March 2, 2010

Contact: Greg Murphy

GAME #28

Cleveland State (15-12, 10-6) at Milwaukee (10-17, 5-11)
Date: Thursday, March 4, 2010
Time: 8:00 p.m. EST
Site: Klotsche Center (5,000) - Milwaukee, Wis.
TV: Live video streaming available online through the HLN.
Audio: None
Series: UWM leads, 20-17
Last Mtg: @CSU 73, UWM 61 (1/4/10)
Tickets: Available at site

Complete Release in PDF Format

SETTING THE SCENE: Cleveland State concludes the regular season with two games in Wisconsin this week, beginning with an 8:00 p.m. EST contest at Milwaukee on Thursday (March 4) in the Klotsche Center. A win by the Vikings or losses by both UIC (vs. Butler) and Loyola (vs. Valparaiso) on Thursday night would clinch a home quarterfinal game in next week's Horizon League Championship for CSU as the No. 4 seed. The Vikings have won three in a row to improve to 15-12 overall and 10-6 in the Horizon League, good for fourth place, one game ahead of UIC (9-7) and two games ahead of Loyola (8-8). CSU avenged two losses from earlier in the season last week, knocking off Detroit in overtime, 70-60, on Thursday (Feb. 25) and defeating Wright State (63-52) on Saturday (Feb. 27) to run the win streak to three. Milwaukee is 10-17 overall and 5-11 in league play. UWM leads the all-time series with the Vikings, 20-17, but CSU has won four of the last five meetings, including a 73-61 victory over the Panthers in early January to open league play.

PREVIEWING CLEVELAND STATE: With four starters and eight letterwinners back from last year's 19 win team, seventh year head coach Kate Peterson Abiad has her most experienced squad to date. Headlining the list of returnees is senior guard and the Horizon League Preseason Player of the Year, Kailey Klein (17.7 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 2.3 apg). Joining her in the starting backcourt are senior Jessica Roque (6.0, 2.7, 2.9) and junior Shawnita Garland (12.7, 4.9, 3.6), who joined Klein on the preseason all-league first team. Senior Angel Roque (7.2, 2.4, 2.3) gives the Vikings an experienced point guard, while freshman Honesty King (3.1 ppg) continues to work her way into the rotation after redshirting last season. Sophomore Janelle Adams (4.9, 3.8) is an athletic wing-forward who is being counted on to fill a bigger role this season and sophomore guard Takima Keane (2.6, 0.7) is beginning to receive more minutes as a wing-forward combo. Senior Stephaine Crosley (7.7, 5.9) is the most experienced post player on the roster and is joined in the starting frontcourt by freshman Shalonda Winton (6.2, 5.2). Sophomore Destinee Blue (1.9, 2.1) and freshman Kaila Montgomery (0.3, 0.7) provide CSU with a low post presence and solid interior defense off the bench.

KLEIN ADDS TO CAREER SCORING MARK: Kailey Klein's 25 points versus Wright State on Saturday allowed the Cherry, Ill., native to extend the all-time scoring mark in CSU history. Klein, who now has 1,993 points in her career, broke Dianne Foster's (1979-81; 82-84) 26-year old record of 1,851 points against Loyola on Feb. 6. The record setting basket was a left-handed layup in the paint off a pass from senior Angel Roque with 11:08 to play in the first half.

2K FOR K2: Kailey Klein is now just seven points shy of becoming the third player in Horizon League history to score 2,000 career points. Former Milwaukee standout Traci Edwards (2005-09) is the all-time leading scorer in league history with 2,340 points, while former Butler great Julie VonDielingen (1989-93) ranks second in the Horizon League annals with 2,018 points.

KLEIN NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK: For the fourth time this season and ninth time in her career, senior Kailey Klein picked up Horizon League Player of the Week honors when she earned the award on Monday (March 1). Klein earned the award after averaging 28.5 points and 12.0 rebounds in wins over then league-leading Detroit and Wright State, posting her eighth and ninth double-doubles of the season (14th and 15th of her career). Klein had 32 points and 10 rebounds against UDM and came back with 25 points and a career-high tying 14 boards vs. Wright State.

... FOR THE NINTH TIME IN HER CAREER: Kailey Klein's selection as the Horizon League Player of the Week on Monday (March 1) extended her school record to nine career selections and moved her into a tie for second place for the most awards in league history with Nicole Soulis of Green Bay. Milwaukee's Traci Edwards holds the record with 10 career awards.

QUITE A SENIOR CLASS: The senior class of Stephaine Crosley, Kailey Klein, Angel Roque and Jessica Roque were honored prior to the Wright State game on Saturday (Feb. 27) prior to playing their final regular season home game. The quartet, who committed to CSU after the Vikings won just four games in 2005-06, have helped turn the program around, leading CSU to 61 wins over the last four seasons, including the 2008 Horizon League Championship and CSU's first-ever bid to the NCAA tournament. The 61 victories are the second most by a senior class in school history, trailing the 65 wins by the seniors on the 1982-83 squad.

KLEIN & ROQUE BREAK SCHOOL RECORD: When seniors Kailey Klein and Jessica Roque took the court on Saturday against Wright State (Feb. 27), the duo played in their school record 121st game. They broke the old mark of 120 games by current graduate manager Brittany Korth (2004-08).

... AND START NO. 109 NEXT FOR KLEIN: When Kailey Klein is announced as a starter for Thursday's game at Milwaukee, it will be the 109th start of her career, keeping her in sole possession of third place on the all-time list at CSU. Klein, who came off the bench for the first 13 games of her career, will run her streak of consecutive starts to 109. Audra Cook is second on the list with 110 career starts, while Juli Grant is first (113).

ALMOST TO 500: Kailey Klein is just 21 points shy of becoming the first player in school history to score 500 points in three separate seasons. Klein, Dianne Foster and Erika Roudebush are the only players in school history with two seasons of 500 points. Klein scored a CSU single season record 654 points as a sophomore and added 542 points last season, the fifth highest single season total in school history.

NCAA STATS: The most recent NCAA statistics were released on Monday (March 1) and CSU was well represented. The Vikings rank 39th in assists (15.3), 54th in assist-to-turnover ratio (0.89), 81st in rebound margin (3.0), 93rd in steals (9.3) and 94th in turnover margin (1.56). Individually, Kailey Klein is ranked 47th in the country in scoring (17.7) and 156th in rebounding (7.6), while Shawnita Garland checks in at 19th in steals (2.9).

KLEIN HITS 30: Kailey Klein's 32 point effort against Detroit on Thursday (Feb. 25) extended her school-record of career 30-point games to eight. Klein, who has two 30-point games this season, hit 8-of-17 from the field and 15-of-16 at the free throw line. Her 32 point outburst against Detroit is the highest point total by a Horizon League player this season, while her 31 point effort against Loyola (Feb. 6) is the second highest.

KLEIN AT THE LINE: Kailey Klein holds the CSU career record for free throws made (574) and attempted (729), while her .787 percentage ranks fourth all-time. So it was a bit of a surprise when she was shooting just 60-percent (30-50) at the line at the conclusion of non-league games. However, since the Vikings began Horizon League play, Klein has been near automatic, hitting 91-of-110 (.827) from the charity stripe, allowing her to improve to 77-percent (121-160) this season.

10 IN THE LEAGUE: Cleveland State's win over Wright State on Saturday allowed the Vikings to extend their school-record of consecutive 10 win seasons in the Horizon League to three. The streak began with 10 wins in 2007-08 (the second highest total in school history) and continued last year when CSU won a school-record 12 league games.

ANOTHER WINNING SEASON: CSU has never posted three consecutive winning seasons in program history, but can accomplish the feat with one more victory.

FOR STARTERS: Head coach Kate Peterson Abiad tinkered with her starting lineup on Thursday (Feb. 25) against Detroit, feeling a smaller, quicker lineup would match-up better with the Titans. Peterson Abiad inserted senior Angel Roque into the starting lineup and Roque responded by playing a career-high 45 minutes, finishing with eight points and six rebounds. It was Roque's second start this season (Niagara) and she drew her third start of the season on Saturday against Wright State.

UNDER 40: When CSU held Youngstown State to 38 points on Feb. 20, it marked the second time this season that CSU held an opponent under 40 points. CSU defeated Ohio in the season opener, 56-34. It is the first time since 1978-79 that the Vikings held two opponents under 40 points in the same season. The 34 points vs. Ohio were the fewest given up by CSU since a 62-24 win over Ashland on Feb. 8, 1983.

CROSLEY HITS MILESTONE: Stephaine Crosley became the 15th player in school history to record 500 points and 500 rebounds in a career when she grabbed nine boards against Detroit on Thursday (Feb. 25). Crosley enters the Milwaukee contest with 555 points and 511 rebounds.

... AND IS ON THE MARK: Stephaine Crosley leads CSU in field goal percentage at .539 (83-154), ranking fifth in the league. She is attempting to become just the 11th player in school history to shoot better than 50-percent from the field in a season. Should she do it, it would mark the third straight season that a CSU player has shot 50-percent of better from the field, joining Dominique Butler (.500; 140-280) in 2007-08 and Shawnita Garland (.527; 150-290) last season.

LET'S PLAY TWO: It's too bad that the Vikings can't play more doubleheaders with the men's team as the women are 13-2 in twinbills with the men's squad going 13-3 in doubleheaders over the last three years. The only men's losses in a doubleheader came when the Vikings dropped a 55-49 decision to Wright State on Feb. 7, 2008 and this year when CSU fell to No. 8 West Virginia and to Detroit on Feb. 25. The women's lone losses came to Green Bay in 2007-08 and 2008-09.

ANOTHER GRAND: Kailey Klein continues to lead the league in minutes played this season at 36.3 per game. She has logged 981 minutes, needing 19 more to reach 1,000 minutes played for the third consecutive season. Klein is the only player in school history with two 1,000 minute seasons, but Shawnita Garland could reach that mark with 79 more minutes played this season. Garland logged 1,002 last year. Brittany Korth (2007-08) holds the school record for minutes played in a season with 1,161.

HOME SWEET HOME: Last week's wins over Detroit and Wright State improved the Vikings to 10-3 at home this season, putting CSU within one win of tying the school record for home wins in a season. The 2008-09, 1988-89 and 1980-81 teams hold the record with 11 home wins.

GARLAND EFFICIENT: Shawnita Garland was efficient at Valparaiso on Feb. 11, hitting 10-of-13 from the field for 22 points, just two shy of equaling her career high set earlier this season against Valparaiso. Garland, who added five rebounds and four steals, scored her 22 points in just 24 minutes.

SHE'S A STEAL: Shawnita Garland has made a Horizon League most 78 steals this season, ranking first in the league statistics with 2.9 per game. Garland, who is 19th in the nation is steals, made a league single-game high nine steals at Eastern Michigan (Dec. 29), tying her for the fourth most steals in a game in school history. Her nine steals are tied for the seventh most by a player in the country this season.

ON THE GLASS: CSU is tops in the league in rebounding margin at +3.0, putting the Vikings on pace to finish with a positive rebounding margin for just the seventh time in program history, including the second straight season. The only other time CSU had a positive rebounding margin in back-to-back seasons came in 1978-79 and 1979-80.

ON THE OFFENSIVE: CSU has excelled at offensive rebounding this season, as the Vikings lead the league with 14.4 per game. CSU has grabbed at least 10 offensive rebounds in 24 of 27 games this season, including 22 at Eastern Michigan and 21 against Ohio and Kent State. Stephaine Crosley ranks fifth in the league in offensive rebounding (2.7), while Kailey Klein is seventh (2.4) and Shalonda Winton ranks eighth (2.4).

LOTS OF POINTS: The 82 point outburst at Valparaiso (Feb. 11) represented a season-high for the Vikings, bettering the old mark of 81 set in a win against Butler (Jan. 14). The Vikings have won eight straight contests in which they have reached the 80-point mark. The last time CSU lost a game when scoring 80 points was a 93-80 seback at UIC (3/6/08).

KING ME: Freshman Honesty King made the most of her playing time at Valparaiso on Feb. 11, playing the final 12 mintues. She scored eight points, hitting 3-of-4 from the field, including 2-of-3 from three-point, while also grabbing a career-high three rebounds. King had not played since the Jan. 22 win over Youngstown State.

KLEIN MAINTAINS SCORING LEAD: Kailey Klein continues to lead the Horizon League in scoring at 17.5 points per game, holding a 2.2 ppg edge over Butler's Melanie Thornton (15.3). Klein, who has finished as the runner-up for the league scoring title in each of the last two seasons, is attempting to become the third scoring champion in school history and the first since 2001-02 when Erika Roudebush averaged 18.2 per game.

NICE COMEBACK: CSU trailed Valpo at the half, 44-36, when the two teams met at the Wolstein Center on Jan. 16, but rallied for a 71-68 victory. It marked just the second time this season that the Vikings won a game when trailing at the half and the largest halftime deficit overcome this year. The only other game CSU has won when trailing at the half was against Indiana (Dec. 19) when the Vikings went into the locker room down 34-33 and won 77-75 in overtime. CSU actually trailed the game against the Hoosiers, 66-59, with one minute left.

... KLEIN NEARS A TRIPLE DOUBLE: Kailey Klein flirted with a triple-double before finishing with 19 points, 12 rebounds and a career-high tying eight assists against Butler (Jan. 14). Earlier this season, Klein had 15 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in a win at Niagara (Dec. 15). There have been five triple-doubles in program history with Ashley Schrock recording the last one with 13 points, 13 boards and 10 assists vs. Wright State (2/15/03).

VIKINGS BUST BCS: CSU's win over Indiana (Dec. 19) was its first over a Bowl Championship Series Conference opponent since Dec. 30, 1996, when the Vikings knocked off Syracuse, 79-77. CSU defeated Louisville, 79-68, on Dec. 18, 2003, but the Cardinals were then a member of Conference USA. Prior to the win over Indiana, CSU had lost 18 straight to BCS schools, or those with major college football.

WINTON DOUBLES UP: Freshman Shalonda Winton put together one of her best all-around efforts to date in the Jan. 22 win over Youngstown State, notching her first career double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds, adding a career-high tying three steals. Her 13 rebounds were one shy of her career-high of 14 vs. Indiana (Dec. 19).

VIKINGS LIKE THE A.R.C.: CSU continued its torrid shooting at Valparaiso's Athletics & Recreation Center on Feb. 11, shooting a season-best .537 (29-54) from the field. Over the last three seasons, the Vikings have combined to shoot .562 (86-153) from the field in three wins on the Crusaders home court. Last year, CSU shot. 581 (25-43) from the field, the third best percentage in a single game in school history.

KLEIN NAMED CSU ATHLETE OF THE MONTH FOR JANURAY: Kailey Klein was named the CSU Female Athlete of the Month for January after averaging16.8 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists in nine games, helping CSU to a 5-4 mark. She had double-doubles at Loyola and at UIC, including 28 points with 11 rebounds against the Ramblers. Her performances in Chicago helped Klein earn Horizon League Player of the Week honors.In addition, Klein added a double-double of 19 points and 12 boards in win over Butler.

... AND GARLAND GETS IT IN DECEMBER: Shawnita Garland picked up CSU's Female Athlete of the Month honor in December after averaging 12.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.0 steals in five December games. She recorded her first career double-double with 13 points and a career-high 12 rebounds at Niagara and then played a career-high 44 minutes, scoring 15 points in a win over Indiana. Garland also flirted with a rare quadruple-double at Eastern Michigan on Dec. 29, finishing with 14 points, nine steals, seven assists and six boards.

ADAMS STRONG IN MOTOWN: Sophomore Janelle Adams missed five games (Jan. 4-16) due to a sprained ankle and recieved just nine total minutes in her first two games back as she worked her way back into playing shape. In her first extended time since the injury, Adams tied her career-high with 12 points on 6-of-11 shooting, playing 16 minutes at Detroit (Jan. 30). In six full games back, Adams is averaging 6.0 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game, including a career-high tying four helpers at Valparaiso (Feb. 11).

A HELPING HAND: Despite having her streak of scoring in double figures snapped at nine at UIC (Jan. 9), Shawnita Garland had a huge effect on the game, dishing out a career-high eight assists. More impressive was that she did not have a turnover.

ROQUE EN FUEGO IN MEXICO: Jessica Roque did a majority of her damage against Iona (Nov. 27) from behind the three-point line, connecting on a school-record tying seven three's in eight attempts. Roque's .875 (7-8) percentage from beyond the arc was a CSU single game record and the seventh best by a Divison I player this season.

UP NEXT: CSU concludes the regular season with a 3:00 p.m. EST contest at Green Bay on Saturday (March 6).