Feb. 17, 2011
Final Stats
Contact: Greg Murphy
FAIRBORN, Ohio - Honesty King hit a career-high six three pointers for a career-best 18 points and Cleveland State used a strong second half to rally for a 74-66 win at Wright State on Thursday night in the Nutter Center and giving head coach Kate Peterson Abiad her 100th career victory.
Shawnita Garland led all scorers with 23 points, while Janelle Adams scored 15 points and Shalonda Winton 14. Garland also won her 72nd career game at CSU, tying her for the most wins by a senior in school history.
CSU improved to 15-10 overall and 8-6 in the Horizon League, while WSU slipped to 15-9 overall and 8-5 in the league.
"This was as big a win as we have had all season," head coach Kate Peterson Abiad said. "We were down 15 in the second half, but never gave up and kept battling back. We never lost our composure and got key contributions from everyone on the court today.
"Honesty was huge tonight, probably playing the best game of her career," Peterson Abiad said. "People will see the six three's and the 18 points, but she was phenomenal up top defending the ball. She forced some turnovers and gave me confidence that I could put her up there if Shawnita (Garland) gets in foul trouble as she did tonight."
A strong run to close the first half sent the Raiders into the locker room with a 33-25 lead.
After a 6-0 CSU run cut the Raider lead to one point (26-25) on a Janelle Adams layup with 2:31 to play in the half, the Raiders went on to score the final seven points of the half, including three baskets after offensive rebounds.
WSU dominated the glass throughout the first half, grabbing 28 total rebounds in the first stanza, including 13 offensive boards that led to 12 second chance points.
"The beat us up on the boards pretty good in the game at our place earlier this season and that is something we hammered into them this week," Peterson Abiad said. "But they controlled the boards again tonight, especially on the offensive end. We were able to win the turnover battle, committing just 11 and forcing 23 which we were able to turn into 24 points, so that kind of offset their rebounding edge."
The 11 turnovers by CSU were a season low.
The Vikings were forced to play with different lineup combinations during the first 20 minutes of play as Shawnita Garland was limited to just 12 minutes after picking up three fouls, while Shalonda Winton (14 minutes) and Destinee Blue (7) also saw their minutes reduced after being whistled for two first half fouls.
WSU's lead swelled to as many as 15 (45-30) with 16:19 left in the game, but that's when the Vikings started the comeback, slicing the deficit to three points (52-49) at the 12:48 mark on a King three pointer. It was her third trifecta in the run.
"Honesty was huge tonight and provided us with big shots at key moments," Peterson Abiad said.
The Raider lead would get back to six points (63-57) with 8:44 left, but a 5-1 run by the Vikings, which was capped by a King three pointer, brought CSU within one (63-62) with 7:29 to play.
The score would stay that way for more than four minutes as neither team could manage a basket and both defenses continued to get stops.
"I was pleased with how we were getting stops during that stretch, but we couldn't score either to take the lead," Peterson Abiad said.
The drought was stopped on a Garland three pointer with 3:14 left that gave CSU a 65-63 lead, the Vikings first lead since early in the first half.
WSU used a pair of free throws on the next possession to tie the game at 65-65, but Garland answered with two free throws on the other end and after a WSU turnover, King nailed her sixth three pointer of the night to push CSU's lead to 70-65 with just over a minute to play.
Garland and Adams both hit two free throws down the stretch to seal the win, CSU's first at Wright State since 2002, as WSU scored just three points - all free throws - over the final 7:29. THe Raiders final field goal came with 9:13 to go in the game.
The Vikings shot .444 (24-54) from the field, including 14-of-27 (.519) in the second half when the Vikings outscored WSU, 49-33. CSU also hit 10-of-25 (.400) from three point.
WSU held a 47-24 edge on the boards, grabbing 19 offensive.
The Vikings are back in action on Saturday (Feb. 19) when CSU plays its final regular season road game at Detroit at 2:00 p.m.
