Vikings Open Horizon League Championship Against UIC

CSU Is Fourth Seed in Tournament

Shawnita Garland leads the Horizon League with 87 steals this season.

March 9, 2010

Contact: Greg Murphy

Complete Release in PDF Format

GAME #30

2010 Speedway Horizon League Championship
No. 5 UIC (12-17) at No. 4 Cleveland State (16-13)
Date: Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Time: 7:00 p.m. EST
Site: Goodman Arena - Wolstein Center (8,500), Cleveland, Ohio
TV: Live video streaming available online through the HLN.
Radio: WHKW 1220 AM (David Wilson)
Series: UIC leads, 28-26
Promo: Pre-game tailgate
$1.00 hot dogs and $2.00 drafts at all concession stands
Last Mtg: @CSU 62, UIC 51 (2/4/10)
Tickets: Adults: $8
Non Horizon League students: $3
Students with valid Horizon
League I.D.: FREE

SETTING THE SCENE: Fourth-seeded Cleveland State begins play in the Speedway Horizon League Championship when the Vikings host fifth-seeded UIC on Wednesday (March 10) at 7:00 p.m. in the Wolstein Center in a quarterfinal match-up. The winner will advance to play in the semifinals against the winner of Wednesday's quarterfinal between top-seeded Green Bay and ninth-seeded Milwaukee. The Vikings enter the tournament with a 16-13 overall record, having won four of their last five contests, including a 74-56 win at Milwaukee on Thursday (March 4). CSU had its four-game win streak snapped at Green Bay on Saturday (March 6), falling 68-59. UIC is 12-17 overall, having lost three straight games and five of their last six. The Flames lead the all-time series with CSU, 28-26, but the Vikings have won five of the last six meetings, including an 80-60 victory over UIC in the quarterfinals last season.

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 (17.8 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 2.3 apg). Joining her in the starting backcourt are senior Jessica Roque (5.9, 2.8, 3.0) and junior Shawnita Garland (12.7, 4.7, 3.4), who joined Klein on the preseason all-league first team. Senior Angel Roque (6.9, 2.4, 2.3) gives the Vikings an experienced point guard, while freshman Honesty King (3.4 ppg) continues to work her way into the rotation after redshirting last season. Sophomore Janelle Adams (5.2, 3.9) is an athletic wing-forward who is being counted on to fill a bigger role this season and sophomore guard Takima Keane (2.5, 0.7) is beginning to receive more minutes as a wing-forward combo. Senior Stephaine Crosley (7.5, 5.8) is the most experienced post player on the roster and is joined in the starting frontcourt by freshman Shalonda Winton (6.2, 5.2). Sophomore Destinee Blue (2.0, 2.0) and freshman Kaila Montgomery (0.3, 0.5) provide CSU with a low post presence and solid interior defense off the bench.

KLEIN NAMED TO ALL-LEAGUE FIRST TEAM: Kailey Klein was named to the All-Horizon League first team for the third straight season after leading the league in scoring at 17.8 points per night, more than two points per game better than the second place scorer. In addition, she ranked sixth in rebounds (7.4), defensive rebounding (5.1) and blocked shots (0.7), while also checking in at seventh in offensive rebounding (2.3) and ninth in three-pointers made (1.4). Klein became just the eighth player in league history to earn first team all-league honors in three different seasons.

GARLAND ALSO PICKS UP LEAGUE HONORS: Shawnita Garland earned a spot on the postseason All-Horizon League second team for the second straight season, as well as garnering a spot on the league's all-defensive team for the second consecutive year. Garland ranked ninth in the league in scoring (12.7) and 10th in assists (3.4), while leading the league in steals with 87 (3.0 spg).

LUCKY NO. 4?: Perhaps the Vikings have luck on their side heading into the Horizon League Championship as the No. 4 seed. After all, the last time CSU was seeded fourth in 2008, the Vikings went on to capture their only league title in program history. CSU defeated Butler in the quarterfinals (79-68), won at Green Bay in the semifinals (90-66) and topped Wright State (70-56) in the championship game. The Vikings have been seeded fourth four times in school history and claim an all-time record of 4-3 at the tournament's No. 4 seed.

CSU IN HORIZON LEAGUE TOURNEY: Wednesday's game will mark the 15th year that Cleveland State has taken part in the Horizon League Championship with the Vikings owning a 9-14 record.

IN ALL TOURNAMENT PLAY: CSU has posted a 10-20 all-time record in 21 years of conference tournament play. CSU has won one postseason tournament title (2008) and has played in the championship game twice, a 79-72 loss to Green Bay in 2000, and a 70-55 win over Wright State in 2008. CSU has made it to the semifinals five times.

DEJA VU: Wednesday's quarterfinal between CSU and UIC may seem a little familiar as the same two teams played in the quarterfinals last season with the third seeded Vikings winning, 80-60. The two teams have played four times in the league tournament with UIC holding a 3-1 advantage.

QUITE A SENIOR CLASS: The senior class of Stephaine Crosley, Kailey Klein, Angel Roque and Jessica Roque were honored prior to the Wright State game on Feb. 27 prior to playing their final regular season home game. 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 62 wins over the last four seasons, including the 2008 Horizon League Championship and CSU's first-ever bid to the NCAA tournament. The 62 victories are the second most by a senior class in school history, trailing the 65 wins by the seniors on the 1982-83 squad.

NCAA STATS: The most recent NCAA statistics were released on Monday (March 8) and the Vikings rank 35th in assists (15.3), 57th in assist-to-turnover ratio (0.88), 80th steals (9.5), 90th in rebound margin (2.8) and 101st in turnover margin (1.48). Individually, Kailey Klein is ranked 46th in the country in scoring (17.8) and 168th in rebounding (7.4), while Shawnita Garland checks in at 17th in steals (3.0).

2K FOR K2: Kailey Klein moved into second place on the all-time scoring list in Horizon League history last weekend and enters the league tournament with 2,029 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) is the only other player in league history to reach the mark (2,018).

KLEIN ADDS TO CAREER SCORING MARK: Kailey Klein's 23 points at Green Bay on Saturday allowed the Cherry, Ill., native to extend the all-time scoring mark in CSU history. Klein, who now has 2,029 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.

KLEIN & ROQUE TO EXTEND SCHOOL RECORD: Seniors Kailey Klein and Jessica Roque will extend their school record for career games played on Wednesday when they take the court against UIC. The duo will be playing in the 123rd game.

... AND START NO. 111 NEXT FOR KLEIN: When Kailey Klein is announced as a starter for Wednesday's game against UIC, she will move into second place on the all-time list at CSU for games started with 111. Klein, who came off the bench for the first 13 games of her career, will run her streak of consecutive starts to 111, while also moving within two games of tying Juli Grant's school record of 113 career starts.

500 ... 500 ... 500: Kailey Klein became the first player in school history to score 500 points in three different seasons over the weekend. Klein scored 654 points as a sophomore, the highest single season total in school history, added 542 points last season and has scored 515 points this season.

KLEIN AT THE LINE: Kailey Klein holds the CSU career record for free throws made (580) and attempted (735), while her .789 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 97-of-116 (.836) from the charity stripe, allowing her to improve to 77-percent (127-166) this season.

11 IN THE LEAGUE: Cleveland State's win at Milwaukee on Thursday night allowed the Vikings to win their 11th league game, the second most in a season in school history. CSU has now won at least 10 league games in three straight seasons, a school record. The streak began with 10 wins in 2007-08 (the third highest total in school history) and continued last year when CSU won a school-record 12 league games.

SHE'S A STEAL: Shawnita Garland has made a Horizon League most 87 steals this season, tied for the 10th most in a single season at CSU. Garland, who ranks 17th in the nation in steals per game (3.0), made a league single-game high nine thefts at Eastern Michigan (Dec. 29), tying her for the fourth most steals in a game in school history. She has picked up her defense of late, making 36 steals over the last eight games (4.5 spg) and has multiple steals in 23 of the 29 games this season.

ON THE GLASS: CSU is tops in the league in rebounding margin at +2.8, putting the Vikings on pace to finish with a positive rebounding margin for just the seventh time in program history, including 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.

ON THE OFFENSIVE: CSU has excelled at offensive rebounding this season, as the Vikings lead the league with 14.1 per game. CSU has grabbed at least 10 offensive rebounds in 24 of 29 games this season, including 22 at Eastern Michigan and 21 against Ohio and Kent State. Individually, Stephaine Crosley ranks fourth in the Horizon League in offensive rebounds (2.6), while Shalonda Winton and Kailey Klein are tied for seventh (2.3).

ANOTHER WINNING SEASON: CSU's win at Milwaukee on March 4 allowed the Vikings to clinch their third consecutive winning season, a first in school history. The streak started with the Vikings going 19-14 in 2007-08 and 19-13 last season.

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 Feb. 25. Crosley enters the league tournament with 565 points and 518 rebounds.

... AND IS ON THE MARK: Stephaine Crosley leads CSU in field goal percentage at .537 (87-162), 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.

ANOTHER GRAND: Kailey Klein continues to lead the Horizon League in minutes played (36.1) and went past the 1,000 minute mark last week in Wisconsin. Klein, who has logged 1,046 minutes this season (5th all-time at CSU), is the only player in school history to play 1,000 minutes in three separate seasons. She has played a school-record 3,934 minutes in her career.

... AND GARLAND CLOSING IN: Shawnita Garland is closing in on her second consecutive season of playing 1,000 minutes. Garland, who has played 977 minutes this season, logged 1,002 minutes last year, the eighth most in school history. She would join Klein as the only players in school history with multiple 1,000 minute seasons.

HOME SWEET HOME: CSU enters Wednesday's game with a 10-3 mark at home, one win shy of equaling the school record for home wins in a season. The 2008-09 1988-89 and 1980-81 teams hold the record with 11 wins. The 21 wins at home over the last two seasons represent the best two-year stretch in school history.

KLEIN HITS 30: Kailey Klein's 32 point effort against Detroit on Feb. 25 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.

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).

KLEIN MAINTAINS SCORING LEAD: Kailey Klein continues to lead the Horizon League in scoring at 17.8 points per game, holding a 2.1 ppg edge over Butler's Melanie Thornton (15.7). 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.

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 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.

WINTON DOUBLES UP: Freshman Shalonda Winton put together one of her best all-around efforts to date in the Jan. 22 win over Youngstown State, notching her first career double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds, adding a career-high tying three steals. Her 13 rebounds were one shy of her career-high of 14 vs. Indiana (Dec. 19).

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.

VIKINGS LIKE THE A.R.C.: CSU continued its torrid shooting at Valparaiso's Athletics & Recreation Center 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.

KLEIN NAMED CSU ATHLETE OF THE MONTH FOR FEBRUARY: Kailey Klein earned the Female Athlete of the Month Award at CSU in February after averaging 24.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists, helping the Vikings go 5-2. Klein had four double-doubles in, including a 32 point, 10 rebound effort in a win over then first place Detroit on Feb. 25. In addition, she became the all-time leading scorer in CSU history against Loyola (Feb. 6) and was a two-time Horizon League Player of the Week selection in February.

... AND JANURAY: Kailey Klein was named the CSU Female Athlete of the Month for January after averaging16.8 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists in nine games, helping CSU to a 5-4 mark. She had double-doubles at Loyola and at UIC, including 28 points with 11 rebounds against the Ramblers. Her performances in Chicago helped Klein earn Horizon League Player of the Week honors. In addition, Klein added a double-double of 19 points and 12 boards in win over Butler.

... AND GARLAND GETS IT IN DECEMBER: Shawnita Garland picked up CSU's Female Athlete of the Month honor in December after averaging 12.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.0 steals in five December games. She recorded her first career double-double with 13 points and a career-high 12 rebounds at Niagara and then played a career-high 44 minutes, scoring 15 points in a win over Indiana. Garland also flirted with a rare quadruple-double at Eastern Michigan on Dec. 29, finishing with 14 points, nine steals, seven assists and six boards.

NINE IS FINE FOR KLEIN: Kailey Klein's selection as the Horizon League Player of the Week on March 1 extended her school record to nine career selections and moved her into a tie for second place for the most awards in league history with Nicole Soulis of Green Bay. Milwaukee's Traci Edwards holds the record with 10 career awards.

A HELPING HAND: Despite having her streak of scoring in double figures snapped at nine at UIC (Jan. 9), Shawnita Garland had a huge effect on the game, dishing out a career-high eight assists. More impressive was that she did not have a turnover.

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: Should the Vikings win on Wednesday night, CSU would advance to the semifinals to play top-seeded Green Bay or ninth-seeded Milwaukee.