Jan. 29, 2008

Contact: Greg Murphy

Complete Release in PDF Format

SETTING THE SCENE: Cleveland State returns to the road and concludes the first round of league play when the Vikings begin a two-game roadtrip at Butler on Thursday, Jan. 31. Tipoff is slated for 7:00 p.m. in Hinkle Fieldhouse. Butler leads the all-time series, 18-8, including eight straight wins and five consecutive home wins. The Vikings are in third place in the league standings, one-half game behind second place Milwaukee and a game-and-a-half behind league leader Green Bay.

PREVIEWING CLEVELAND STATE: Cleveland State has made huge strides from last season's 8-22 team, having already surpassed that win total (11-7) and standing four games over .500 after 17 games for the first time since 1999-2000. With the return of four starters, head coach Kate Peterson Abiad has experience at every position on the floor and a solid bench that she can rely on at any point during the game. Sophomore guard Kailey Klein (17.9 ppg, 5.5 rpg) leads the returnees, as she is second in the league in scoring. She is joined in the backcourt by senior Brittany Korth (9.3, 4.6, 3.9 apg) and sophomore Angel Roque (6.0, 2.3 apg), who has set the defensive tone for the Vikings this season with her ball pressure out front. Junior Dominique Butler (9.7, 6.3) and senior Robyn Hoying (6.0, 3.1) have started all 18 games in the frontcourt. CSU has received tremendous production from its bench, led by sophomore forward Stephaine Crosley (5.6, 4.2) and freshman guard Shawnita Garland (4.2, 2.0). Sophomore Jessica Roque (3.8, 1.9) has also received minutes in the backcourt, while junior Natalie Miller (2.5, 1.5) provides depth at the wing-forward spot.

THE HEAD COACH: Kate Peterson Abiad is in her fifth year as the head coach at CSU. She claims an overall record of 39-94 and ranks third all-time in coaching victories at Cleveland State. Prior to arriving at CSU, Peterson Abiad spent six years as an assistant at Wisconsin, serving as the recruiting coordinator starting in 1998. While in Madison, she helped lead the Badgers to the NCAA Tournament three times and to the 2000 WNIT championship. 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 as a senior after setting the NCAA Division III record for three-point field goals per game (3.85).

HOYING TO HIT CENTURY MARK: If Robyn Hoying plays in Thursday's game at Butler - and the chances are fairly good as she has started all 18 games this season - it will be Hoying's 100th career game. She will be the second CSU player to reach that milestone this season, joining Brittany Korth who played in her 100th career gameon Jan. 5 against UIC.

SPEAKING OF KORTH: If Brittany Korth draws another starting assignment on Thursday night at Butler, she will move into a tie for sixth place on the all-time list at CSU for most career starts with 85, joining Erin Martin, Ashley Schrock and Mahogany Green. Korth would then need seven more starts to move past Terri Miller and into fifth place.

DOUBLE TROUBLE: Kailey Klein added another first to her career on Saturday when she recorded her first career double-double in a 77-64 win over Youngstown State. Klein finished with a game-high 30 points, just three shy of her career-high, and added a career-best 11 rebounds. Klein is the third CSU player to tally a double-double this season, joining Stephaine Crosley, who had 11 points and 13 rebounds at IUPUI (12/5), and Robyn Hoying, who totaled 20 points and 10 boards at Green Bay (1/10).

VIKINGS GO BACK-TO-BACK: The Vikings have gone 5-2 during the month of January and have assured themselves of their second consecutive winning month as Thursday's game at Butler is the final game in January for CSU. The Vikings, who went 4-2 in December, have posted back-to-back winning months for the first time since November (3-1) and December (5-2) of 1999. CSU has not put together three consecutive winning months since December of 1983 through February of 1984.

HOME WIN STREAK REACHES SIX: The Vikings extended their home win streak to six straight with Saturday's win over Youngstown State. CSU, which is 7-2 at home this season, including a perfect 5-0 in league play, has not won seven straight at home since the end of the 1997-98 season and beginning of the 1998-99 campaign. The Vikings have already surpassed their home win total from a season ago (6-9). The school-record for home wins in a season is 11, held by the 1980-81 and 1998-99 teams.

MAKE IT 11: Saturday's win over Youngstown State improved the Vikings to 11-7 overall, giving CSU three more wins than it posted all of last season (8-22). It is the first time CSU has reached double-digit wins since 2003-04, when the Vikings finished 12-16 in Kate Peterson Abiad's first season at the helm.

AND ONE MORE LEAGUE WIN...: Would allow the Vikings to surpass their Horizon League win total from a season ago (5-11).

THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE: CSU is the best free throw shooting team in the league, hitting 266-of-336 attempts for a .792 percentage, a far cry from last season's .684 (425-621) percentage from the line. In fact, the Vikings, who are also ranked fifth in the nation in free throw percentage, are shooting better from the free throw line than all but four NBA teams. CSU is on pace to shatter the school-record for free throw percentage in a season, currently held by the 2000-01 squad which shot .728 (480-659).

.700 CLUB: The Vikings have had just three seasons (out of 34) in which they have finished with a free throw percentage better than .700. The last time it happened was the 2003-04 season when CSU hit .709 (406-573). The other two seasons were 2000-01 (480-659; .728) and 2001-02 (442-617; .716).

LIVING AT THE LINE: CSU has dominated from the free throw line in its seven league games this season, hitting 97-of-120 (.808). In contrast, opponents have attempted just 96 total free throws in league play against the Vikings, meaning CSU has made one more free throw than its opponents have combined to attempt.

FREE THROWS ARE A TEAM EFFORT: The Vikings have made it a true team effort to lead the league in free throw percentage as eight players are shooting better than .700 from the line. However, only Kailey Klein ranks among the league leaders in free throw percentage, ranking third at .849 (107-126). No other player has made the minimum of 2.0 free throws per game to be ranked among the leaders. Stephaine Crosley is second on the team with 30 made free throws.

WHAT A START: Following a 63-60 setback at Buffalo on Dec. 15, the Vikings were just 3-5, but since that time, CSU has rattled off wins in eight of its last 10 games to improve to 11-7. It is the first time since Dec. 29, 1983 - Feb. 4, 1984 that CSU has put together a streak of eight wins in 10 games. The start equals CSU's best since the 1999-2000 team also opened 11-7. The last time a Viking team began the season with a better record was 1983-84 (13-5).

DEFENSIVE MINDED: The Vikings continue to be one of the top defensive teams in the league, ranking first in opponent field goal percentage (.383) and steals (10.61) and fourth in scoring defense (62.1), just 1.3 points behind league leader Butler (60.8). The Vikings have allowed only four teams to shoot better than .400 from the field and have held four teams under 50 points. Last season, CSU allowed teams to shoot better than .400 on 19 occasions and better than .500 five times, while holding just three teams under 50 points.

MOVING ON UP: Brittany Korth continues to move up the all-time list for career three-pointers made and attempted. Korth ranks fourth in school-history with 140 career makes and third with 503 attempts. She is 11 makes shy of third place and 40 attempts short of second place. Korth is also tied for eighth on the all-time assist list with 293, eight shy of taking over seventh place.

THE BUTLER DID IT: Dominique Butler recorded two more steals on Saturday against Youngstown State to raise her team leading total to 49. Butler, who led the league in steals in each of her first two seasons and is ranked second this season, has swiped 177 career steals, needing seven more to move into 10th place on the all-time list at CSU.

WHO NEEDS BATMAN...: When you have Robyn, as in Viking senior Robyn Hoying. The Minster, Ohio native has picked up her game during league play, averaging 8.1 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. She had the best game of her career at Green Bay (1/10) when she produced career-highs in points (20) and rebounds (10) for her first career double-double. Hoying also scored 16 points in Saturday's win over Youngstown State.

TWO BIG REASONS: When looking at the statistics, it is easy to see there are two big factors in determining when the Vikings win and when they lose. Those factors are rebounding and field goal defense. In 11 wins, the Vikings own a +2.5 rebounding advantage, while holding opponents to 53.0 points and .346 shooting from the field. On the other hand, CSU has a -8.4 deficit in rebounding and gives up 76.3 points on .435 shooting in seven losses this season.

KLEIN AT THE LINE: Kailey Klein has been just about automatic from the free throw line this season, ranking third in the league in free throw percentage (.849), which would also rank as the third best for a single season in school history. Deb Taylor currently holds that honor, hitting .855 (106-124) in 1989-90. Klein has moved up to fourth place on the career free throw percentage list (138-275; .775). Klein has had two near record-setting games this season. In a Nov. 26 loss to Ohio, she tied the school-record by hitting 15-of-16 free throws to equal Taylor's record of free throws made set against Valparaiso on Jan. 11, 1990. In addition, Klein was a perfect 11-of-11 from the line at Colgate (Dec. 20), which tied her for the second best effort from the line in school history, trailing Taylor's 16-of-16 performance against Valparaiso.

KORTH KEEPS PLAYING: Senior Brittany Korth has played in 105 career games and needs to play in 12 more to equal Juli Grant's school record of 117 career games played. Barring unforseen circumstances or injury, Korth will at least tie the record as CSU has 11 more regular season games on the schedule and will play at least one game in the league tournament.

DISHING IT OUT: The Vikings have been extremely generous in sharing the basketball this season, ranking second in the conference with 15.28 assists per game. CSU has recorded an assist on 68-percent of its baskets this season, including a season-high 26 assists (on 32) baskets in a win over Bradley (Nov. 21). The 26 assists are tied for the 10th most in a single game in program history.

...AND TAKING IT, TOO: The Vikings are tops in the Horizon League with 191 steals. In addition, CSU boasts three of the top seven individuals as Dominique Butler (2.72) ranks second, while Kailey Klein and Brittany Korth (1.89) are tied for eighth. The Vikings have swiped double-digit steals in 11 contests this season, including a season-best 19 vs. Akron (Nov. 17), which were the most steals by a Viking squad since CSU recorded 19 steals against IPFW on Feb. 26, 2003.

NOT MUCH SUSPENSE: Fourteen of CSU's 18 games have been decided by 10 points or more with the 11 wins coming by an average of 14.2 points. CSU's seven losses have been by an average of 13.9 points. The only games not decided by double figures are an 80-72 overtime loss at Alaska Anchorage (Nov. 20), a 63-60 loss at Buffalo (Dec. 15) a Dec. 29 win over American (65-63) and a Jan. 5 win over UIC (66-58).

AND WE TEND TO KNOW BY HALFTIME ...: Whether CSU will win or not. After all, the Vikings are 10-2 this season when holding a lead after the first 20 minutes of action. CSU's two losses when leading at the half this season were an 80-72 overtime loss at Alaska Anchorage when the Vikings led 24-20 at halftime and a Jan. 12 loss at Milwaukee (63-52) when the Vikings held an eight-point (30-22) lead at intermission. The Vikings are just 1-5 when trailing or tied at the half with the lone win coming Saturday against Youngstown State when CSU overcame a 38-37 halftime deficit..

SAME `OLE ROUTINE: Head coach Kate Peterson Abiad has had the luxury of using the same starting lineup for all 18 contests this season, which in turn has allowed her to define the roles of her five bench players and establish a consistent roatation with nine players averaging double digit minutes. That is a far cry from last season when injuries forced Peterson Abiad to use six different starting lineups, including five through 18 games.

ROAD SWEET ROAD: The Vikings entered the season with a 4-42 record away from the Wolstein Center over the last three seasons. But it appears that CSU has figured out how to win on the road as the Vikings have posted a respectable 4-5 mark away from Cleveland this season. In fact, CSU had its modest two-game road win streak snapped on Jan. 10 at Green Bay. It was the Vikings first two-game road win streak since 2004.

BEYOND THE ARC: The Vikings 9-for-14 (.643) effort from three-point range against Detroit on Thursday, Jan. 17, equaled the school-record for the best percentage by a CSU team. CSU also went 9-for-14 against Green Bay on Jan. 2, 2003.

DOUBLE DIP: It's too bad the Viking basketball programs can't play all doubleheaders as the teams have combined to win all four twinbills this season. It is the first time in school history that the men's and women's basketball programs have won four consecutive home doubleheaders. The teams are scheduled to share just two more home dates, Feb. 7 and Feb. 9, this season with the women hosting Milwaukee and Green Bay and the men playing Wright State and Detroit.

SHE CAN SCORE: A year after leading the team in scoring (11.0) as a freshman, Kailey Klein ranks second in the league with a 17.9 scoring average this season, including a league season-high 33 point effort at Alaska Anchorage (Nov. 20). Klein, who trails Milwaukee's Traci Edwards (19.3) in the scoring race, has scored in every way possible this season, hitting 98-of-230 (.426) from the field, including 19 three pointers. In addition, she has knocked down 107 free throws on 126 attempts to rank third in the conference in free throw percentage (.849).

KLEIN HONORS: Kailey Klein has picked up several accolades this season, beginning with her selection to the Preseason All-Horizon League first team. She followed that by earning a spot on the Great Alaska Shootout All-Tournament Team and was the Horizon League Scholar-Athlete of the Week on Nov. 27 for her efforts in the Great Alaska Shootout. Klein has also captured two Horizon League Player of the Week honors this season, Dec. 31 and Jan. 28 and was selected as the CSU Athlete of the Month for December.

BEATING THE BUZZER: Kailey Klein provided some last second heroics in the Dec. 29 win over American as, despite having two defenders in her face, she drained a 17-footer from the left wing at the buzzer. It was the first time CSU won a game at the final horn since Erika Roudebush hit a three-pointer as time expired in an 84-82 victory over Butler on Dec. 28, 2001.

VIKINGS GET DEFENSIVE: The 34 points CSU allowed in a 60-34 win at Colgate (Dec. 20) represented the lowest scoring output by a Viking opponent since a 62-24 win over Ashland on Feb. 8, 1983. It was also the second-lowest point total allowed against a Division I opponent - bettered only in a 58-27 win at Toledo on Jan. 6, 1979.

JUMP SHOTS: CSU has posted an 11-7 mark through 18 games this season, the best start in program history since the 1999-2000 squad also opened 11-7. Here are a few more highlights from the first 18 contests of the season:
• Kailey Klein ties her career-high with 33 points in a loss at Alaska Anchorage (11/20) in the opening round of the Great Alaska Shootout. It is the most points scored by a Horizon League player this season.
• Shawnita Garland is named the Player of the Game in the consolation game of the Great Alaska Shootout after setting career highs in points (19), rebounds (8), assists (5) and steals (5) against Bradley (11/21).
• CSU shoots a season-best .552 (32-58) and scores a season-high 82 points in a victory over Bradley in the consolation game of the Great Alaska Shootout (11/21).
• Kailey Klein ties a school-record by knocking down 15 free throws (out of 16 attempts) in a loss to Ohio (11/26).
• Dominique Butler connects on 9-of-10 (.900) field goals in a loss at Miami (OH) (12/1). It is the second best effort from the field in CSU history.

UP NEXT: CSU concludes the first round of its league schedule when it travels to Horizon League newcomer Valparaiso on Saturday, Feb. 2, for a 1:35 p.m. contest.