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Vikings Start Three-Game Roadtrip at Wright State
Feb. 11, 2008
Contact: Greg Murphy
Complete Release in PDF Format
SETTING THE SCENE: Cleveland State will attempt to rebound from its first loss in a month when the Vikings begin a three-game roadtrip on Thursday, Feb. 14, at Wright State. Tipoff is slated for 5:30 p.m. in the Nutter Center. This will be the 50th meeting between the two schools with the Vikings holding a 27-22 lead in the all-time series, including a 68-54 win over the Raiders earlier this season in the Wolstein Center. The Vikings are in second place in the Horizon League (8-3), one-game ahead of Milwaukee (7-3) and a game-and-a-half up on Wright State (6-4). PREVIEWING CLEVELAND STATE: Cleveland State has made huge strides from last season's 8-22 team, having already surpassed that win total (14-8) and standing six games over .500 after 21 games for the first time since 1983-84. With the return of four starters, the Vikings have experience at every position and a solid bench to rely on. Horizon League Player of the Year candidate Kailey Klein (18.9 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 3.2 apg) leads the league in scoring. She is joined in the backcourt by senior Brittany Korth (9.3, 4.6, 3.9) and sophomore Angel Roque (6.2, 2.4 apg), who has set the defensive tone for the Vikings this season with her ball pressure out front. Junior Dominique Butler (10.0, 6.0) and senior Robyn Hoying (6.0, 3.2) have started all 22 games in the frontcourt. CSU has received tremendous production from its bench, led by sophomore forward Stephaine Crosley (5.2, 4.3), freshman guard Shawnita Garland (4.1, 2.0) and sophomore guard Jessica Roque (4.2, 1.7). Junior Natalie Miller (2.8, 1.6) 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 42-95 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). HOME WIN STREAK ENDED: The Vikings seven-game home win streak was ended with Saturday's loss to Green Bay. CSU, which is 8-2 at home this season, including a 6-1 mark in league play, is three wins shy of tying the school-record of 11 home wins in a season set by the 1980-81 and 1998-99 squads. TWO MORE STREAKS BUSTED: Saturday's loss to Green Bay also broke CSU's six-game win streak, the Vikings longest since winning streak since capturing seven straight wins during the 1983-84 season. In addition, Saturday's loss snapped CSU's school-record six-game league win streak. TALE OF THE TURNOVER: Entering the Green Bay game on Saturday, CSU had turned the ball over juts 12.3 times per game over the previous four contests, including a season-low nine turnovers in a win over Milwaukee (Feb. 7). However, all that changed as CSU committed 25 turnovers against the Phoenix, the ninth time the Vikings posted 20 or more miscues this season. 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 6-5 mark away from Cleveland this season, including a victory at Butler on Jan. 31. That win allowed the Vikings to snap a five-game losing streak at Hinkle Fieldhouse. In fact, it was almost six years to the date of CSU's last victory at Butler, a 79-71 win on Feb. 2, 2002. SAME `OLE ROUTINE: Head coach Kate Peterson Abiad has had the luxury of using the same starting lineup for all 22 contests this season with Dominique Butler and Robyn Hoying in the frontcourt and Angel Roque, Brittany Korth and Kailey Klein in the backcourt. That has allowed Peterson Abiad 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 starting lineups through 22 games. ALL ABOUT KLEIN: With more than two-thirds of the season complete, Horizon League Player of the Year candidateKailey Klein has put together one of the best seasons in school history. Here are some highlights. AFTER 22: The Vikings carry a 14-8 record into Thursday's game at Wright State, the first time CSU has won 14 of its first 22 games since the 1983-84 team started the year with a 16-6 mark. It is only the fourth time in school history that CSU opened the season with a 14-8 record or better. VIKINGS GO BACK-TO-BACK: The Vikings finished the month of January with a 6-2 (.750) record, their best mark in a month since going 9-3 (.750) in December of 1983. It was also CSU's second consecutive winning month after posting a 4-2 mark in December. It is the first time that the Vikings have recorded back-to-back winning months 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. AND START FAST IN FEBRUARY: CSU is off to a quick start in its attempt to earn its third straight winning month as the Vikings have won two of their first three games of the month. The Vikings play seven games in February and need just two more wins to secure a winning month. PERFECTION: For just the second time in school history, the Vikings did not miss a free throw in a game as CSU was 14-for-14 at the charity stripe on Feb. 2 at Valparaiso. It was the second best performance in a single game, topped only by a 15-for-15 effort at Milwaukee on Feb. 4, 1995. The streak was extended to 22 straight makes before Stephaine Crosley missed a free throw late against Milwaukee (Feb. 7). However, over the last three contests, the Vikings have combined to hit 36-of-40 (.900) free throws. MAKING A POINT: The Vikings kept the scoreboard operater at Valparaiso busy on Feb. 2, scoring a season high 86 points. It was the most points scored by a Viking squad since CSU defeated Youngstown State, 88-54, on Dec. 30, 2003. THE DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES: Cleveland State enters the week with a 14-8 overall record, including an 8-3 mark in league play, giving CSU six more overall and three more league wins than all of last season. The Vikings went 8-22 overall and 5-11 in league play last season. The 14 wins are the most for a CSU team since the 2000-01 team went 14-14. ON THE HORIZON: At 8-3 in Horizon League play with seven games to play, the Vikings are on the verge of setting a program record for league wins in a season. The record is currently held by the 2003-04 squad which went 9-7 in league play in Kate Peterson Abiad's first season at the helm. KORTH KEEPS PLAYING: Brittany Korth has played in 109 career games and needs to play in eight 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 seven more regular season games and will play at least one game in the league tournament. HOYING HITS CENTURY MARK: When Robyn Hoying started at Butler on Jan. 31, it marked the 100th career game for the senior. She became 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: When Brittany Korth drew a starting assignment on Saturday against Green Bay, she inched closer to fifth place on the all-time list at CSU for most career starts.Korth, who has started 88 career games, needs four more starts to take over fifth place from Terri Miller, who started 91 contests between 1984-88. HOMETOWN COOKIN': Milwaukee native Dominique Butler apparently likes to save her best for when the Vikings play her hometown Panthers as Butler averaged 14.5 points and 6.0 rebounds, while shooting .560 in two games against UWM this season. In six career games against the Panthers, Butler is averaging 12.0 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. FOR THE RECORD: Kailey Klein didn't set any school-records with her 14-for-18 performance at the free throw line at Butler (Jan. 31), but she came awfully close. Her 14 makes were one shy of the school-record held by Deb Taylor (1/11/90; at Valparaiso) and Klein (11/26/07; vs. Ohio), while her 18 attempts are tied for the second most in a game with Sue Hlavecek (3/3/78; vs. Miami (OH)). Taylor holds the CSU record with 21 free throw attempts vs. St. Bonaventure on Jan. 4, 1992. DOUBLE TROUBLE: Kailey Klein added another first to her career on Jan. 26 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). THE BUTLER DID IT: Dominique Butler recorded three more steals on Saturday to raise her team leading total to 57. Butler, who led the league in steals in each of her first two seasons and is ranked second this season, has swiped 185 career steals and is tied for 10th place on the career list at CSU, 10 shy of ninth place. THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE: CSU is the best free throw shooting team in the league, hitting 323-of-404 attempts for an .800 percentage, a far cry from last season's .684 (425-621) percentage from the line. In fact, the Vikings, who are also ranked fourth in the nation in free throw percentage, are shooting better from the free throw line than all but two 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). The league record for free throw percentage in a season is .801 set by Green Bay last season. .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). FREE THROWS ARE A TEAM EFFORT: The Vikings have made it a true team effort to lead the league in free throw percentage as seven 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 .854 (134-157). No other player has made the minimum of 2.0 free throws per game to be ranked among the leaders. Dominique Butler is second on the team with 37 made free throws. DEFENSIVE MINDED: CSU continues to be one of the top defensive teams in the league, ranking first in opponent field goal percentage (.387), second in steals (10.09) and third in scoring defense (62.2). The Vikings have allowed only five 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 147 career makes and third with 529 attempts. She is four makes shy of third place and 14 attempts short of second place. Korth is also seventh on the all-time assist list with 307, needing 12 assists to take over sixth. THREE BIG REASONS: When looking at the statistics, it is easy to see there are three big factors in determining when the Vikings win and when they lose. Those factors are rebounding, scoring defense and field goal defense. In 14 wins, the Vikings own a +1.9 rebounding advantage, while holding opponents to 54.6 points and .358 shooting from the field. On the other hand, CSU has a -6.6 deficit in rebounding and gives up 75.4 points on .435 shooting in eight losses this season. NOT PLAYING NICELY: The Vikings rank second in the league with 222 steals. In addition, CSU boasts three of the top nine individuals as Dominique Butler (2.59) ranks second, while Kailey Klein (1.82) is seventh and Brittany Korth (1.77) ninth. The Vikings have swiped double-digit steals in 13 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. FROM THE FIELD: The Vikings have shot well from the field this season, hitting .428 (503-1,174) to rank third in the Horizon League. That total would be the third best in school-history, trailing the 1992-93 (.442) and 1983-84 (.438) squads. CSU has not shot better than .400 from the field since 2003-04 when they hit .405. FROM THREE: CSU is also shooting .340 (127-373) from three-point this season, which would be the best percentage for a single season in program history. The current record is .328 (117-357) held by the 1992-93 team. CSU shot just .272 (123-453) from three-point last season. VIKINGS SHOOT LIGHTS OUT: Cleveland State recorded the second best shooting performance in school history in a Feb. 2 win over Valparaiso as the Vikings shot .571 (32-56) from the field. The only time a Viking team shot better from the field was Jan. 21, 1980 at Niagara when CSU shot .627 (32-51). BEYOND THE ARC: The Vikings 9-for-14 (.643) effort from three-point range against Detroit on 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. NO SUSPENSE: Sixteen of CSU's 22 games have been decided by 10 points or more with the 14 wins coming by an average of 13.8 points. CSU's eight losses have been by an average of 13.1 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), a Jan. 5 win over UIC (66-58) and a 65-61 win at Butler (Jan. 31). AND WE TEND TO KNOW BY HALFTIME ...: Whether CSU will win or not. After all, the Vikings are 12-2 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 2-6 when trailing or tied at the half. 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 7.0 points and 3.7 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, who has hit all 15 of her free throw attempts in league play, also scored 16 points in a Jan. 26 win over Youngstown State. UP NEXT: CSU remains on the road for a 2:00 p.m. contest at Detroit on Saturday, Feb. 16.
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