Women’s Basketball Tournament Scoreboard:
(7) Cleveland State 59, (10) Youngstown State 56
(9) Valparaiso 47, (8) Milwaukee 39
Cleveland State 59, Youngstown State 56
Cleveland State survived a frantic final 8.9 seconds of the game that saw Youngstown State get three three-point attempts at a tie as the Vikings won their first round game over the Penguins, 59-56.
The two teams traded turnovers in the final 10 seconds to set up Youngstown State’s last chance. After a YSU timeout, Monica Touvelle got a good look a three, which was long, but Brandi Brown pulled down the rebound, dribble out for a three-point attempt which was also long. Heidi Schlegel rebounded Brown’s miss and got a good look at a three-pointer, but her attempt rimmed out as the clock expired.
The game was not pretty as the teams combined to commit 45 turnovers, but it was close throughout. The biggest lead of the game was seven points by Cleveland State, but despite their ability to keep it close Youngstown State was never able to grab the lead in the second half as the Vikings answered every Penguin threat.
Cleveland State was led by Honesty King who recorded her first career double-double with 13 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. King also had a career-high five steals. Freshman Cori Coleman led the Vikings with a game-high 17 points, while All-League First Team member, Shalonda Winton, rounded out the CSU players in double figures, scoring 15 points and pulling down nine rebounds.
Brown pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds, but was ineffective on offense, shooting 3-of-16 from the field to score just six points, 10 below her season average. Freshman Kelsea Fickiesen led YSU with 11 points, while Kenya Middlebrooks, playing in her final game at YSU, and Monica Touvelle each contributed 10.
Next up for Cleveland State (12-18, 6-12) is a Wednesday quarterfinals matchup with second-seed Detroit (18-12, 14-4). The Titans won both regular season meetings against CSU, defeating the Vikings 50-43 on Jan. 28 in Cleveland and winning at home, 65-55, on Feb. 23. Game time for Wednesday’s quarterfinal matchup is 7:00 p.m. ET.
Valparaiso 47, Milwaukee 39
The conference’s second-rated scoring defense in the regular season was even better in its first game of the League tournament Monday night as Valparaiso held Milwaukee to just 39 points in the Crusaders 47-39 victory at the Panthers’ Klotsche Center.
Valparaiso was dominating on defense in the opening half, holding Milwaukee to just 13 points on 5-of-26 (19.2%) shooting from the field to take a 24-13 halftime lead. The Crusaders also forced 10 UWM turnovers in the first half as All-Defensive team member Laura Richards and senior Ashley Varner both had two apiece in the opening 20 minutes.
Milwaukee would make two runs in the second half, but Valparaiso had an answer each time. Trailing 33-22, the Panthers went on a 6-0 run to get within five, but Valparaiso responded by scoring the next five points to push the lead back to double figures. The Panthers would make one final push cutting Valparaiso’s lead to four at 40-36 with :53 seconds remaining, but Valparaiso calmly hit 7-of-8 free throws from the that point on to claim the victory.
Valpo guard Ashley Timmerman had a game-and-career-high 20 points, including knocking down four consecutive free throws to push VU’s lead to 44-36, to lead the Crusaders. Varner finished with her 9th double-double of the season with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
Courtney Lindfors was the only Panther to score in double figures finishing with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Valparaiso (10-20, 5-13) stays in Wisconsin for its quarterfinal game, facing top-seed Green Bay (27-1, 17-1) Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET. Green Bay won both regular season contests between the teams. They defeated the Crusaders, 65-37, in Valparaiso on Jan. 28 and won at home, 72-36, on Feb. 23.
Tags: Cleveland State - Women's Basketball · Valparaiso - Women's Basketball
