Dec. 18, 2010
Final Stats
Contact: Greg Murphy
HUNTINGTON, W. Va. - Cleveland State had four players in double figures, but Marshall went to the free throw line 45 times and held off a furious second half CSU rally for a 71-67 victory on Saturday night at the Cam Henderson Center.
The loss drops CSU to 6-3 overall, while Marshall improved to 3-6.
The Herd finished 29-of-45 from the free throw line, including 22 free throws in the first half when the Vikings attempted zero.
CSU hit 13-of-18 from the line in the second half when they cut a 10 point deficit to one, but could not convert the tying or go-ahead basket.
"We faced a lot adversity tonight, but never gave up and continued to battle hard," head coach Kate Peterson Abiad said. "I thought we shot the ball well from the field, limited the number of good looks they got and took care of the ball with only 14 turnovers against their pressure.
"But we didn't go a great job on the glass and gave them 22 offensive rebounds and that's too many second chance opportunities to give a team."
Shalonda Winton led the Vikings with 17 points and five rebounds. Janelle Adams had 12 points, while Shawnita Garland and Takima Keane scored 11 each.
CSU was hurt on the boards, getting outrebounded, 45-33, including 22 offensive boards for the Thundering Hurd that they converted into 12 second chance points.
Things started out well for the Vikings as Keane hit a jumper on the first possession and Adams and Garland followed with buckets to give CSU a 6-0 lead two minutes in.
Marshall battled back and tied the game for the first time at 16-16 at the 6:12 mark on a basket by Veronica Ruiz. A 13-4 run pushed Marshall's lead to 29-20, but Ondrea Hughes hit a three-pointer with 27 seconds left in the half to slice CSU's halftime deficit to 29-23.
Marshall appeared to take control of the game early in the second half, using an 8-2 run over the first three minutes to take its largest lead of the game (37-25). However, Adams and Garland converted back-to-back layups, Kaila Montgomery hit two free throws - CSU's first two tosses of the night - and Adams nailed a jumper to pull the Vikings back within four points (37-33) with 14:35 left.
But Marshall responded once again, using a 12-2 run to push the lead to 14 points (49-35) on a Tessa Johnson three pointer with 11:56 left.
Facing another double digit deficit on the road, CSU refused to go away, using 6-0 run - capped by a Keane three pointer - to pull back within six points (49-43) with 9:55 to play.
Another three ball by Johnson was followed by a Winton layup, but Marshall's Dornia Barrett nailed a three-pointer in transition to push the lead back to 10 points (55-45) with 8:51 to play.
But the Vikings refused to go away, this time using a 13-4 run to cut the deficit to one (59-58) on a three-point play by Destinee Blue with five minutes left.
Winton helped spark the run with six points.
The Herd went on to score six of the next nine points to reclaim a five point lead (65-60) with two minutes to play, nut a Winton free throw and three point play by Keane brought CSU back within one at 65-64.
Keane's three point play came on a breakaway layup in which she was fouled, but Adams' hustle started the play. After knocking the ball away, Adams dove toward the sideline to save the ball into the frontcourt where Keane raced to pick it up and score.
Tynikki Crook answered with a layup on the other end and after the teams exchanged free throws, Adams made a layup with 19 seconds left to slice the lead to one.
A CSU foul sent Ruiz to the line where she sank two free throws with 16 seconds left and Keane missed a three pointer with two seconds left and Marshall grabbed the rebound to seal the win.
Crook led all scorers with 25 points, including a 15-of-22 effort at the free throw line. She added 13 rebounds.
CSU shot .439 (25-57) from the field and held Marshall to 18-of-55 (.327) shooting.
The Vikings conclude their three game roadtrip with a 2:00 p.m. contest at Ohio on Tuesday (Dec. 21) in CSU's final nonconference road game of the season.
