Feb. 18, 2012
Final Stats
Contact: Renee Adam
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CLEVELAND, Ohio - Kiersten Green converted a three-pointer with just seven seconds left on the clock to give Cleveland State its first lead of the second half and the Vikings held on to defeat the Milwaukee Panthers, 70-68 Saturday afternoon. With the win CSU is now 10-16 on the season and 5-10 in Horizon League play, while the Panthers fall to 7-18 overall and 3-11 in the league.
Saturday's win also gave Cleveland State head coach Kate Peterson Abiad her 116th career victory, giving her the most wins in program history.
The Viking offense was led by the trio of Shalonda Winton, Honesty King and Cori Coleman, who combined for 55 points on the evening including a 30-point effort from Winton. Along with her 30 points, Winton also tallied a career-high 18 rebounds, notching her 13th double-double of the season. King added 13 points, six rebounds and four assists, while Coleman tallied 12 points, three assists and two steals.
After going into halftime down by 14 (38-24), the Vikings slowly climbed their way back into the contest coming within single digits (50-43) for the first time since the beginning of the first half at the 10:51 mark.
The two teams traded baskets over the next four minutes until CSU was able to post six straight points with six minutes left to play. With the run, the Vikings were able to close the gap to five points with baskets from Winton, Coleman and Imani Gordon.
After King made a three-pointer at the 4:24 mark to bring the Vikings within four (59-55), she forced the Panthers into a turnover, which Coleman converted into a layup to bring the score to 59-57 Milwaukee. The teams traded baskets once again until Winton tallied her third three-pointer of the game bringing the Vikings within one (63-62) with 2:46 left to play.
Following a Winton layup that tied the game at 66-66, Milwaukee was able to convert a layup of their own to take a two-point lead with just 25 seconds left to play. Out of a Cleveland State timeout, Green nailed a three-pointer giving the Vikings their first lead of the contest since the 17:12 mark of the first half and King forced Milwaukee into their 12th turnover of the game giving CSU possession of the ball with only two seconds remaining.
As a team, Cleveland State shot 41-percent from the floor (26-62), including a .444 clip from behind the arc (8-18). The Vikings recorded 16 assists on their 26 field goals and committed a season-low 12 turnovers.
The Vikings will hit the road next week for two contests at Detroit and Wright State. CSU will play at Detroit on Thursday (Feb. 23) and Wright State on Saturday (Feb. 25).
Beginning Monday, February 20 at 9:00 a.m. fans will be able to bid on the pink jerseys and shorts that the Vikings have been wearing for the past two contests. The online auction at CSUVikings.com will run through Monday, March 5 at 6:00 p.m. Proceeds from the auction will go to the Play 4 Kay Foundation.
