March 12, 2010

Final Stats

Contact: Greg Murphy

GREEN BAY, Wis. - There is something about Green Bay in mid-March for Cleveland State.

For the second time in the last three seasons, fourth-seeded CSU knocked off top-seeded Green Bay in overtime in the Horizon League Championship semifinals to earn a berth in the league title game on Sunday (March 14) at 12:00 p.m. CST. CSU will play second-seeded Butler which beat third-seeded Detroit in today's first semifinal.

The Vikings improved to 18-13, while UWGB fell to 27-4.

It was just Green Bay's second home loss in the last 28 games with both losses coming to the Vikings.

Kailey Klein was named the U.S. Army Player of the Game after scoring 28 points with five rebounds, five assists and five steals, while Shawnita Garland added 21 points and six boards. Angel Roque added 12 points, six assists and five rebounds, hitting four three-pointers.

CSU used a strong second half, hitting 15-of-20 (.750) from the field, including 7-of-8 (.875) from three-point.

"This is such a wonderful feeling," head coach Kate Peterson Abiad said. "I feel like we played two of our best games and we have been building to get to this point all season. We are playing better than we have all season and it's a tribute to our seniors who do not want to let our season end.

"I thought we executed our game plan to perfection, hit big shots and didn't get frustrated when things didn't go our way. This is the right time of year to be playing like this. I am going to enjoy this for a few moments and then get ready for Butler."

Green Bay appeared to seize control of the game, taking a 40-33 lead with 14:50 left in the game on Julie Wojta's three-pointer.

However, a 12-3 CSU spurt gave the Vikings a 45-43 on a Klein three-pointer. The game was tight from there, featuring four more ties and no team leading by more than four points.

A Klein three-pointer with 1:05 left in the game gave CSU a 67-64 lead, but Celeste Hoewisch answered with a three-pointer on the other end with the shot clock winding down to tie the game at 67-67. CSU had a chance to take the lead, but Stephaine Crosley couldn't convert a shot, giving UWGB one last chance, but Klein came up with a steal at midcourt, sending the game into overtime.

Hoewisch opened the extra session with a layup, but Crosley answered with a layup in the paint and Janelle Adams scored with 2:15 left to give CSU its first lead in the extra session. After Hoewisch split a pair of free throws, Angel Roque nailed a three-pointer to push the lead to three (74-71; 1:36). Adams followed with another layup, but a Hoewisch bucket brought the Phoenix back within three (76-73) with 54 seconds to play.

However, Roque came right back with another three-pointer, her fourth of the game, giving the Vikings six point lead and after a UWGB turnover, Garland hit two free throws to ice the game.

"We are starting to see what kind of team we are," Peterson Abaid said. "This is what we were trying to be all season, but I think we learned throughout the year and are peaking at the right time."

CSU shot .596 (31-52) for the game, the second highest percentage in school history, while also hitting 10-of-18 (.556) from three-point.

CSU started strong, taking an 8-2 lead on a Stephaine Crosley basket three minutes in, but six straight Phoenix points knotted the game at 8-8 about a minute later. The Vikings regained a four point lead (12-8) on baskets from Klein and Garland, but back-to-back three-pointers from UWGB gave them a 14-12 lead with 13:31 to play.

Tied at 16-16 with 11:29 on the clock, both teams went into a cold spell, combining to miss eight straight shots with nine combined turnovers over the next five plus minutes. A Lydia Bauer three-pointer at the 6:50 mark finally broke the tie.

UWGB extended the lead to six points (24-18), its largest of the first half, on an Adrian Ritchie fast break layup. But CSU came right back, using a Jessica Roque three-pointer and a Destinee Blue layup to get back within one (24-23) with 4:48 left.

Green Bay led at the half, 30-28.

Kayla Tetschlag led the Phoenix with 16 points and 14 rebounds, while Hoewisch had 20.