Feb. 25, 2011

Contact: Greg Murphy

GAME 27

Youngstown State (4-22, 2-13) at Cleveland State (16-10, 9-6 HL)
Date: Saturday, Feb. 26, 2011
Time: 4:00 p.m. EST
Site: Goodman Arena - Wolstein Center (8,500), Cleveland, Ohio
TV: None Live. Video stream available on Horizon League Network and CSUVikings.com
Audio: Ryan Isley & Chris Moore
Series: CSU leads, 31-23
Last Mtg: CSU 86, @YSU 65 (1/29/11)
Tickets: Available at site

Complete Release in PDF Format

SETTING THE SCENE: Winners of four straight games, Cleveland State concludes the regular season with a three game homestand, beginning with a 4:00 p.m. contest against Youngstown State on Saturday (Feb. 26). The Vikings enter the game at 16-10 overall and in fourth place in the Horizon League at 9-6, just one game behind third place Wright State (10-5) and one-and-a-half games behind second place Butler (11-5). CSU is also just one game clear of fifthplace UIC (8-7).Youngstown State is 4-22 overall and 2-13 in league play. Saturday's game will be the 54th all-time meeting between the two schools with the Penguins holding a 31-23 advantage in the series. However, the Vikings have won eight straight against YSU, including an 86-68 win in Youngstown earlier this season.

PREVIEWING CLEVELAND STATE: Despite being in a bit of a rebuilding mode this season, eighth year head coach Kate Peterson Abiad guided the Vikings to the second best start in school history after leading CSU to three straight 19 win seasons, including Horizon League championships and appearances in the NCAA tournament in 2008 and 2010. With just two starters and three others back who saw significant playing time last season, Peterson Abiad has incorporated several talented, yet untested players into the rotation and continues to figure out what roles everyone will fill as the season progresses. The starting lineup is centered around guard Shawnita Garland (15.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 3.5 apg), the lone senior on the roster and a second team All-Horizon League pick in each of the last two seasons. She is joined in the starting backcourt by juniors Janelle Adams (10.6 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 2.9 apg) and Takima Keane (8.3 ppg, 3.0 apg). Sophomore Honesty King (5.8 ppg) and Danisha Cole, a junior college transfer, as well as freshman Ondrea Hughes (1.3 ppg, 1.4 rpg) have also figured into the rotation. Sophomore Shalonda Winton (13.2 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 3.2 apg) and junior Destinee Blue (9.8, 6.9) are the starters in the frontcourt. Sophomore Kaila Montgomery (1.8 ppg, 1.4 rpg), who is recovered from a knee injury that has sidelined her most of her career, and freshmen Brandee Kelly (0.3, 0.8) and Haley Schmitt (0.4 ppg, 0.5 rpg), have also fought for minutes.

VIKINGS IN THE NCAA STATS: Cleveland State received several mentions in the latest NCAA statistics that were released on Monday (Feb. 21). The Vikings rank 66th in the nation in field goal percentage (.422) and assists (14.7), 74th in field goal percentage defense (.372) and 96th in steals (9.4). Individually, Shawnita Garland is 29th in the nation in steals (2.8) and Shalonda Winton is 52nd in rebounding (9.2).

VIKINGS LIKE PLAYING TWO: Saturday's game will be the fourth and final doubleheader with the CSU men's team and there is something about doubleheaders that bring out the best in the Vikings. Since the start of the 2007-08 season, the men's and women's teams have combined to go 26-6 in 16 doubleheaders, including two sweeps in three twinbills this year. Over the last four years, both the men's and women's teams have gone 13-3 when playing doubleheaders.

GAME 123 NEXT FOR GARLAND: When Shawnita Garland takes the floor on Saturday, it will be the 123rd career game for the senior, keeping her in sole possession of third place on the all-time list at CSU. With at least four games left this season, Garland will have a shot to break the school record for games played in a career which is 127 by Kailey Klein and Jessica Roque (2006-10).

... AND SETS WINS RECORD: The two wins last week allowed Shawnita Garland to become the winningest player in CSU history as she picked up her 72nd and 73rd career wins. Garland, who was part of 19 wins in each of her first three seasons and 16 this year, broke the old mark of 72 wins by the 1983-84 seniors.

COACH "P" WINS 100tH GAME: Head coach Kate Peterson Abiad earned her 100th career win in Thursday's (Feb. 17) victory at Wright State, becoming the third coach in school history to reach 100 wins. With Saturday's win at Detroit, Peterson Abiad is now just three wins shy of passing Duffy Burns (103 wins) for second place on the all-time wins list at CSU.

REMEMBER THE TITANS: Shawnita Garland will surely remember her two games against Detroit this year in which she helped the Vikings sweep the season series by averaging 32.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.0 steals per game. Garland scored a career-high 33 points in a 61-51 win in Cleveland on Jan. 20, hitting all eight of her three pointers and then had 32 points in the Feb. 19 win at Detroit. In the two games, Garland went 24-of-37 from the field, including 13-of-16 from three point.

GARLAND NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Shawnita Garland earned her first career Horizon League Player of the Week award on Monday (Feb. 21) after leading CSU to wins at Wright State and Detroit last week. Garland averaged 27.5 points in the two games, while adding six rebounds, five assists and three steals.In Thursday's 74-66 win at Wright State, Garland scored 23 points, including 16 in the second half to help the Vikings rally from a 15 point deficit and win for the first time in Fairborn since 2002. She then came back to score 32 points, one shy of tying her career high, making 13-of-21 from the field and 5-of-8 from three point, in a 74-71 win at Detroit on Saturday (Feb. 19).

... MAKING IT TWO STRAIGHT FOR CSU: Shawnita Garland made it two straight league player of the week selections for Cleveland State after Shalonda Winton won the honor last week. Winton averaged 19.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.0 steals, 1.5 assists and 1.5 blocked shots in the two wins, notching her ninth double-double of the season with 18 points and 11 rebounds against Valparaiso. She came back to score 20 points with four rebounds and a career-high tying three blocked shots in a win over Butler. It was Winton's second honor this season, the first time coming on Nov. 22.

DISHING IT OUT: The Vikings have achieved a program first this season with four different players handing out at least 75 assists. Shawnita Garland leads the way with 91, while Shalonda Winton has 83, Takima Keane 77 and Janelle Adams 75. CSU has had at least three players with 75 assists six times in school history, including each of the last four seasons.

NO PLACE LIKE HOME: The Vikings have played well at home over the last four years, going 39-14 in the Wolstein Center during that time. CSU, which had a school record tying nine game home win streak snapped with a 63-55 setback to Green Bay on Jan. 8, is 9-2 at home this year with the nine wins tied for the second most in school history. The record is 11, done four times, including in each of the last two years.

... AND WHAT ABOUT THE ROAD??: CSU's road sweep at Wright State and Detroit allowed the Vikings to finish the regular season with a 7-8 mark on the road. The seven wins are tied for the third most in school history, trailing the 11 victories in 1982-83 and eight wins in 2007-08.

FOUR IN A ROW: Saturday's win at Detroit secured Cleveland State's fourth straight winning season, a first in program history. The streak started with the Vikings going 19-14 in 2007-08 and continued with CSU's 19-13 record in 2008-09 and 19-14 mark last year.

VIKINGS GET TO 16 WINS: Saturday's win at Detroit was CSU's 16th win of the season, tying for the third most in school history. The program record is 23 wins in 1982-83, while four different teams have won 19 games, including each of the last three seasons.

IT'S THE TRUTH: Honesty King gave the Vikings a huge spark off the bench in their two games last week, averaging13.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals in the two wins. In Thursday's 74-66 win at Wright State, King scored a career-high 18 points, making 6-of-9 from three point. The six three's are tied for the third most in school history in a single game. She came back on Saturday to score nine points, adding a career-high eight rebounds, in the win at Detroit. It was her offensive rebound and putback with 1:09 to play that broke a 68-68 tie and gave CSU the lead for good.

GARLAND & NUMBERS: Shawnita Garland is nearing a special milestone at Cleveland State, closing in on becoming the first player in school history with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 300 assists and 250 steals in a career. Garland already has the points (1,307), assists (312) and steals (293) covered to go along with 496 rebounds.

GARLAND ON THE SCORING CHARTS: With her 32 point effort at Detroit, Shawnita Garland remained in seventh place on the all-time scoring list at CSU with 1,307 points. Garland is now 59 points shy of moving past Mahogany Green (1,366 points from 1997-01) and into sixth place.

SHE'S A STEAL: With her two steals at Detroit, Shawnita Garland improved her career total to 293 and remained fourth all-time in CSU history. She needs four more steals to move past Dominique Butler (296 steals from 2005-09) and into third place on the all-time list. Garland holds two of the top-10 single season records for steals in school history, including 100 last year that ranks third, and 88 as a sophomore which is 10th all-time. She is second in the league with 74 steals this year and is 29th in the country (2.8).

AT THE HALF: When it comes to deciding the final outcome of a CSU game this year, you need to look no further than the halftime score. The Vikings are 12-1 this year when leading at the half and 4-9 when trailing or tied at halftime. Two of the wins when trailing at the half have come against Valparaiso, while the other wins came on Thursday at Wright State and on Saturday at Detroit. The only time the Vikings have lost when leading at halftime this year was at Milwaukee (Feb. 5) when CSU led, 36-32.

WINTON DOUBLES UP... TAKE 10: Sophomore Shalonda Winton recorded her team-leading 10th double-double of the season (11th of her career) with 12 points and 12 rebounds at Detroit (Feb. 19). Winton, who ranks second in the league this year with her 10 double-doubles, had a stretch of three straight double-doubles (Niagara, Toldeo & Florida A&M) earlier this season.

... AND BLUE MAKES IT EIGHT: Destinee Blue recorded her eighth double-double of the season (9th of career) with 13 points and 11 rebounds versus Butler. Blue's eight double-doubles this year are the fifth most in the Horizon League. Perhaps her most impressive double-double of the year was when she set career highs in points (20) and rebounds (13) at Big Ten member Indiana on Nov. 28.

WINTON POSTS CAREER HIGH: Shalonda Winton scored a career-high 31 points in the 86-65 win at Youngstown State on Jan. 29. Winton made 12-of-15 from the field, her lone three point attempt and 6-of-7 at the free throw line. She also added nine rebounds and three assists, becoming the 17th player in school history to score at least 30 points in a game. Winton's old career high was 19 points set two times during her career.

... AND PASSES HER BOARDS: Shalonda Winton has no doubt done her work on the glass this year, ranking fifth in the Horizon League with 9.2 rebounds per game. Winton has notched double-digit rebounds in 13 games this year, including a career-high 15 boards at Akron (Dec. 11). In addition, she has double digit rebounds in nine of the last 14 games.

GARLAND SCORES CAREER HIGH: Shawnita Garland scored a career-high 33 points in the Jan. 20 win over Detroit, hitting 11-of-16 from the field, including all eight of her three point attempts. Garland's 33 point effort shattered her old career high of 26 points against Lake Erie earlier this season (Dec. 28) and was the second most points scored by a player in the league this season. It was also the most points scored by a CSU player in a game since Lori Johnson went for 34 points against Milwaukee on Feb. 3, 1994.

... AND LIGHTS IT UP FROM THREE: It is safe to say that Shawnita Garland was in a zone against Detroit, hitting 8-of-8 from three point. The eight three's were a school record, besting the old mark of seven that was done five times. In addition, Garland became the first player in school history to go perfect from three point with a minimum of five attempts.

MORE FROM THE BIG NIGHT: Shawnita Garland's eight straight makes from three point were one shy of tying the NCAA record for most consecutive three pointers made in a game. Susan Smith of Eastern Washington (1988) and Keri Farley of Cornell (1993) both made nine consecutive three's in a game. In addition, Garland became the 20th player in NCAA history to be perfect from three point in a game with a munimum of seven attempts. She was also one three point make away from tying Farley for the best perfect game from three point in NCAA history. Farley went 9-for-9 from three point against Georgetown on Dec. 20, 1993.

ON THE MARK: The Vikings shot a season-best .542 (32-59) from the field at Youngstown State on Jan. 29, the second time that CSU has topped the 50-percent mark this year. It helped CSU score a season-high 86 points, the most by a Viking team since a 90-66 win at Green Bay in the league semifinals (3/14/08).

KEEP 'EM UNDER 50 (PERCENT): The Vikings continue to rank among the top teams in the league in field goal percentage defense, ranking second in the league at .372. Only one team has managed to shoot at least 50% against CSU this year, coming when UIC hit 25-of-50 (.500) from the floor on Dec. 31.

THEY'RE FREE: Head coach Kate Peterson Abiad has been putting a strong emphasis on free throws all season, knowing that a game could come down to a few points at the line. The Vikings have taken those words to heart, shooting .712 (301-422) from the line this season, the fifth best percentage in school history. The Vikings shot a season best .933 (14-15) from the line at Loyola on Jan. 2, tied for the fourth best percentage in a game in school history, and rank fifth in the league in free throw shooting.

40 MINUTE WOMAN: Shawnita Garland has seen a lot of action on the court early this season, leading the league at 38.2 minutes per game, including playing all 40 minutes in 17 contests. Garland has played 3,520 minutes during her career, needing nine minutes to move past Brittany Korth for second the second most minutes played in school history. Kailey Klein holds the record with 4,097. Garland is also 46 minutes shy of joining Klein as the only players in school history with three different seasons of 1,000 minutes.

GARLAND HITS 500: Shawnita Garland made 21 field goals in CSU's two games last week, including a career-high 13 makes at Detroit on Saturday (Feb. 19), tied for the 10th most field goal makes in a game in school history. The 21 makes raised Garland's career total to 510, moving her into ninth place on the all-time list at CSU. She needs five more makes to take over eighth place, 10 more to move into seventh and 15 to move all the way up to sixth place. Garland's 1,133 field goal attempts rank 10th all-time at CSU.

DEJA VU FOR BLUE: A close inspection of CSU's two box scores from two weeks ago revealed some interesting numbers for Destinee Blue. In the win over Valparaiso on Feb. 10, Blue went 4-for-9 from the field and 5-of-6 at the free throw line for 13 points. She also grabbed 11 rebounds, five offensive and six defensive, while handing out one assist. Blue then went out and duplicated those exact numbers in the Feb. 12 win over Butler.

UP NEXT: The Vikings close the regular season next week when CSU hosts Loyola on Thursday (March 3) at 7:00 p.m. and UIC on Saturday (March 5) at 2:00 p.m.