Nov. 9, 2008

Welcome to my first-ever live blog. I will be writing updates about the Cleveland State women's basketball exhibition game against Lake Erie today at the Wolstein Center.

2:58 p.m. The starting lineup for the Vikings is being announced. In the backcourt are juniors Angel Roque, Jessica Roque and Kailey Klein with senior Dominique Butler and junior Stephaine Crosley up front. That's a lot of experience. Angel Roque, Klein and Butler started all 33 games last season, Jessica Roque started all 30 games as a freshman and Crosley started the first nine games of her freshman season before an injury sidelined her.

3:00 p.m. JUMP BALL!! Stephanie Crosley is jumping center with LEC's Stephanie Rogers and Rogers controls the tip.

3:03 p.m. After two turnovers and two missed shots, LEC's Britt Burson hits a three-pointer from the left wing to start the scoring.

3:05 p.m. Jessica Roque hits a three-pointer from the left wing for CSU's first points of the game. Roque has one of the purest shots on the team and will be counted on to give the Vikings an outside shooting threat.

3:09 p.m. We have hit the first media timeout with 15:17 left in the first half and LEC up 8-7. It's a bit sloppy on both ends as the teams have combined for five turnovers. But, that's what exhibition games are for as the coaches try to feel things out and get comfortable with the new season.

3:15 p.m. Another media timeout with CSU up 13-12. Freshman Janelle Adams made a quick impression in her collegiate debut hitting a pair of baskets for four quick points. But she waas also a little overagreesive on the defensive end, picking up two quick fouls as well and was forced back to the bench after just three minutes of action. But a nice contribution from Adams and if the Vikings can get some good things out of her, she will compliment the rotation well.

3:17 p.m. WOW!! Does Shawnita Garland look great in her first action. She has come up with two quick steals and has six points to tie for game-high honors. She has two layups in transition after the steals and just converted another layup on a backdoor cut. She will receive huge minutes this season as the Sixth Person and with contributions like this, she could be a serious candidate for Horizon League Sixth Player of the Year honors.

3:21 p.m. Another bucket for Shawnita Garland. This time, a jumper from the right wing. That is another dimension that Garland can add to her game as she is already one of the quickest guards in the conference.

3:25 p.m. The third media timeout of the half and the Vikings still lead, 19-14. Two key stats that standout on the statpage (and thanks to our statisticians Ken Dewey and Ken Laskey), the Vikings hold a 12-2 advantage in points in the paint and an 8-0 lead in points off turnovers. Lake Erie has turned the ball over nine times and CSU has been able to take advantage of those turnovers. Oh yeah, CSU has also outscored the Storm's bench, 12-0, thanks in large part to Garland's eight points in eight minutes.

3:28 p.m. There it is. Kailey Klein is finally on the scoreboard after hitting a 15-foot jumper from the baseline. Klein set a school-record with 654 points last season, which was also the second highest total in Horizon League history. She is just 28 points shy of becoming the 20th player in school history to score 1,000 points for her career. Although that was her first bucket of the game, Klein has also contributed three rebounds and two assists. She will most likely see an increase in her assist total this year as Klein will most likely face a plethora of double teams and will have many opportunities to find open teammates.

3:31 p.m. HAHA!! I feel like a prophet. Just three minutes ago, I wrote about how Klein's assist total will most likely increase this year because of defenses keying on her. Well, she just picked up her third assist of the game as she found a cutting Stephaine Crosley for an easy layup.

3:37 p.m. There is 2:27 left in the first half and freshman Kaila Montgomery checks into the game. She is the fifth out of five freshman on the CSU roster to enter the game. The Vikings will need two if not three of these freshman to step-up and make significant contributions this year. We've already seen some good thing out of Janelle Adams earlier in the game before she had to go to the bench with two fouls.

3:41 p.m. It's halftime and CSU leads, 35-22. Back with a few observations from the first half in a couple minutes.

3:56 p.m. The second half just got underway and here are a few observations about the first half. The Vikings got off to a slow start, but once the nerves were settled, they began to play much better. CSU shot 50 percent (16-32) from the field, which is remarkable. They also hit 3-of-9 from three point, including 2-of-3 from Jessica Roque. CSU's used a pretty tenacious defense to force 13 LEC turnovers and outrebounded the Storm, 21-12. Even better, CSU gave up just two offensive rebounds the entire half and no second chance points. half in a couple minutes.

4:04 p.m. Dominique Butler has been firly quiet thusfar, but has gotten off to a nice start here in the second half. She just hit a 12 foot jumper from the left elbow after knocking down a jumper to start the half. Although the points may not be there yet, Butler is making her prescence felt with five reboundsand a steal. And just as I type that, Butler makes another cut to the basket and Klein finds her wide open for an easy bucket. It is Klein's fourth assist.

4:09 p.m. Following the media timeout, CSU gets a stop and Jessica Roque grabs the rebound. She throws a quick outlet pass to her twin sister, Angel, who finds Kailey Klein breaking free down the court for an easy layup. Klein converts for her 10th and 11th points, becoming the first player in the game to reach double figures and push the CSU lead to 43-24.

4:11 p.m. But just like that, the Storm comes back with five quick points to cut the lead back to 43-29.

4:12 p.m. Dominique Butler is starting to heat up. With LEC implying a full court press, the Viings break it easily with Butler dribbling almost the length of the court before pulling up and hitting a 10-footer from the left wing. She is so smooth and fluid on the court and has the ability to be a 15 point per game scorer.

4:13 p.m. A media timeout ... and it could not come at a better time for Lake Erie. In fact, head coach Bob Booher just called a timeout of his own, but it got pre-empted by the media timeout. The Vikings have used a full court press this half and has the Storm confused, forcing six turnovers and giving up just seven points this half. CSU looks very quick on the defensive end and the Storm appears to be uncomfortable with the pressure.

4:16 p.m. Lake Erie is running a full court press of their own, but the Viking execute a perfect press break. CSU gets the ball to Jessica Roque in the middle of the court with Shawnita Garland and Janelle Adams running down the sidelines. Roque throws a quick pass to Garland on the righthand sideline and she finds Adams streaking to the basket for a 2-on-1 layup. Head coach Kate Peterson Abiad has got to be thrilled with the execution on that press break.

4:19 p.m. Janelle Adams is playing herself right into the rotation. The freshman grabbed a rebound on the defensive end, took three dribbles to just before midcourt and threaded a bouncepass ahead to Shawnita Garland who took it in for an uncontested layup. In about five minutes of action today, Adams has eight points (on 4-for-4 shooting), two rebounds and one assist. The only downside to her performance today are her three fouls. But hey, she is being aggressive on the defensive end and nobody can fault her there.

4:24 p.m. Some more from Janelle Adams. She threaded another pass to a cutting Natalie Miller that Miller converted into a layup. Her pass reminded me of several that former CSU guard Brittany Korth threw last season en route to finishing third in the league in assists. It seems that Adams has a nice grasp on the offense already and could have a leg up to being the second player off the bench, behind Garland. In fact, those two have combined for 18 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the field, as well as six rebounds and six assists. Not bad for the first two players off the bench.

4:27 p.m. Get this ... another Janelle Adams update. This time, the freshman nailed her first three pointer of the game and is now tied with Kailey Klein with game-high honors with 11 points. So far, not a bad debut for Adams in the Green and White.

4:30 p.m. Take note ... Janelle Adams is a player!! This time, she steps in front of a pass just beyond midcourt for a steal and breakaway layup. It's a game-high 13 points for the Milwaukee freshman. After another LEC turnover, Adams is replaced by Honesty King. Adams' line... 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting, including 1-of-1 from three-point, with three assists and two boards. I think she is going to figure prominently into Peterson Abiad's plans for this season.

4:36 p.m. The final media timeout is upon us at the Wolstein Center. And it looks like Peterson Abiad is going to play it out with four of her five freshman on the floor ... Honesty King, Takima Keane, Destinee Blue and Kaila Montgomery. They are being joined by Jessica Roque. This is a good time for the freshman to get their feet wet and learn some more about the college game.

4:44 p.m. CSU wins its only exhibition game of the season, 79-46, over Lake Erie. A good start for the Vikings, but things get much tougher from here on out. CSU opens the regular season on Friday, Nov. 14, when the Vikings head to Tempe, Ariz., for an opening round game in the Preseason WNIT against 17th-ranked Arizona State.