March 17, 2010
Contact: Greg Murphy
Complete Release in PDF Format
NCAA KANSAS CITY REGIONAL
Date: Sunday, March 21, 2010 SETTING THE SCENE: Cleveland State will play in the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship for the second time in the last three seasons when the 15th-seeded Vikings travel to second-seeded Notre Dame for an opening round game on Sunday, March 21, beginning at approximately 2:50 p.m. in Purcell Pavillion at the Joyce Center. The game, part of the Kansas City Regional, will follow Sunday's first game between No. 7 Wisconsin and No. 10 Vermont with the two winners playing for a spot in the regional semifinals on Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. at Notre Dame. The Vikings enter the tournament playing their best basketball of the season, winning seven of their last eight contests, including three games last week to claim their second Horizon League Championship in the last three seasons. CSU enters the NCAA Championship at 19-13 overall, marking the third straight year that the Vikings have won 19 games, tied for the second most in a single season in school history. This will be the sixth meeting between CSU and Notre Dame with the Fighting Irish winning the previous five match-ups. UND is 27-5 overall and placed fourth in the Big East with a 12-4 mark. PREVIEWING CLEVELAND STATE: For the second time in the last three seasons, Cleveland State will be playing in the NCAA Championship by virtue of winning the league's automatic bid. CSU's strength is built around its four seniors, led by three-time first team All-Horizon League selection Kailey Klein (18.6 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 2.3 apg). Joining her in the starting backcourt are senior twin sisters Jessica Roque (6.1, 2.6, 2.9) and Angel Roque (7.1, 2.5, 2.6) and junior Shawnita Garland (12.9, 4.9, 3.3), a second team all-league pick. Senior Stephaine Crosley (7.3, 5.8) is the most experienced post player on the roster and is joined in the frontcourt by sophomore Destinee Blue (2.0, 2.0) and freshmen Shalonda Winton (6.1, 4.9) and Kaila Montgomery (0.3, 0.5).Freshman guard Honesty King (3.4 ppg) continues to work her way into the rotation after redshirting last season, while sophomore Janelle Adams (5.0, 3.8) is an athletic wing-forward who has filled a bigger role this season. Sophomore Takima Keane (2.2, 0.7) provides depth as a wing-forward combo who can stretch the defense with her shooting. THE HEAD COACH: Kate Peterson Abiad is in her seventh year at the helm of the CSU women's basketball program and claims an all-time record of 85-127. She has built CSU into one of the top programs in the Horizon League, leading the Vikings to two of the last three league titles and the first two bids to the NCAA tournament in program history. Peterson Abiad has led the Vikings to 19 wins in each of the last three seasons, tied for the second most in a single season in school history. The sixth head coach in school history, she spent six years as an assistant coach at Wisconsin, serving as the recruiting coordinator starting in 1998 after working as an assistant coach at Eastern Illinois (1993-97) and Indiana (1991-93). A 1991 graduate of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Peterson Abiad earned Kodak All-America honors her senior season after setting the NCAA Division III record for three-pointers per game at 3.85. ... ADDS ONE TO THE FAMILY: Head coach Kate Peterson Abiad and her husband, CSU assistant volleyball coach Phil Abiad, received a special addition to their family right before the academic year began when the couple welcomed their first child, daughter Mea Grace, to their family on Aug. 15, 2009. A LOOK AT THE BRACKET: The winner of Sunday's first round game between CSU and Notre Dame will advance to the round of 32 and face the winner of seventh-seeded Wisconsin and 10th-seeded Vermont in the second round on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. That winner will advance to the Regional Semifinal next week in Kansas City, Mo. VIKINGS vs. THE FIELD: The Vikings faced two teams in the 64-team field this season, going a combined 1-3. CSU went 1-2 against Green Bay, the 12th seed in the Dayton Regional, and lost at Wisconsin, the seventh-seed in the Kansas City Regional. MVP, MVP, MVP: After being slighted in the Horizon League Player of the Year voting, Kailey Klein produced one of the most dominating performances in Horizon League tournament history en route to claiming the Most Valuable Player award. Klein, who was also the tournament MVP in 2008, averaged 26.7 points and 6.0 rebounds in three games, scoring a league tournament record 80 points. She began her tournament run with 29 points in a quarterfinal win over UIC (March 10) before adding 28 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals in the semifinal win at Green Bay (March 12). Klein capped the league tournament with 23 points and 10 rebounds in the title game against Butler (March 14). She was the U.S. Army Player of the Game in all three contests. In addition, she became just the second player in league history to earn tournament MVP honors two times, joining Notre Dame's Krissi Davis (1989 & 1991). GARLAND ON ALL-TOURNEY TEAM: Junior Shawnita Garland joined Kailey Klein on the five-player all-tournament team after averaging 15.7 points, 8.7 rebounds and 3.0 steals per game. Garland had 10 points, nine rebounds and five steals in the quarterfinal win over UIC, adding 21 points and six rebounds in the semifinal win at Green Bay. In Sunday's championship, Garland finished with 16 points and seven boards. 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 a school record 65 wins over the last four seasons, including the 2008 & 2010 Horizon League Championship and CSU's first two bids to the NCAA tournament. The 65 victories are tied for the most by a senior class in school history (1982-83). NCAA STATS: The most recent NCAA statistics were released on Monday (March 15) and the Vikings rank 28th in assists (15.6), 44th in assist-to-turnover ratio (0.91), 68th steals (9.6), 96th in turnover margin (1.59) and 99th in rebound margin (2.3). Individually, Kailey Klein is 24th in the country in scoring (18.6) and 179th in rebounding (7.3), while Shawnita Garland checks in at 18th in steals (3.0). 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 18.6 points per night, more than three points per game better than the second place scorer. In addition, she ranks sixth in rebounds (7.3) and defensive rebounding (5.0), seventh in blocked shots (0.7) and ninth in three-pointers made (1.5) and offensive rebounding (2.3). 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 ranks ninth in the league in scoring (13.0) and 10th in assists (3.3), while leading the league in steals with 96 (3.0 spg). LUCKY NO. 4: Perhaps the Vikings should just try to finish in fourth place in the league standings. After all, CSU has captured the last two league championships when seeded fourth (2008 & 2010). In 2008, the Vikings 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. This year, CSU defeated UIC at home, 78-72, in the quarterfinals before an overtime win at Green Bay in the semifinals (83-75) and a 66-59 win over Butler in the title game. The Vikings have been seeded fourth four times in school history and claim an all-time record of 7-2 as the tournament's No. 4 seed. TOURNEY TIME: Kailey Klein always seems to up her game when the lights are the brightest and the league tournament was a great example. In nine career Horizon League tournament contests, Klein averaged 20.8 points and 6.7 rebounds per game, helping the Vikings go 6-3, including two tournament titles. She was the MVP of the tournament in 2008 and 2010. ROQUE GOES DOWNTOWN: Senior Jessica Roque turned in a clutch performance in Sunday's Horizon League Championship game against Butler, scoring 16 points, including a perfect 4-for-4 effort from three-point. Roque, who has made her last five three-point attempts, ranks seventh in school history with 132 three-pointers made. RIGHT AFTER HER TWIN SISTER: Jessica Roque's performance came just two days after her twin sister, Angel, turned in one of her best all-around performances in the semifinal win over Green Bay (March 12). Angel Roque played all 45 minutes against the Phoenix, finishing with 12 points, six assists and five rebounds. She hit 4-of-7 from three-point, including a three that gave the Vikings a six point lead (79-73) with 29 seconds left in overtime. Roque has started the last seven games with CSU going 6-1 in those contests. WORKING OVERTIME: The Vikings improved to 3-0 in overtime games this season with a 83-75 win at Green Bay in the league semifinals on March 12. CSU, which also won at home against both Indiana and Detroit in overtime this season, is 16-15 all-time in games that go to overtime. The three overtime games are tied for the most in a single season along with the 1995-96 and 1996-97 seasons. CSU was also 3-0 in 1996-97. HOT, HOT, HOT: CSU shot a season-best .596 (31-52) from the field in the March 12 win over Green Bay, marking the second best shooting performance by a Viking team in school history. The record is .627 (32-51) at Niagara on Jan. 21, 1980. CSU was near flawless after the first half, hitting 15-of-20 (.750) in the second half against Green Bay and then making five of their six attempts (.833) in overtime. ... ESPECIALLY FROM THREE: The Vikings hit a season-high 10 three-pointers at Green Bay (March 12) in the league semifinals, connecting on 56-percent from behind the arc (10-18). CSU hit just 1-of-7 in the first half, but went on to nail 7-of-8 three's in the second half and 2-of-3 in overtime. THE ONLY TWO: Cleveland State is one of two teams in the Horizon League to reach the semifinals of the Horizon League Championship in each of the last three seasons, joining Green Bay. CSU won the title in 2008 and 2010, while Green Bay claimed it last season. THE KRESS IN MARCH: CSU's semifinal win over Green Bay on March 12 snapped the Phoenix's 27 game home win streak, which went all the way back to the last time the Vikings won at the Kress Events Center, a 90-66 win in the 2008 Horizon League semifinals. In three seasons at the Kress Events Center, Green Bay is 46-5 with two of the losses coming to CSU. The Vikings are the only visiting team who has won more than once in the Kress Events Center. 2K FOR K2: Kailey Klein moved into second place on the all-time scoring list in Horizon League history two weeks ago and enters the NCAA tournament with 2,109 career points. Former Milwaukee standout Traci Edwards (2005-09) is the all-time leading scorer in Horizon 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 against Butler in the league title game allowed the Cherry, Ill., native to extend the CSU career scoring mark. Klein, who now has 2,109 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. SHE'S A STEAL: Shawnita Garland has made a Horizon League most 96 steals this season, the fourth highest total in a single season at CSU. Garland, who ranks 18th 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 45 steals over the last 11 games (4.1 spg) and has multiple steals in 26 of the 32 games this season. KLEIN & ROQUE TO EXTEND SCHOOL RECORD: Seniors Kailey Klein and Jessica Roque will extend their school record for career games played on Sunday when they take the court against Notre Dame for their 126th career game. The old record was 120 games by current graduate manager Brittany Korth (2004-08). ... AND KLEIN TO BREAK START RECORD: Kailey Klein will add yet another school record to her resume when she is announced as a starter for Sunday's NCAA tournament game at Notre Dame. Klein will be making her 114th career start, breaking the current CSU record of 113 she shares with Juli Grant (1995-00). 500 ... 500 ... 500: Kailey Klein became the first player in school history to score 500 points in three different seasons two weeks ago. Klein scored 654 points as a sophomore, the highest single season total in school history, added 542 points last season, the seventh highest total in CSU history, and has scored 595 points this season, the third most in a single season. With five more points, she will be the first player in school history with two seasons of at least 600 points. KLEIN AT THE LINE: Kailey Klein holds the CSU career record for free throws made (599) and attempted (755), while her .793 percentage ranks third 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 116-of-136 (.853) from the charity stripe, allowing her to improve to 78-percent (146-186) this season, ranking eighth in the Horizon League. 11 IN THE LEAGUE: Cleveland State's win at Milwaukee on March 4 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. CROSLEY ON THE MARK: Stephaine Crosley is seventh in the league in field goal percentage at .525 (95-181), and is attempting to become 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 or better, joining Dominique Butler (.500; 140-280) in 2007-08 and Shawnita Garland (.527; 150-290) last season. ON THE GLASS: CSU ranks second in the league in rebounding margin at +2.3, 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 13.6 per game. CSU has grabbed at least 10 offensive boards in 25 of 32 games, 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 Kailey Klein is eighth (2.3) in the league statistics. 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 continued with CSU's 19-13 record last season. KLEIN TOPS LEAGUE: Kailey Klein is set to lead the Horizon League in scoring after finishing as the runner-up in each of the last two seasons. She enters the NCAA tournament averaging 18.6 points per game, more than three points better than Butler's Melanie Thornton (15.3). Klein will become the third league scoring champ in school history and the first since 2001-02 (Erika Roudebush; 18.2 ppg). LOTS OF POINTS: The 83 point outburst against Green Bay in the league semifinals on March 12 represented a season-high for the Vikings, bettering the old mark of 82 set in a win at Valparaiso (Feb. 11). The Vikings have won nine 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). HOME SWEET HOME: CSU's win over UIC on March 10 allowed the Vikings to finish their home slate at 11-3, tying the school record for most home wins in a season. The 2008-09, 1988-89 and 1980-81 teams also won 11 home games. The 22 home wins over the last two seasons represent the best two-year stretch in CSU history. ANOTHER GRAND: Kailey Klein just keeps on playing and continues to lead the Horizon League in minutes played (36.6). In addition, she set a CSU record for most minutes played in a season after playing all 125 minutes in the Vikings three league tournament contests. Klein has played at least 40 minutes in 15 games this season, including four straight. She has now played 1,171 minutes this season and is the only player in school history with three seasons of 1,000 minutes. Klein has played a school-record 4,059 minutes in her career. ... AND GARLAND GETS 1,000 TOO: After playing all 40 minutes against UIC on March 10, Shawnita Garland joined Kailey Klein as the only players in school history with multiple 1,000 minute seasons. Garland, who has played 1,094 minutes this year, logged 1,002 minutes as a sophomore. KLEIN HITS 30: Kailey Klein's 32 point effort versus 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. ... 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. DOUBLING UP: 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. 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 the largest halftime deficit CSU overcame this year. CSU has won three other games when trailing at the half this season, including Dec. 19 over Indiana when they trailed at the half, 34-33, and two league tournament games. The Vikings were down to UIC in the quarterfinals, 37-31, before rallying to win, and trailed Green Bay in the semifinals, 30-28. VIKINGS LIKE THE A.R.C.: CSU continued its torrid shooting at Valparaiso's Athletics & Recreation Center on Feb. 11, shooting .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 fourth best 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 JANUARY: 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: 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 at Notre Dame on Sunday afternoon, CSU would advance to the second round of the NCAA tournament and face the winner of Sunday's other first round game between seventh-seeded Wisconsin and 10th-seeded Vermont. The second round game is scheduled for Tuesday, March 23, at 7:00 p.m. in Notre Dame's Joyce Center.
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