CSU, Detroit, GB and Oakland Win on Saturday Afternoon

Women's Basketball Scoreboard (Feb. 8)
Cleveland State 100, Wright State 93
Detroit 80, Milwaukee 68
Green Bay 81, UIC 54
Oakland 87, Youngstown State 67

Cleveland State 100, Wright State 93
Behind three 20-point performances, including a career-high 23 from Adesuwa Aideyman, the Cleveland State women's basketball team claimed a 100-93 victory over Wright State Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Vikings improve to 11-11 overall and 6-3 in Horizon League action. The win also gives CSU the season sweep of the Raiders.

Aideyman's career-high 23 points came on a 7-for-10 performance from the field, including a 5-for-6 effort from behind-the-arc. Also reaching the 20-point mark for the Vikings were Cori Coleman with 22 points and Imani Gordon with 20. Kiersten Green rounding out CSU's top scorers, finishing the game with 13 points.

Along with her 20 points, Gordon also tallied a team-high nine rebounds and six assists.

Saturday's 100-point game was the first time that the Vikings reached the 100-point mark since the 2000-01 season, and the first time under head coach Kate Peterson Abiad. The Vikings are also just the second team to reach the mark in the Horizon League this season.

Almost half of CSU's points came from behind-the-arc Saturday, as the Vikings converted a season-high 16 three-pointers. Cleveland State had seven players convert a shot from behind-the-arc, including four with multiple three-pointers. The 16 three-pointers is the second-best single game total in program history, and the best mark among league teams this season.

The Vikings were able to control play during the majority of the first half, as the Raiders held a lead for just one possession throughout the first 20 minutes. CSU headed into the halftime break with a five-point lead at the 48-43 mark.

CSU was then able to hold its lead throughout the first six minutes of the second stanza, until Wright State grabbed a two-point lead (62-60) following a three-pointer at the 13:29 mark. The Raiders held the advantage for the next 4:04 until a Coleman three-pointer gave CSU a one point lead at 70-69 with just over nine minutes left to play.

The two teams then traded leads over the next few possessions, until CSU went on a 6-0 run to gain a five-point advantage (78-73) with 6:35 left on the clock. Wright State responded with a 4-0 run of their own to come within one point (78-77), but a pair of Aideyman three-pointers held CSU's lead at five points (84-79) with 4:34 remaining.

Cleveland State was able to stay in control of the contest for the next 2:44, and extended its lead to eight (96-88) following a 7-1 run that included yet another Aideyman three-pointer. The Vikings then matched WSU over the final minute, coming away with the seven-point victory.

CSU shot 48-percent from the floor against the Raiders (32-for-66), including a .545 clip during the first half (18-for-33). The Vikings also had a matching 48-percent clip from behind-the-arc (16-for-33). CSU recorded a season-high 22 assists Saturday, with six from Gordon, and four from Coleman and Green.

Detroit 80, Milwaukee 68
Four Titans scored in double figures and Detroit used a strong second half to pull out a win as the University of Detroit Mercy women's basketball team clawed its way past the Milwaukee Panthers, 80-68, on Saturday afternoon at historic Calihan Hall. The victory was part of the Play4Kay games going on all over the country.

Prior to the game, Detroit honored Dorothy Collins, a six-year breast cancer survivor as part of the Play 4Kay Game. The Play 4Kay initiative is an opportunity for a nation of coaches to raise breast cancer awareness and funds for research on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond. Since its inception in 2007, the Play 4Kay initiative has raised over $2.8 million to support women's cancer research.

Senior Senee Shearer led all scorers with 21 points. Freshman Minisha Frederick-Childress tallied 10 points, a career-high nine rebounds and four assists, while freshman Haleigh Ristovski and sophomore Tayelor McCalister added 15 and 12 points, respectively.

Milwaukee (7-15, 3-6 HL) came out scoring to start the second half, opening a seven-point lead on a few occasions, the latest at 51-44 with 14:08 left.

Detroit (4-18, 1-8 HL) then answered with seven-straight points to tie it up en route to a 24-7 run and a 66-58 advantage.

Ristovski started it by hitting a trey and that was followed by a basket by freshman Megan Galloway and a jumper from McCalister at the 12:07 mark. That would be the start of six-straight from McCalister as her final basket pushed UDM to a 55-54 lead and Shearer added two free throws for a 57-54 lead with 9:44 left.

After a Milwaukee basket, Detroit went on an 11-4 spurt with Shearer getting the offense going off a three. Frederick-Childress and Galloway had buckets and four points from Ristovski put the Titans up 10, 68-58, with 3:27 left. UDM would then lead by as many as 14 with free throws adding to the difference down the stretch.

The Titans won the battle of the boards, 45-41, which included 22 offensive rebounds. The Detroit defense forced 19 total turnovers and held a 23-9 advantage on points off turnovers.

Galloway ended with eight points and seven rebounds and Ristovski added seven boards of her own. Senior Megan Hatter – who missed seven-straight games with an injury - finished with six points and four rebounds and McCalister dished out a game-high six assists.

Detroit came out firing hitting its first three shots and taking an 8-0 lead. Freshman Reyna Montgomery got it started with a layup and after a free throw from Frederick-Childress, Shearer had a basket and Hatter knocked down a trifecta.

Milwaukee responded with a 13-2 run to jump out in front, 13-10, just six minutes into the game, but a layup by McCalister ended that. Sophomore DaVonna Bradford then added a layup and two free throws by Montgomery knotted it at 16-all midway through the half, but a 3-pointer by Shearer gave UDM a 19-18 lead at the 8:12 mark.

The Titans would go on to take a 24-20 advantage, but the first half back-and-forth play continued as Milwaukee went back in front, 28-27. Detroit was then down three, 32-29, until Shearer drained another three as the two teams went into the half all squared at 38-38.

The first half featured eight lead changes and seven ties as the Titan defense forced 10 turnovers and held the Panthers to 3-of-12 from behind the arc.

Green Bay 81, UIC 54
The Green Bay women’s basketball team used 35 bench points and a big 17-3 run to start the second half as it picked up its sixth-consecutive conference win with an 81-54 triumph over UIC at the UIC Pavilion on Saturday afternoon.

The win improved the Phoenix to 14-7 overall and 7-2 in the Horizon League while it earned the series sweep of the Flames. UIC dropped to 17-6 overall and 6-4 in the conference. Green Bay received a career-high 19 points from freshman Sam Terry (Baraboo, Wis.) who finished the contest a perfect 4-for-4 from behind the arc and 7-for-8 from the free throw line, missing just her final attempt with under 40 seconds remaining.

“Today was a great team result for us,” head coach Kevin Borseth said. “We had production from almost every spot on our roster and we played really well defensively to get the result.”

Neither team was able to find its stride in the early going as they combined to open 0-for-12 over the first 2:29 before freshman Mehryn Kraker (West Allis, Wis.) was able to score after picking up an offensive rebound to give the Phoenix an early 2-0 lead. Green Bay went on to score the next six points as it jumped out to an 8-0 advantage at the first media timeout. Freshman Tesha Buck (Red Wing, Minn.) netted a three during the run before senior Breannah Ranger (Skokie, Ill.) closed it with an and-1.

It was a game of streaks the rest of the opening stanza as UIC was able to cut the lead to two points (8-6) at the 12:42 mark with a quick 6-0 run. However the Phoenix responded to put its advantage back at eight points (17-9) with 9:45 remaining before another run got the home team back to within a point (22-21) with 4:54 on the clock.

Remaining close in the final minutes, the Phoenix lead stood at two points (27-25) with just under three minutes remaining before closing on a 9-3 run to go into halftime with a 36-28 lead. Aiding the Phoenix in the final minutes was its ability to make shots from deep, with its last five field goals coming from deep. Terry made all three of her attempts, while Kraker continued her hot shooting with two.

Green Bay shot 52.0 percent (13-25) from the field and 50.0 percent (7-14) from deep while holding the Flames to just 28.1 percent (9-32) from the field. UIC leading scorer Rachel Story was held without a field goal after spending most of the half on the bench with three early fouls.

“Sam came in lit it up from the arc and that gave us some quality points, especially in the first half,” Borseth said. “It really gave us the momentum we needed off the bench.”

It was all Phoenix in the second half as it opened with a 17-3 run to jump out to a 53-31 advantage leading up to the first media timeout (15:48). Story scored the first points of the half for UIC, but Green Bay scored the next 11 to assume a 47-30 lead and force the Flames to call a timeout. Kraker and junior Megan Lukan (Barrie, Ontario) started the run with jumpers before Buck connected on a three and Ranger put up back-to-back layups in the paint.

Green Bay held the Flames at bay the rest of the way as it cruised to its sixth-consecutive Horizon League win, 81-54.

The Phoenix finished the game shooting 55.3 percent (26-47) while holding UIC to under 30 percent (29.3%, 17-58). Green Bay was also 61.1 percent (11-18) from three and 72.0 percent (18-25) while outrebounding the top rebounding team in the conference, 40-32. GB also won points in the paint, 28-20 and bench points, 35-5.

Three Phoenix finished in double digits led by Terry (19), Kraker (18) and Ranger (13). Buck added a team best seven rebounds and three assists.

UIC was led by a double-double (22 pts., 13 reb.) performance from Ruvanna Campbell.

“The win was nice, but we are taking it one game at a time,” Borseth said. “Everything from this point forward, we need to make sure we are prepared. This league is tough and there are still a lot of games to unfold.”

Oakland 87, Youngstown State 67
Victoria Lipscomb tallied a career-best 20 points and Elena Popkey recorded her second double-double of the season as the Oakland women's basketball team (10-13, 5-5 HL) defeated Youngstown State (10-12, 6-3 HL), 87-67, Saturday afternoon in the Athletics Center O'rena. OU had five players finish with double-digit points.

"This was a great win for us over a very good Youngstown State team," said head coach Jeff Tungate. "They were tied for first place in the league coming in. They lost their last two games on the road but are an outstanding team. It was a tough matchup for us. Our players responded and we had people step up and make shots in the first half. Our offense clicked on all cylinders and we really wanted a balanced attack. Our defense was pretty solid. Last time at their place they got a lot of open shots. We know Heidi Schlegel is one of the best players in the league so we wanted to make sure the other players didn't hurt us tonight."

Lipscomb hit a career-best six 3-pointers including starting the game 4-for-4 from long range. Popkey had 18 points and a career-high 12 rebounds for her double-double. Bethany Watterworth finished with 18 points for her 11th straight double-digit scoring performance. Olivia Nash tallied 12 points and seven rebounds, while Nola Anderson finished with 10 points. The Golden Grizzlies finished 50.0 percent from behind the arc (11-22).

Oakland came out on fire to start the game hitting eight of its first 11 shots including making six in a row. OU held a 16-point advantage after a 22-5 run led by three Lipscomb triples. The Penguins would battle back with a 12-6 run to end the half as OU held a 39-32 lead at intermission.

Youngstown State fought to cut the Oakland lead to just four points after a 12-4 run midway through the second half. However, the Golden Grizzlies would use a late 19-4 run to go up 21 points with just 2:46 remaining in the game. Popkey finished with 16 of her 18 points in the second half and Watterowrth added 11. In the game Oakland forced 13 turnovers and score 20 points off the YSU miscues.

The Penguins were led by Heidi Schlegel with 28 points and 13 rebounds, while Karen Flagg added 10 points. Youngstown State shot just 29.2 percent from 3-point range, compared to 50.0 percent in the first meeting between the teams on Jan. 25 when YSU won 79-64.