March 5, 2009
Final Stats
Contact: Greg Murphy
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Valparaiso shot .524 (11-21) from three-point as the Crusaders snapped Cleveland State's five-game win streak with a 70-52 win in the Wolstein Center on Thursday night.
CSU slipped to 18-11 overall and 12-5 in the Horizon League, good for third place, while Valpo improved to 16-12 overall and maintained its hold on fourth place in the league at 10-7.
Jessica Roque and Kailey Klein scored 12 points each to lead the Vikings, while Dominique Butler and Shawnita Garland had 10 each.
"The game didn't turn out the way we had hoped tonight," head coach Kate Peterson Abiad said. "Valparaiso was very good tonight and hit all their open shots and exploited our weaknesses on defense. We couldn't get stops of make any shots so it was a difficult game for us.
"We ran into a red-hot team and they were just the better team tonight. We have to find a way to bounce back on Saturday."
Valpo scored the first two baskets of the game to claim a quick 4-0 lead, but layups from Garland and Dominique Butler quickly tied the game at 4-4 just three minutes in.
Five straight points from the Crusaders pushed their advantage back to five points (12-7; 14:04), but a 13-3 run by the Vikings gave CSU a 17-12 lead on a Garland jumper midway through the half.
Garland keyed the run with six points, while Jessica Roque added five, including a three-pointer that gave CSU its first lead of the contest.
CSU extended the lead to as many as six points on three different occasions, the final time coming when Roque nailed a jumper to give the Vikings a 26-20 lead with 4:23 to play in the half.
However, Agnieszka Kulaga nailed back-to-back three-pointers to even the score at 26-26 with 2:32 to play, the start of a 12-2 Crusader run to end the half and give Valpo a 32-28 lead at the intermission.
Kulaga's layup to open the half gave the Crusaders a six-point lead, but Klein's three-pointer brought CSU back within three (34-31) with 17:24 to play.
Back-to-back three-pointers from Kulaga extended the Valpo lead to nine (40-31) with 16:28 left and the Vikings would cut the lead to as little as seven on three difference occasions.
The final time came when Klein converted a tip-in with 11:57 left to bring CSU within 44-37. However, a 17-5 run over the next six minutes extended Valpo's lead to 19 points (61-42). The Vikings could get no closer.
Kulaga led Valpo with 23 points, hitting 7-of-9 from three-point, while Aimee Litka finished with 17 points and Lauren Kenney added 10 points and nine boards.
The Vikings will return to action on Saturday, March 7, when CSU hosts Butler for a 3:00 p.m. contest in the Wolstein Center. It will be the final regular season contest for both teams before next week's Horizon League Championship.
Saturday's game will be the final Family Value Saturday of the season with a Free KidZone and dollar dogs at the concession stands. In addition, it will be High School Appreciation Day with all high school students and staff with a valid ID admitted into the game for free.
