CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland State women's basketball team opened up the 2015-16 season Monday evening, picking up a 64-45 victory over Lake Erie College in its first of two exhibitions.

Redshirt freshman Ashanti Abshaw led the Vikings with 17 points, six rebounds, and four steals, while Olivia Voskuhl chipped in seven points and six boards.

The exhibition game was played according to the new NCAA rules for the 2015-16 season – playing four 10-minute quarters instead of two 20-minute halves.

Cleveland State was able to get a decent start to the game, jumping out to an 18-8 lead after the first 10 minutes of action. The Vikings then extended their lead to 29-8 midway through the second quarter after a 16-0 Viking run that spanned the last 50 seconds of the first quarter and the first 4:24 of the second period. Going into the halftime break, Cleveland State held a 36-14 advantage.

After Lake Erie got off to a solid start during the second half – closing the gap to just nine points – Cleveland State responded with a 10-0 run that once again put the Vikings ahead by double-digits at 50-31.

The Vikings then controlled play throughout the rest of the third and fourth quarters, earning the 19-point exhibition victory.

Next up for the Cleveland State will be its second exhibition contest against Roberts Wesleyan on Monday, November 9 at 7:00 p.m. in the Wolstein Center.