fifth straight game, 67-62, over the Ramblers on Saturday afternoon in the Gentile Center.
The game was tight throughout, featuring eight ties and 14 lead changes.
The Vikings, who earned their 11th win in their last 13 games, improved to 18-10 overall and 12-4 in the Horizon League, extending CSU's record for league wins in a season. The 18 wins are one behind the second most wins in a season in school history.
The win also assures that the Vikings will finish no worse than third place in the standings. CSU is one-half game behind Butler (12-3) who is hosting Green Bay this afternoon.
The Ramblers fell to 8-18 overall and 3-13 in league play.
"It was frustrating today because we couldn't throw the ball in the ocean, but I was so proud of the way we hung in there and battled," head Kate Peterson Abiad said. "Loyola played with a lot of energy on their Senior Day, but we made some big shots and plays down the stretch. We haven't swept the Chicago trip with this current group and it feels great."
A majority of the big plays down the stretch came from junior Kailey Klein, who struggled from the field all day, but still finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds. It was her third straight double-double against the Ramblers.
With CSU down 58-57 with 2:32 to play, Klein made a layup and was fouled, but missed the free throw attempt. Loyola responded with a bucket to regain a one-point lead (60-59) with 1:29 to play.
Once again, CSU turned to Klein as Crosley found her cutting to the basket for another layup. Following a Rambler turnover, Crosley once again found Klein for a cutting layup, pushing the CSU lead to 63-60 with 37 seconds left.
Loyola missed a three-pointer and Jessica Roque followed with two free throws, extending the lead to five. Roque hit two more free throws with eight seconds left to ice the game.
Dominique Butler led the Vikings with a season-high 23 points, just two off her career-high, with six rebounds and six steals, while Jessica Roque added 12 points.
Stephaine Crosley added six points and eight boards, while Shawnita Garland grabbed seven rebounds for the Vikings, which held a 43-29 advantage on the glass.
Butler got the Vikings off to a quick start, scoring eight of CSU's first 10 points to give her squad a 10-6 advantage less than five minutes in. The Vikings still held a four-point lead (16-12) when Kailey Klein knocked down one of two free throws following a technical foul on Loyola's Jessica Hylton, but the Ramblers went on to score seven straight points, taking their first lead to gain a 19-16 lead with eight minutes left.
A Shawnita Garland layup stopped the LU run, but a 12-6 push by the Ramblers gave Loyola its biggest lead of the half, 31-24, with 3:17 to play.
That's when freshman Destinee Blue made her presence felt, scoring the next five points - part of seven points in a row by Blue - to bring the Vikings within 31-29 with 35 seconds left in the half.
Keisha Collins hit a pair of free throws to conclude the first half scoring and put the Ramblers up, 33-29.
Two days after shooting .582 from the field at UIC, the second highest percentage in school history, CSU struggled in the first half, as the Vikings hit just 12-of-35 (.343), including only 1-of-6 (.167) from three-point.
CSU often settled for outside shots with Loyola packing in the paint and bumping CSU's cutters to the basket, disrupting the Vikings timing and rhythm offensively.
In stark contrast, the Rambles were an efficient 12-of-23 (.522) from the floor with assists on 11 of their 12 buckets.
CSU finished 25-of-68 (.368) from the field, but hit 14-of-19 (.737) from the free throw line. The Vikings also committed just 12 turnovers.
The Vikings also had a 32-22 advantage in points in the paing, including a 25-4 lead in second chance points.
The Vikings conclude the regular season with a pair of home games next week, beginning with a 7:00 p.m. contest against Valparaiso on Thursday, March 5. CSU then hosts Butler at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 7.
