Feb. 10, 2011
Final Stats
By: Robert Ivory
CLEVELAND, Ohio- After the Cleveland State Vikings and Valparaiso Crusaders had been tied seven times, a 9-2 run over three minutes late in the second half helped CSU defeat Valpo 57-51 Thursday night at the Wolstein Center.
Shalonda Winton led all Viking scorers with her ninth double-double of the year, scoring 18 points and collecting 11 rebounds. Destinee Blue, who scored all of her four buckets in the paint, finished with 13 points and 11 boards.
Blue's eight aided CSU's 26 points in the paint and Valpo turned the ball over 19 times.
"Shay had a stretch of two or three games where she didn't play her best and wasn't pleased with her performance," head coach Kate Peterson Abiad said. "She was frustrated, but works so hard and kept plugging away and has had a great stretch of games recently. We kept encouraging her to stay with it and she is just so active and is now starting to be able to extend the defense. And we have to keep reminding ourselves that she is only a sophomore and we are asking a lot of her and she is happy to provide it."
CSU was aided by eight points from Takima Keane and Shawnita Garland, and five from Janelle Adams.
"Things weren't going well for us offensively from the very start and when that happens, we have to take good care of the ball, take good shots and hit the offensive boards to get second chance opportunities," Peterson Abiad said. "I thought we did better offensively in the second half as far as hitting shots and scoring better."
The Vikes and Crusaders would be tied for the sixth time as Betsy Adams hit a pair of free throw for Valpo (37-37), then again tied at 39.
Winton would hit back-to-back fast break buckets, Keane would hit another three from the top of the key and Blue would hit two free throws to give CSU a 9-2 run over the next 3:12 to give them a seven point lead with 6:26 to play.
That's all the room they needed.
CSU moves to 6-6 in league play and 13-10 overall.
Janelle Adams got the Vikings started as she hit a three from the top of the arc, but CSU trailed 5-3 early. Shawnita Garland picked the pocket of Sklyer Gick, and cashed in with the easy layup on the other end, bringing CSU closer at 8-7 (13:44).
Both teams had trouble hitting their shots, as both shooting percentages hung below 40% in the early going.
The Vikings took their first lead of the game when Garland hit her first three from the top of the arc to give CSU the 14-12 lead (8:55).
Winton battled for an offensive rebound and got the put back to give CSU the 16-14 lead. Ondrea Hughes got a steal and layup, with an assists from Honesty King, to give the Vikes a quick 4-0 lead and 18-14 lead (5:31).
The Crusaders answered with a 6-0 run of their own and again held the lead, 20-18 with four minutes to go.
The Vikings struggled in the half; despite making Valpo turn the ball over eight times and leading the edge in offensive rebounds.
Shalonda Winton would get the first Viking basket in four minutes, as her short jumper with 1:27 brought the Vikes back within five. Winton scored the next basket of the game as King would hit a three and tie the game up at 25.
Valpo's Ashley Timmerman would get a three of three own with five seconds left, to take the 28-25 half time lead.
Shalonda Winton would have a strong second half to the opening stanza, as she scored six of the last eleven Viking points in the first half.
Takima Keane hit the first basket in the half and cut the lead to one. After the Crusaders hit a return basket, Keane hit a three from the top of the arc to retie the ball game at 30 (17:18).
Winton found her outside stoke early and hit a three from deep in the left corner to give CSU the 33-32 lead.
After the Crusaders could only hit their second shot from the line, Winton made a nice pass to Destinee Blue under the basket, as Blue made a tough fade away in the paint. It gave CSU a 5-1 run in under a minute and gave the Vikes the 35-33 lead.
With Blue's basket, it gave her six points, but the Viking table was balanced as Adams, Keane, and Garland all had five points apiece.
The Vikes and Crusaders would be tied for the sixth time as Betsy Adams hit a pair of free throw (37-37), then again tied at 39.
After the game was tied at 39-39 with 9:38 remaining, CSU outscored the Crusaders 18-12 over the last 9:30 to seal the win.
Valparaiso falls to 4-8 in league play and 6-18 overall.
The Vikings conclude the brief two-game home stand when they host the Butler Bulldogs Saturday afternoon at 4:00p.m. at the Wolstein Center.
