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Vikings Welcome Butler To Wolstein Center
Feb. 21, 2005 Contact: Alan Ashby Complete Release in PDF Format
Game #26 The Opening Tip: Cleveland State (3-22, 2-12 HL) returns home to close out the regular season with a pair of games this week in the Wolstein Center. The Vikings, who are locked in as the No. 9 seed in the upcoming American Family Insurance Horizon League Championship, will host Butler on Thursday, Feb. 24, followed by a Senior Day tilt with Wright State two days later. Head Coach Kate Peterson: The sixth head coach in 32 seasons of Viking women's basketball, Kate Peterson is 15-38 (.283) in her second season directing the Cleveland State program. Last year, she guided the Vikings to a 12-16 record, including a school-record nine league wins. Prior to her arrival in Cleveland, Peterson spent six years as an assistant at Wisconsin, serving as the recruiting coordinator starting in 1998. She also worked at Eastern Illinois (1993-97) and Indiana (1991-93). A 1991 graduate of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, she earned Kodak All-America honors her senior season after setting the NCAA Division III record for three-point field goals per game at 3.85. Noting The Bulldogs: Winners of four of its last six, Butler heads into Thursday's game at 12-13 overall and 6-8 in the league. The Bulldogs are averaging 60.0 points and allowing 60.6 while shooting 39.4 percent from the field. Cortney Urquhart leads the team in scoring (11.8) and rebounding (6.2), while Ellen Hamilton (11.2 ppg) and Jackie Closser (10.9) are both averaging in double figures. Closser is dishing out a team-best 4.9 assists. Head coach Beth Couture is 32-51 in her third season in Indianapolis and 290-168 in 16 years overall. The Series: Butler leads the all-time series by a 13-8 margin. The Bulldogs dominated early on, winning the first eight meetings. However, the Vikings rebounded to win eight of the next 10 contests before Butler claimed the final two games last season and the first meeting this year in Indianapolis. Seed Planted: Youngstown State's win at No. 23 UW-Green Bay not only ended the Phoenix's 51-game home league winning streak, but it locked Cleveland State in as the No. 9 seed in the upcoming American Family Insurance Horizon League Championship. The Vikings trail the Penguins and Loyola by two games in the standings, but YSU has the tiebreaker courtesy of its win over UWGB, while Loyola swept the season series from CSU. Senior Day To Have Hoosier-Like Feel: Saturday's Senior Day activities will have a common thread involving the four players being recognized. Jill Barnbrook, Maria Rickards, Christina Shrake and Mandy Sichting are all Indiana natives. Shrake was originally supposed to complete her eligibility last year, but redshirted in 2001-02 after suffering a season-ending injury in the second game. Upon Closer Inspection: While it's true that the Feb. 17 game against No. 23 UW-Green Bay was Cleveland State's first contest this year against a ranked opponent at the time of the game, that doesn't mean the Vikings have played a soft schedule -- far from it. CSU scrimmaged No. 2 Ohio State in the preseason and faced No. 18 Iowa State early in the year before the Cyclones moved into the Top 25. In addition, Virginia (another early-season opponent) has received votes in both polls for most of the year. Sobolewski Enters Hall: Feb. 12 was a special day for Robin Sobolewski as she became the eighth member of the women's basketball program to be inducted into the CSU Hall of Fame. Sobolewski excelled in both basketball and softball during her career. On the hardwood, she helped the Vikings to a 65-41 record during her career, including a school-record 23 wins in 1982-83. On the softball diamond, she helped the team to All-Ohio titles in both 1983 and 1984, serving as player-coach during her senior season. She joins former hoopsters Laura Englehart, Sue Hlavacek, Sue Koziol, Jane Pease (coach), Patty Salvatore, Deb Taylor and Lanette Taylor in the Hall. Dean's List Features Viking Sextet: Six members of the women's basketball team earned Dean's List recognition for the recently completed fall semester. Jill Barnbrook, Robyn Hoying, Erin Martin, Maria Rickards, Mandy Sichting and Nicole Thomas each bettered the requisite 3.25 GPA needed to earn the honor, led by Hoying's perfect 4.0. Rickards Heats Up: Junior guard Maria Rickards was on fire from behind the three-point arc during a recent three-game stretch against Butler, Loyola and UW-Milwaukee. During that span, she went 12-for-15 (.800), en route to averaging 15.2 points. Amazingly, she was just 4-for-18 (.222) from inside the arc in the three contests. Her performance catapulted the New Albany, Ind. native to second in the league in three-point percentage at .443 (27-61). Included in the outburst was a season-best 18 points against UW-Milwaukee (Feb. 12) courtesy of a career-high tying five triples. Triple Threat: CSU heads into Thursday's game having made a three-point field goal in 354 consecutive contests -- the longest active run in the nation. Louisville (394 games) and Appalachian State (367) stand 1-2 all-time NCAA annals, but both had their streaks come to an end recently. The last time the Vikings failed to drain at least one three-pointer was in a 78-55 loss at Cincinnati on Dec. 17, 1992. My Favorite Martin: Junior guard Erin Martin matched her career-high with 25 points against UIC on Jan. 3. However, the Canfield, Ohio native did more than just score, tallying six rebounds, four assists and four steals. Her versatility is reflected in the league rankings where she stands fifth in scoring (12.8), 12th in rebounds (4.8), seventh in assists (2.84), 12th in free throw percentage (.669), 10th in steals (1.72) and 10th in three-pointers (1.36). She posted the first two double-doubles of her career against Detroit (13 points, 10 rebounds) and UIC (23 points, 10 rebounds). Martin has scored in double digits in 11 of the last 14 games and is averaging 14.2 points to stand fourth in the Horizon League in conference-only games. Vikings Offensive On The Boards: Cleveland State has done an excellent job on the offensive glass during its 14 Horizon League contests, ranking first with 12.93 offensive rebounds. Mandy Sichting leads the way with 27 caroms on the offensive end, while Erin Martin has 23 and Jill Barnbrook has grabbed 21. Unfortunately, the Vikings could only convert a season-high 21 offensive rebounds into 14 points on Jan. 15 at Loyola. CSU has totalled at least 10 offensive boards in 21 of 25 games this season. Staff Growing By The Minute: Kate Peterson's staff keeps getting bigger and bigger with each passing day. No, the Vikings aren't violating any NCAA rules regarding the number of assistants, rather Kyle Rechlicz's due date of March 23 is rapidly approaching. She and her husband Dave are eagerly awaiting the arrival of their first child -- a daughter they have named Payton Anne. Chairwoman Of The Boards: Sophomore Nicole Thomas seems to have a nose for rebounds. She is second on the team lead in rebounding (4.6) despite playing only 12.5 minutes per game. In addition, the San Antonio native is third in total offensive rebounds (35) even after missing eight games with a back injury. She grabbed a team season-high 13 rebounds at Butler (Feb. 5) in just 17 minutes of action and has one of CSU's three double-doubles this season, posting 13 points and 10 boards against Texas A & M on Nov. 27. Convo Gets New Moniker: The Vikings were on the road for so long in December and January that the building they play in had a new name when they got back. The CSU Convocation Center officially became the Bert L. & Iris S. Wolstein Center on Jan. 21 when the CSU Board of Trustees approved the name change to honor the couple for their $6.25 million commitment to the CSU Foundation. Bert Wolstein, who passed away last May, was a graduate of the Cleveland-Marshall School of Law. He was a fixture in the professional sports scene in Cleveland, serving as the founder and owner of the Cleveland Force indoor soccer team, which will continue to play all of its home games in the Wolstein Center. Neidermeyer, Alive: With apologies for the Animal House rip-off, Kim Neidermeyer's performance on Feb. 10 against Loyola was eye-opening to say the least. The Willoughby Hills, Ohio native posted career highs for points (13) and field goals made (6) playing just 11 minutes. Entering the contest, she had scored just 11 points all season, making two field goals in 61 minutes spanning 15 games. Line-Up Shuffles: Due to injuries and various other contributing factors, Kate Peterson has been forced to use seven different starting line-ups this season. After starting the first 24 games, senior center Mandy Sichting (who has been playing with a stress fracture in her foot all year) came off the bench on Saturday at Detroit as the Vikings went with a four-guard line-up. CSU employed just three different starting line-ups in 2003-04. Heavens To Betsy: Prior to an 0-for-6 effort on Feb. 5 at Butler, sophomore guard Betsy Bowser had scored in double-digits in four straight games, averaging 15.0 points. She had averaged just 3.4 points through the first 16 contests. Included in the recent outburst was a career-high 17 points against both UIC (1/22) and Youngstown State (2/2). In her first career start on Jan. 22 against UW-Green Bay, the Galveston, Ind. native notched 16 points, five rebounds and three assists. During her recent hot streak, Bowser shot .488 (20-41) from the floor and an even more impressive .500 from three-point range (11-22), while averaging 3.3 assists and 2.8 rebounds. Before injuring her back on Feb. 10, she had averaged a team-high 32.8 minutes in the previous five games, including a career-best 37 against Youngstown St. on Feb. 2. Harrington Show: Junior guard Omega Harrington erupted for a career-high 20 points in the Jan. 3 win over UIC. She went 5-for-8 from the field, 2-for-2 from three-point and 8-for-9 from the line in 27 minutes of action. The Indianapolis native is averaging 8.6 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists in the last 14 contests after posting a modest 4.3 points in 13.0 minutes of action in the three games after making her Viking debut on Dec. 19 at Ohio. Harrington transferred to CSU last January after playing 36 games at Duquesne. On The Bright Side: Cleveland State's travels in December and January do have one fringe benefit -- the Vikings close out the year with a plethora of home games. Starting with the Jan. 26 game with UW-Green Bay, CSU will take to the Wolstein Center court six times in their last nine games, including a Senior Day affair on Feb. 26. Vikings Dropped At Detroit: Detroit sent its five seniors off in style, defeating Cleveland State, 62-53. The Titans shot just 33.3 percent for the game (21-63), but the Vikings missed 12 of their first 14 shots and were just 37.3 percent overall (19-51) en route to losing for the 14th time in 15 tries in Calihan Hall. Betsy Bowser paced Cleveland State with nine points. Detroit took advantage of CSU's early shooting woes to claim an 18-5 lead eight minutes into the game. After taking a 31-20 margin into the locker room, Detroit opened the second half with a quick 12-5 run to push the lead to 18. Sweet Home Indiana: The Feb. 5 trip to Butler provided six members of the CSU team their only trip home this season. All four seniors (Jill Barnbrook, Maria Rickards, Christina Shrake & Mandy Sichting) hail from Indiana, as do junior Omega Harrington and sophomore Betsy Bowser. Harrington is an Indianapolis native and attended the same high school (North Central) as assistant Kyle Rechlicz. Center Stings Opponents: Senior center Mandy Sichting scored a career-high 19 points on Dec. 11 against Toledo, going 9-for-15 from the field. On the year, she ranks second in the league in field goal percentage at .540 (81-150). The Martinsville, Ind. native is a career 55.4 percent shooter from the floor (199-359) -- a number that would rank first in school history if she met the minimum for attempts (400). However, she had not reached 100 attempts in any of her first three seasons, prior to surpassing the mark during the Jan. 8 game with Detroit. Her best season came in 2002-03 when she knocked down 59 of her 93 field goal attempts -- an impressive 63.4 percent clip. Newcomers Continue To Make Impact: Freshmen Brittany Korth and Robyn Hoying have failed to crack the starting lineup just 14 out of 50 possible times this season (all but one coming in the last six games). Korth is averaging 6.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists, while Hoying has recorded 3.2 points and 4.2 rebounds. Korth flirted with a triple-double against Akron on Dec. 7 before finishing with 15 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, while Hoying is second on the team in total rebounds (106) and had a career-high 12 points versus Toledo. Charitable Musings: Cleveland State has turned in two of the top efforts in school history from the free throw line this season. The Vikings tied for fifth all-time by going 18-for-20 (.900) at the line at Texas State on Nov. 26, before turning in the ninth-best performance ever at Loyola on Jan. 15 (15-17, .882). Unfortunately, CSU has made just 65.0 percent (266-409) of its charity tosses in the other 22 games. The Vikings converted 70.9 percent (406-563) of their free throws last season, good for the third-best mark in school history. Martin Shines: Junior guard Erin Martin, who scored 21 points against Akron on Dec. 7, was named the Horizon League Player of the Week for Dec. 6-12. It was the first time the Canfield, Ohio native was honored in her career. Martin put together back-to-back solid efforts for the Vikings, averaging 19.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists. In the win over the Zips, she knocked down five three-pointers en route to a season-high 21 points. On Dec. 11 against Toledo, she nearly recorded a triple-double, finishing with 17 points and career-highs of eight rebounds and eight assists. Attendance Marks: A Wolstein Center crowd of 1,037 watched Cleveland State open the season against Virginia on Nov. 19. The attendance was the fourth-highest ever for a women's game and the third-best in non-doubleheader action. The record of 2,173 was set against Western Illinois on Feb. 14, 1993. In addition, the 5,647 fans at Iowa State were the fourth most to ever watch CSU take the court. The highest total came when 6,831 Badger fans showed up to watch Wisconsin on Feb. 11, 1997. The following is a breakdown of the top five attendance marks, both home and overall: Team Goes Clubbing: The Vikings hit a different kind of club on Dec. 4, hosting a pair of clinics for the Boys & Girls Club of Cleveland. The players spent two hours at both the Mt. Pleasant Club and the West Side Club, teaching fundamentals, working on skills drills and passing on their love of basketball to nearly 50 kids. Rickards Earns Tourney Honor: Senior guard Maria Rickards earned all-tournament honors for her play at the CenturyTel Bobcat Classic on Nov. 26-27. The New Albany, Ind. native came off the bench and went 9-of-15 from the field (.600) en route to averaging a team-best 11.0 points. She also tallied down nine rebounds and two steals. Home Improvement: The Nov. 19 game with Virginia served as the regular season debut of a new seating configuration in the Wolstein Center. The court has been shifted to the east, towards the Viking Loge, with a curtain being added behind the western edge of the playing surface. The move reduces the seating capacity in Goodman Arena to just under 9,000, while creating an area on the western end of the floor (behind the curtain) that will be used as a fan zone before the four doubleheaders. Cagers Broaden Radio Coverage: The women's basketball program took another step forward last season when the Vikings' last five games were broadcast live over the internet. This year, all 12 home games -- and a 30 minute pregame show -- will be streamed live on CSUVikings.com and SportstalkCleveland.com. In addition, the games against Toledo (Dec. 11), Detroit (Jan. 8), UW-Milwaukee (Feb. 12) and Wright State (Feb. 26) will air live on WKNR 850 AM. David Wilson will serve as the voice of the Vikings. The Chagrin Falls resident doubles as the voice of the Lake County Captains (a Class A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians). Jason Gibbs -- the host of the Mike Garland radio show -- will join Wilson on the four games broadcast on WKNR. Vikings Ink Trio In Early Signing Period: Katie Baxter, Dominique Butler and Natalie Miller signed national letters of intent to attend Cleveland State and play basketball beginning in the fall of 2005. Double Dip: After playing seven doubleheaders last season, the men's and women's teams share just four dates at home in 2004-05. All four twin bills fall on Saturdays with the women's games tipping at 3:00 p.m. with the men following at 5:30. The dates are as follows: Up Next: Cleveland State closes out the regular season against Wright State on Saturday, Feb. 26 as the first game of a doubleheader. Prior to the contest, seniors Jill Barnbrook, Maria Rickards, Christina Shrake and Mandy Sichting will be honored.
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