Nov. 18, 2010
Contact: Greg Murphy
GAME #
Niagara (0-1) at Cleveland State (2-0)
Date: Friday, Nov. 19, 2010
Time: 7:00 p.m. EST
Site: Wolstein Center (8,500) - Cleveland, Ohio
TV: None Live, Streaming available on the internet via Horizon League Network and CSUVikings.com.
Audio: TBA
Series: CSU leads, 13-8
Last Mtg: CSU 70, @Niagara 59 (12/13/09)
Tickets: General Admission: $8
Children under 4: FREE
Groups of 10 or more: $5 per person
Complete Release in PDF Format 
SETTING THE SCENE: The Cleveland State women's basketball team opens its 2010-11 home slate when the Vikings host Niagara at 7:00 p.m. in the Wolstein Center on Friday (Nov. 19). The home opener will be a little more special as the 2010 Horizon League Championship and NCAA banners will be unveiled in a pre-game ceremony. The Vikings are off to a 2-0 start for the first time in 12 years, winning at Cornell (65-50) and Buffalo (78-69) to open the season over the weekend. A victory over Niagara would give CSU its first 3-0 start since 1983-84. Niagara is 0-1 this season, dropping its season opener to Horizon League member UIC, 73-57, on Nov. 12.
PREVIEWING CLEVELAND STATE: Eighth year head coach Kate Peterson Abiad finds herself in a bit of a rebuilding mode for the Vikings after leading the team to three straight 19 win seasons, including Horizon League championships and appearances in the NCAA tournament in 2008 and 2010. With just two starters and three others back who saw significant playing time last season, Peterson Abiad must incorporate several talented, yet untested players into the rotation and figure out what roles everyone will fill as the season progresses. The starting lineup is centered around guard Shawnita Garland (10.0 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 5.0 apg), the lone senior on the roster and a second team All-Horizon League pick in each of the last two seasons. She is slated to be joined in the starting backcourt by sophomore Honesty King (8.5 ppg) and junior Janelle Adams (18.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 2.5 apg). Juniors Takima Keane (11.5 ppg) and Danisha Cole, a junior college transfer, as well as freshman Ondrea Hughes (1.5 ppg, 2.0 rpg) will also figure into the backcourt rotation. Sophomore Shalonda Winton (16.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 3.0 apg), who returns in the frontcourt after starting 23 times as a freshman last year, and junior Destinee Blue (5.0, 5.5) lead a deep frontcourt. Sophomore Kaila Montgomery, who appears to be fully recovered from a knee injury that has sidelined her most of her career, and freshmen Brandee Kelly and Haley Schmitt (1.0 ppg), will also fight for time.
HEAD COACH Kate Peterson ABIAD: Kate Peterson Abiad is in her eighth season as the head coach of the Vikings and claims an overall record of 87-128 (.407), leading the Vikings to 19 wins in each of the last three seasons and Horizon League titles and appearances in the NCAA tournament in 2008 and 2010. The sixth head coach in school-history, Peterson Abiad spent six years as an assistant coach at Wisconsin, serving as the recruiting coordinator starting in 1998 after working as an assistant coach at Eastern Illinois (1993-97) and Indiana (1991-93). A 1991 graduate of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Peterson Abiad earned Kodak All-America honors her senior season after setting the NCAA Division III record for three-point field goals per game at 3.85.
TO THE RAFTERS: The Vikings will be honored for their 2010 Horizon League Championship during a pre-game ceremony prior to the Niagara contest on Friday (Nov. 19). The Vikings defeated UIC, Green Bay and Butler in last season's Horizon League tournament to claim their second league title and automatic berth to the NCAA Championship.
TWO-AND-OH!: Wins at Cornell and Buffalo to open the season last weekend allowed the Vikings to open the season with two wins for just the seventh time in school history and the first time since 1998-99 when CSU defeated Chicago State and IUPUI at home to open the season.
WHAT ABOUT THREE?: The Vikings will attempt to make it three straight wins to open the season on Friday night against Niagara. CSU has been 3-0 just three times in program history, the last time coming in 1983-84.
FOUR IN DOUBLE FIGURES: The Vikings have had four players in doubles figures in each of their first four games, including the trio of Janelle Adams, Shalonda Winton and Takima Keane who have been in double figures in both games. Last year, CSU didn't have four players in double figures until the fourth and 11th games of the season.
ADAMS SCORES CAREER HIGH: Junior Janelle Adams enjoyed a career night at Buffalo on Monday (Nov. 15), scoring a career-high 23 points with nine rebounds. That came on the heels of a 13 point effort at Cornell in the season opener, all of which came in the second half. Adams ranks fifth in the Horizon League in scoring (18.0) and fourth in rebounding (8.0).
KEANE ON FIRE: Head coach Kate Peterson Abiad knew that junior Takima Keane was going to have to have to provide a spark off the bench in order for the Vikings to be successful. Keane has more than responded to the challenge, averaging 11.5 points through the first two games. She scored 10 points in the opener at Cornell before exploding for a career-high 13 points in just 14 minutes at Buffalo. Keane is shooting .800 (8-10) from the field, including 5-of-6 (.833) from three-point.
KING ME: Sophomore Honesty King made her first career start a memorable one on Saturday (Nov. 13) at Cornell, tying for game-high honors with 14 points, all of which came in the first half. King, who hit 4-of-9 from three point, played a career-high 32 minutes.
GARLAND ON THE GLASS: Shawnita Garland may have only scored two points in CSU's win over Cornell on Saturday (Nov. 15), but she did more than her fair share of helping decide the final outcome. Garland tied her career-high with 12 rebounds, while adding five steals and four assists and providing her usual pressure defense to help the Vikings force 28 turnovers.
... AND BOUNCES BACK AT BUFFALO: Through the first 60 minutes of the season, Shawnita Garland scored just three points. But then she got things going in the second half at Buffalo, scoring 17 of her 18 points in the final 20 minutes on a variety of drives to the basket, short jumpers and a three pointer. She added six assists and three steals in the win.
BLUE IN GREEN: Junior Destinee Blue played one of her best games in a Viking uniform during Saturday's season opener at Cornell. Making her first career start, Blue was very active on both ends of the court, finishing with 10 points and eight rebounds in 27 minutes. She grabbed six offensive rebounds, helping CSU hold a 17-8 edge on the offensive glass.
WINTON PASSES HER BOARDS: Sophomore Shalonda Winton did more than her fair share of damage on the glass in CSU's exhibition wins over Slippery Rock and Ohio Valley, averaging 17.5 rebounds in the two contests. Winton grabbed 21 rebounds against Slippery Rock and followed that with 14 more versus Ohio Valley. The 21 rebounds would have been tied for the fifth most in a single game in school history.
... AND DOUBLES UP: Shalonda Winton recorded double-doubles in both of CSU's exhibition games. She began the preseason with 11 points and 21 rebounds against Slippery Rock and followed that performance with 18 points and 14 boards vs. Ohio Valley. Last season, Winton averaged 6.1 points and 4.8 rebounds with one double-double, a 13 point, 13 rebound effort against Youngstown State (Jan. 22).
GARLAND CLOSING IN ON 1,000 POINTS: Shawnita Garland is just 65 points shy of becoming the 22nd player in school history to score 1,000 career points. Garland scored 114 points as a freshman, 384 points during her sophomore campaign and 417 last year.
SHE'S A THIEF: With three steals at Buffalo on Monday, senior Shawnita Garland continued her climb up the CSU career steals list. Garland now has 227, tying for fifth all-time in school history. She needs one more steal to move past Audra Cook (1996-00) into sole possession of fifth place. Garland holds two of the top-10 single season records for steals in school history, including 100 last year that ranks third, and 88 as a sophomore which is 10th all-time.
GARLAND NAMED PRESEASON ALL-LEAGUE: Senior Shawnita Garland was named to the 2010-11 Preseason All-Horizon League first team in voting conducted by the league's 10 head coaches, sports information directors and select media. Garland has been voted to the All-Horizon League second team in each of the last two seasons. Last season, Garland started all 33 games, leading CSU in assists (3.3) and steals (3.0) and ranking second in scoring (12.6) and fourth in rebounding (5.0). Her steals total led the league and was also 18th in Division I, while she also finished 10th in the league in scoring and assists.
DOUBLE YOUR PLEASURE, DOUBLE YOUR FUN: The men's and women's basketball teams will play four doubleheaders this season, including the first two which are true doubleheaders against Detroit (Jan. 20) and Wright State (Jan. 22). The next twinbill is on Feb. 12 with the women hosting Butler and the men Youngstown State with the final doubleheader on Feb. 26 as the women take on Youngstown State and the men Green Bay. Over the last three seasons, the squads have combined to go 23-5 in doubleheaders, including nine sweeps, with the women owning a 12-2 mark and the men going 11-3.
HOME SWEET HOME: CSU has played some of its best basketball at home over the last three years, going 31-10 in the Wolstein Center since the 2007-08 season. It is the best three year stretch in program history, easily outdistancing the 25 wins from the 1980-81 season through 1982-83. The Vikings were 11-3 in the Wolstein Center last year, tying the school record for most home wins in a season.
BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK: The Vikings 19-14 overall record last year allowed CSU to finish with a winning record for the third straight season, a first in program history. The streak started with the Vikings going 19-14 in 2007-08 and continued with CSU's 19-13 record in 2008-09.
VIKINGS SIGN THREE: Cleveland State signed three student-athletes to National Letters of Intent on Wednesday (Nov. 11) and the trio will join the program for the 2011-12 season. Joining the Vikings will be Imani Gordon (Akron, Ohio/Firestone), Kiersten Green (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Township) and Tess Zufall (Slicksville, Pa./Greesburg Central Catholic). Gordon is one of the top players in Ohio, earning special mention all-state accolades after averaging 22.5 points, 10.8 rebounds, 7.1 steals and 6.2 assists for Firestone last year. Green averaged 16.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game as a junior and is one of just three players in school history with 1,000 career points. Zufall averaged 18.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game last year, earning WPIAL all-region and all-conference honors.
KLEIN IN THE PROFESSIONAL RANKS: Former CSU standout Kailey Klein signed a professional contract to join Satu Mare of the Division A League in Romania on Aug. 30. Klein left her hometown of Cherry, Ill., two days later for the season which will run from mid-October through mid-May. Through seven games (as of Nov. 17), Klein was leading the team in scoring at 20.0 points and ranked second in rebounds (7.7) with two double-doubles, helping Satu Mare to a 4-3 mark.
UP NEXT: The Vikings continue their three-game homestand when CSU hosts Toledo at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday (Nov. 23).
