Women's Basketball Scoreboard (Jan. 9)
Cleveland State 78, Detroit 71
Youngstown State 62, Valparaiso 49
Cleveland State 78, Detroit 71
Behind double-doubles from Imani Gordon and Cori Coleman the Cleveland State women's basketball team opened Horizon League play with a victory Thursday evening, defeating Detroit, 78-71. The Vikings now stand at 6-8 on the season and 1-0 in league play.
Gordon led the Vikings with 25 points and 12 rebounds – the 25 points tying her career-high – while Coleman tallied 12 points and 10 rebounds – the 10 boards tying her career-high. The double-double was the third of the season for Gordon and just the first of the year for Coleman. Kiersten Green and Haley Schmitt also notched double-digit points for the Vikings, Green with 18 and Schmitt with 10.
The Vikings got out to a sluggish start during the first half, as they entered the halftime break trailing by five, 38-33.
Cleveland State then opened the second half on a 10-2 run, gaining momentum and a three-point lead at the 17:51 mark, 43-40. During this stretch, the Vikings got six points from Gordon, two from Green and two from Adesuwa Aideyman. Over the next 2:14 the Vikings were able to extend their lead to seven points (51-44), closing the run on a Green three-pointer.
The Titans responded with a 9-2 run of their own, tying the contest at 53-53 with 12:39 left to play. This was as close as Detroit would come though, as the Vikings knocked down back-to-back baskets to regain a five-point lead at 58-53 with 11:25 remaining.
Cleveland State was able to hold a small lead for the next 3:46, until the Titans were able to tie the contest for the sixth time, knotting the score at 61-61 with just under eight minutes left in the contest. The Vikings answered with an 8-2 run – which once again ended with a Green three-pointer – gaining a six-point advantage (69-63) with 5:36 left to play.
The two teams traded baskets throughout the next five minutes, until a Schmitt jumper with just 39 seconds remaining put the Vikings up by four (75-71) and gave control of the game back to Cleveland State. The Vikings then closed out the contest going 3-for-4 from the free throw line, earning the seven-point victory.
For just the second time this season the Vikings were able to outrebound their opponent, tying their season-high with 40 boards against the Titans. Included in the 40 rebounds was a season-high 18 offensive boards, including eight from Gordon.
The Viking defense was able to force Detroit into 20 turnovers, turning them into 16 Cleveland State points.
Youngstown State 62, Valparaiso 49
The Youngstown State women's basketball team had its best defensive performance of the season and had three players score in double figures in a 62-49 victory over Valparaiso on Thursday in the Horizon League opener for both schools.
The Penguins held Valparaiso scoreless for nearly nine minutes for a stretch from the first half into the second half and turned a tie score into a 15-point lead. Youngstown State led by double digits for the final 18:51 of the game.
Heidi Schlegel scored 19 points to go along with a career-high 19 rebounds, 11 of which were on the offensive end, to lead the Penguins. Karen Flagg had 17 points and seven rebounds, and Liz Hornberger had 11 for YSU. Schlegel's 19 rebounds are the most by a Horizon League player this season.
Sharon Karungi had a game-high 21 points for Valparaiso, but 15 of those came in the first half. YSU limited Valpo leading scorer Charae Richardson to two points, and Crusaders other than Karungi combined to go 10-for-39 from the field.
Youngstown State only trailed for 41 seconds in the game, and it ended the period by scoring the final six points to take a 34-28 lead at the break. The Penguins then scored the first nine points of the second half for a 15-0 run.
Valparaiso led 4-2 before Hornberger hit a 3-pointer, and the Penguins eventually took a 13-7 lead on a Kelsea Newman triple at the 13:57 mark. Hornberger's trey at the 10:45 mark put YSU back up by six at 16-10, but Valparaiso went on an 11-5 run to go up 21-20 with 5:17 on the clock.
Monica Touvelle hit a trey on YSU's next possession to put the Penguins up 23-21, and Valpo tied the score four times over the next three minutes. The final time was on a Jessi Wiedemann layup with 1:32 remaining, and the Crusaders didn't score again until Karungi's jumper with 12:42 left in the second half.
After Valpo tied the score at 28-28, Schlegel scored on a putback with 1:12 remaining before halftime, and Flagg scored the final four points of the half. Flagg then scored the first four points of the second half to put YSU up 10, and Schlegel scored the next five to make the score 43-28 at the 14:41 mark. YSU's largest lead came when Schlegel hit two free throws with 40 seconds left to put the Penguins up 62-45.
Tags: Cleveland State - Women's Basketball · Youngstown State - Women's Basketball
