Vikings Host Wright State on Senior Day

CSU to Also Take Part in WBCA Pink Zone Events

Angel Roque played all 45 minutes against Detroit on Thursday.

Feb. 26, 2010

Contact: Greg Murphy

Complete Release in PDF Format

GAME #27

Wright State (10-16, 6-10) at Cleveland State (14-12, 9-6)
Date: Saturday, Feb. 27, 2010
Time: 4:30 p.m. EST
Site: Goodman Arena - Wolstein Center (8,500), Cleveland, Ohio
TV: SportsTime Ohio (Mike Cairns & Franklin Edwards)
Audio: Available online at CSUVikings.com (David Wilson)
Promo: Pink Zone: Silent auction for Women's Basketball pink uniforms. All proceeds benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure Northeast Ohio Affiliate.
FREE pink awareness stress reliever to the first 500 fans
CYO Sportsmanship Night
Series: CSU leads, 29-25
Last Mtg: @WSU 60, CSU 58 (1/28/10)
Tickets: $8, $15, $25

SETTING THE SCENE: Cleveland State concludes its regular season home schedule when the Vikings host Wright State on Saturday, Feb. 27, at 4:30 p.m. in the Wolstein Center. It will be a doubleheader with the CSU men's team concluding its regular season against Wright State at 2:00 p.m. and both games can been seen live on SportsTime Ohio with Mike Cairns and Franklin Edwards providing the commentary. The Vikings improved to 14-12 overall and moved into a tie for fourth place in the Horizon League with a 70-60 overtime win over Detroit on Thursday night. WSU is 10-16 overall (6-10 HL) following Thursday's57-38 win at Youngstown State. Saturday's game will be CSU's Pink Zone game in conjunction with the WBCA, which is a national breast cancer awareness initiative. The Vikings will wear pink uniforms and shoes during the contest and they will be auctioned off after the game with all proceeds benefiting the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Northeast Ohio Affiliate. In addition, the first 500 fans in attendance will receive a free pink awareness stress reliever.

PREVIEWING CLEVELAND STATE: With four starters and eight letterwinners back from last year's 19 win team, seventh year head coach Kate Peterson Abiad has her most experienced squad to date. Headlining the list of returnees is senior guard and the Horizon League Preseason Player of the Year, Kailey Klein (17.5 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 2.3 apg). Joining her in the starting backcourt are senior Jessica Roque (6.1, 2.8, 2.9) and junior Shawnita Garland (12.9, 4.7, 3.6), who joined Klein on the preseason all-league first team. Senior Angel Roque (7.2, 2.5, 2.3) gives the Vikings an experienced point guard, while freshman Honesty King (3.4 ppg) is working her way into the rotation after redshirting last season. Sophomore Janelle Adams (4.8, 3.8) is an athletic wing-forward who is being counted on to fill a bigger role this season and sophomore guard Takima Keane (2.8, 0.8) is beginning to receive more minutes as a wing-forward combo. Senior Stephaine Crosley (7.5, 6.0) is the most experienced post player on the roster and is joined in the starting frontcourt by freshman Shalonda Winton (6.4, 5.3). Sophomore Destinee Blue (2.0, 2.2) and freshman Kaila Montgomery (0.3, 0.7) provide CSU with a low post presence and solid interior defense off the bench.

SENIOR DAY: Saturday's game against Wright State will be Senior Day with Stephaine Crosley, Kailey Klein, Angel Roque and Jessica Roque being honored in a pre-game ceremony before playing their final regular season home game of their careers. The quartet, who committed to CSU after the Vikings won just four games in 2005-06, have helped turn the program around, leading CSU to 60 wins over the last four seasons, including the 2008 Horizon League Championship and CSU's first-ever bid to the NCAA tournament. The 60 victories are the second most by a senior class, trailing the 65 wins by the seniors on the 1982-83 squad.

KLEIN ADDS TO CAREER SCORING MARK: Kailey Klein's 32 points versus Detroit on Thursday allowed the Cherry, Ill., native to extend the all-time scoring mark in CSU history. Klein, who now has 1,968 points in her career, broke Dianne Foster's (1979-81; 82-84) 26-year old record of 1,851 points against Loyola on Feb. 6. The record setting basket was a left-handed layup in the paint off a pass from senior Angel Roque with 11:08 to play in the first half.

2K FOR K2: Kailey Klein is 32 points shy of becoming the third player in Horizon League history to score 2,000 career points. Former Milwaukee standout Traci Edwards (2005-09) is the all-time leading scorer in league history with 2,340 points, while former Butler great Julie VonDielingen (1989-93) ranks second in the Horizon League annals with 2,018 points.

KLEIN & ROQUE SET TO BREAK SCHOOL RECORD: When seniors Kailey Klein and Jessica Roque take the court on Saturday, the duo will play in their 121st career games, breaking the CSU career record for games played. Klein and Roque currently share the record of 120 games with current graduate manager Brittany Korth (2004-08).

... AND START NO. 108 NEXT FOR KLEIN: When Kailey Klein is announced as a starter for Saturday's game versus Wright State, it will be the 108th start of her career, keeping her into sole possession of third place on the all-time list at CSU. Klein, who came off the bench for the first 13 games of her career, will also run her streak of consecutive starts to 108. Audra Cook is second on the list with 110 career starts, while Juli Grant holds the school record (113).

KLEIN HITS 30: Kailey Klein's 32 point effort against Detroit on Thursday extended her school-record of career 30-point games to eight. Klein, who has two 30-point games this season, hit 8-of-17 from the field and 15-of-16 at the free throw line. Her 32 point outburst against Detroit is the highest point total by a Horizon League player this season, while her 31 point effort against Loyola (Feb. 6) is the second highest.

KLEIN AT THE LINE: Kailey Klein holds the CSU career record for free throws made (556) and attempted (721), while her .785 percentage ranks fourth all-time. So it was a bit of a surprise when she was shooting just 60-percent (30-50) at the line at the conclusion of non-league games. However, since the Vikings began Horizon League play, Klein has been near automatic, hitting 83-of-102 (.814) from the charity stripe, moving into ninth in the league statistics in free throw percentage (.743; 113-152).

FOR STARTERS: Head coach Kate Peterson Abiad tinkered with her starting lineup on Thursday against Detroit, feeling a smaller, quicker lineup would match-up better with the Titans. Peterson Abiad inserted senior Angel Roque into the starting lineup and Roque responded by playing a career-high 45 minutes, finishing with eight points and six rebounds. It was Roque's second start this season (Niagara).

UNDER 40: When CSU held Youngstown State to 38 points on Feb. 20, it marked the second time this season that CSU held an opponent under 40 points. CSU defeated Ohio in the season opener, 56-34. It is the first time since 1978-79 that the Vikings held two opponents under 40 points in the same season. The 34 points vs. Ohio were the fewest given up by CSU since a 62-24 win over Ashland on Feb. 8, 1983.

CROSLEY HITS MILESTONE: Stephaine Crosley became the 15th player in school history to record 500 points and 500 rebounds in a career when she grabbed nine boards against Detroit on Thursday night. Crosley enters the Wright State contest with 543 points and 508 rebounds.

... AND IS ON THE MARK: Stephaine Crosley leads CSU in field goal percentage at .524 (77-147), ranking sixth in the league. She is attempting to become just the 11th player in school history to shoot better than 50-percent from the field in a season. Should she do it, it would mark the third straight season that a CSU player has shot 50-percent of better from the field, joining Dominique Butler (.500; 140-280) in 2007-08 and Shawnita Garland (.527; 150-290) last season.

LET'S PLAY TWO: It's too bad that the Vikings can't play more doubleheaders with the men's team as the women are 12-2 in twinbills with the men's squad going 11-3 in doubleheaders over the last three years. The only men's losses in a doubleheader came when the Vikings dropped a 55-49 decision to Wright State on Feb. 7, 2008 and this year when CSU fell to No. 8 West Virginia and to Detroit on Thursday night. The women's lone losses came to Green Bay in 2007-08 and 2008-09.

NCAA STATS: The most recent NCAA statistics were released on Monday (Feb. 22) and CSU was well represented. The Vikings are ranked 38th in the nation in assists (15.4), 43rd in assist-to-turnover ratio (0.9) and 96th in turnover margin (1.56). Individually, Kailey Klein is 77th in scoring (16.9), while Shawnita Garland is 26th in steals (2.8).

ON THE GLASS: CSU is tops in the league in rebounding margin at +2.5, putting the Vikings on pace to finish with a positive rebounding margin for just the seventh time in program history, but also for the second straight season. The only other time CSU had a positive rebounding margin in back-to-back seasons came in 1978-79 and 1979-80.

VIKINGS LIKE THE A.R.C.: The Vikings continued their torrid shooting at the Athletics & Recreation Center on the campus of Valparaiso on Feb. 11, shooting a season-best .537 (29-54) from the field. Over the last three seasons, the Vikings have combined to shoot .562 (86-153) from the field in three wins on the Crusaders home court. Last year, CSU shot. 581 (25-43) from the field, the third best percentage in a single game in school history.

GARLAND EFFICIENT: Shawnita Garland had a very efficient game at Valparaiso on Feb. 11, hitting 10-of-13 from the field for 22 points, just two shy of equaling her career high set earlier this season against Valparaiso. Garland, who added five rebounds and four steals, scored her 22 points in just 24 minutes.

SHE'S A STEAL: Shawnita Garland has made a Horizon League most 73 steals this season, ranking first in the league statistics with 2.8 per game. Garland, who is 26th in the nation is steals, made a league single-game high nine steals at Eastern Michigan (Dec. 29), tying her for the fourth most steals in a game in school history. Her nine steals are tied for the seventh most by a player in the country this season.

LOTS OF POINTS: The 82 point outburst at Valparaiso (Feb. 11) represented a season-high for the Vikings, bettering the old mark of 81 set in a win against Butler (Jan. 14). The Vikings have won eight straight contests in which they have reached the 80-point mark. The last time CSU lost a game when scoring 80 points was a 93-80 seback at UIC (3/6/08).

KING ME: Freshman Honesty King made the most of her playing time at Valparaiso on Feb. 11, playing the final 12 mintues. She scored eight points, hitting 3-of-4 from the field, including 2-of-3 from three-point, while also grabbing a career-high three rebounds. King had not played since the Jan. 22 win over Youngstown State.

ANOTHER GRAND: Kailey Klein continues to lead the league in minutes played this season at 36.3 per game. She has logged 945 minutes, needing 55 more to reach 1,000 minutes played for the third consecutive season. Klein is the only player in school history with two 1,000 minute seasons, but Shawnita Garland could reach that mark with 117 more minutes played this season. Garland logged 1,002 last year.

KLEIN MAINTAINS SCORING LEAD: Kailey Klein continues to lead the Horizon League in scoring at 17.5 points per game, holding a 2.2 ppg edge over Butler's Melanie Thornton (15.3). Klein, who has finished as the runner-up for the league scoring title in each of the last two seasons, is attempting to become the third scoring champion in school history and the first since 2001-02 when Erika Roudebush averaged 18.2 per game.

ON THE OFFENSIVE: CSU has excelled at offensive rebounding this season, as the Vikings lead the league with 14.4 per game. CSU has grabbed at least 10 offensive rebounds in 23 of 26 games this season, including 22 at Eastern Michigan and 21 against Ohio and Kent State. Stephaine Crosley ranks third in the league in offensive rebounding (2.8), while Shalonda Winton ranks seventh (2.5).

NICE COMEBACK: CSU trailed Valpo at the half, 44-36, when the two teams met at the Wolstein Center on Jan. 16, but rallied for a 71-68 victory. It marked just the second time this season that the Vikings won a game when trailing at the half and the largest halftime deficit overcome this year. The only other game CSU has won when trailing at the half was against Indiana (Dec. 19) when the Vikings went into the locker room down 34-33 and won 77-75 in overtime. CSU actually trailed the game against the Hoosiers, 66-59, with one minute left.

KLEIN NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK: For the third time this season and eighth time in her career, senior Kailey Klein picked up Horizon League Player of the Week honors when she earned the award on Feb. 8. Klein earned the award after averaging 26.0 points and 12.5 rebounds in games against UIC and Loyola, posting her sixth and seventh double-doubles of the season (12th & 13th of career). Klein recorded 21 points and 11 rebounds in CSU's 62-51 victory over UIC on Feb. 4 before scoring a season-high 31 points and grabbing a career-high 14 boards against Loyola on Feb. 6.

... FOR THE EIGHTH TIME IN HER CAREER: Kailey Klein's selection as the Horizon League Player of the Week on Feb. 8 extended her school record to eight career selections and moved her into a tie for third place for the most awards in league history with Carol Madsen of Xavier and Julie VonDielingen of Butler. Milwaukee's Traci Edwards holds the record with 10 honors, while Green Bay's Nicole Soulis is second with nine.

... KLEIN NEARS A TRIPLE DOUBLE: Kailey Klein flirted with a triple-double before finishing with 19 points, 12 rebounds and a career-high tying eight assists against Butler (Jan. 14). Earlier this season, Klein had 15 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in a win at Niagara (Dec. 15). There have been five triple-doubles in program history with Ashley Schrock recording the last one with 13 points, 13 boards and 10 assists vs. Wright State (2/15/03).

VIKINGS BUST BCS: CSU's win over Indiana (Dec. 19) was its first over a Bowl Championship Series Conference opponent since Dec. 30, 1996, when the Vikings knocked off Syracuse, 79-77. CSU defeated Louisville, 79-68, on Dec. 18, 2003, but the Cardinals were then a member of Conference USA. Prior to the win over Indiana, CSU had lost 18 straight to BCS schools, or those with major college football.

ROQUE EN FUEGO IN MEXICO: Jessica Roque did a majority of her damage against Iona (Nov. 27) from behind the three-point line, connecting on a school-record tying seven three's in eight attempts. Roque's .875 (7-8) percentage from beyond the arc was a CSU single game record and the seventh best by a Divison I player this season.

UP NEXT: CSU concludes the regular season with its annual trip to Wisconsin, playing at Milwaukee (March 4) and Green Bay (March 6).