CSU, GB, UDM and WSU Win on Saturday

Women's Basketball Scoreboard (March 1)
Cleveland State 78, UIC 70
Detroit 75, Youngstown State 60
Wright State 94, Milwaukee

Cleveland State 78, UIC 70
The Cleveland State women's basketball team got back in the win column Saturday afternoon, earning a 78-70 victory over UIC on Senior Day. Haley Schmitt, CSU's lone senior, finished the contest with eight points and six rebounds. The win puts CSU at 14-14 overall this season and 9-6 in Horizon League play.

The Viking offense was led by four players in double-figures – Adesuwa Aideyman and Kiersten Green both with 17 points, Imani Gordon with 16 points, and Cori Coleman with 15. Gordon and Green were both just shy of double-doubles, Gordon with eight rebounds, and Green with a team-high nine boards.

After the Flames controlled play throughout the entire first half, and the beginning of the second half, Cleveland State was able to gain just its second lead of the contest (49-47) at the 13:01 mark of the second half following an Aideyman layup. Leading up to Aideyman's layup, the Vikings went on a 7-2 run, including a three-pointer from Aideyman, swinging the momentum into Cleveland State's favor.

The Vikings' advantage didn't last long though, as UIC responded with nine straight points to regain a seven-point lead at the 56-49 mark with 9:49 left on the clock. Over the next 4:03 the Vikings went on a 12-4 run though, gaining a 61-60 advantage with just over five minutes left to play. CSU gained this advantage on yet another Aideyman layup, and would hold at least a four-point lead for the remainder of the contest.

Cleveland State was able to gain its largest lead of eight twice throughout the final 5:02, first after a pair of free throws from Kiersten Green, and then after a pair of free throws from Coleman. Over the final five minutes, CSU got 12 of its 17 points from the free throw line, as the Vikings were 12-for-16 from the charity stripe during this stretch.

After another pair of converted free throws from Coleman with just 14 seconds left, the Vikings ended the contest matching their largest lead of the game at 78-70.

For the contest, CSU shot 45-percent from the floor (27-for-60), including a .484 clip (15-for-31) during the second half. The Vikings grabbed 41 rebounds against the Flames, outrebounding UIC, 41-39.

Detroit 75, Youngstown State 60
It was the best present a senior can ask for as the University of Detroit Mercy women's basketball team used a big first half run to take control and the Titans never looked back in beating Youngstown State, 75-60, on Saturday afternoon in historic Calihan Hall.

The Titans honored their three seniors in Megan Hatter, Abby McCollum and Senee Shearer prior to the game.

The win moved Detroit to 6-21 and 3-11 in the Horizon League, giving the red, white and blue a much needed tiebreaker over Valparaiso to host the 8-9 opening round game and to even inch closer to Milwaukee for seventh place.

It was also a special Senior Day for one veteran as Shearer nailed her first three of the game to set the school record as she ended with 15 points and a team-high four assists with her two 3-pointers moving her to 219 career triples.

Freshman Megan Galloway posted her third-straight double-double with 16 points and a game-high 15 rebounds, while sophomore Tayelor McCalister added 12 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals.

It was a trade of offensive charges early as Detroit started the game on an 11-5 run before Youngstown State (13-14, 9-5 HL) answered with seven-straight points to take the lead, 12-11.

UDM then went on a 5-0 run, but YSU countered with its own 5-0 attack to give the Penguins a 17-16 advantage at the 8:12 mark. That is when the Titans went on a 17-0 run and a 20-2 spurt over the next five minutes to take control, 36-19.

Freshman Minisha Frederick-Childress started it with a layup and then Hatter had three-straight free throws. A three by Ristovski followed and Galloway was fouled inside leading to a pair of free throws. Freshman Reyna Montgomery was next with a layup and Frederick-Childress hit another 3-pointer for a 31-17 advantage. Galloway connected on another jumper and after a Penguins' basket, Hatter ended the barrage with a trey and the 17-point lead.

During the run, Detroit held Youngstown State to just 1-of-10 from the field, while Detroit was 6-of-6.

The Titans would take a 36-22 lead at the half and extended their advantage to 18, 40-22, early in the second half. YSU got within 12, 42-30, at the 16:27 mark, but UDM held off any type of Penguins run and eventually opened back a 17-point lead, 49-32, with 12:23 left.

UDM's advantage would never get under double digits as YSU pulled within 11, 58-47, with six minutes remaining, but Detroit kept its composure and went on to win by 15.

Frederick-Childress finished with 10 points, while Ristovski had six points and six rebounds. Montgomery netted seven points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals in her first game back after missing four straight with an injury and Hatter had nine points and eight boards.

Detroit held Youngstown State to 28.8% shooting (19-of-66) and 4-of-26 (15.4%) from behind the arc. The Titans outrebounded the Penguins, 47-37, and handed out 16 assists.

Green Bay 53, Valparaiso 49
Leading by two points with just 21 seconds remaining, freshman Mehryn Kraker (West Allis, Wis.) hit a big three in the corner to help ice the game for the Phoenix as it snuck past Valparaiso, 53-49, on Saturday evening at the ARC.

The win helped the Phoenix maintain the top spot in the Horizon League with two games to go, moving them to 11-3 in the conference and 18-8 overall. Valparaiso fell to 4-23 overall and 2-12 in Horizon League play.

“We were able to find baskets in the end when it mattered most,” head coach Kevin Borseth said. “We had a tough time in the paint tonight, but our deep shots came through at the right time.”

The Phoenix led by as many as 12 points (39-27) with just under 12 minutes remaining in the contest before Valpo went on a big 14-1 run to grab back the lead, 41-40, with 4:49 on the clock. Five different Crusaders scored during the streak, while the Phoenix was 0-for-5 with three turnovers.

The lead exchanged hands five times with two ties over the next two minutes, arriving at a 47-47 draw with 2:30 remaining. Green Bay took the lead for good after sophomore Kaili Lukan (Barrie, Ontario) was fouled with 2:06 on the clock, making both of her attempts.

Both teams fumbled over the next minute and a half, missing a combined three shots with a turnover apiece before Kraker sealed the win for the Phoenix, sinking a three in the corner with the shot clock winding down to put Green Bay ahead, 52-47.

Valpo missed a three on its next trip down the court, and senior Breannah Ranger (Skokie, Ill.) was able to pull down the rebound before being fouled where she made the back end of the pair with eight seconds remaining. The Crusaders made a layup with one second remaining but it wouldn’t factor as Green Bay squeaked out the 53-49 win.

“We fight, we are putting up opportunities but sometimes they just don’t connect,” Borseth said. “But this team has a lot of fight and we know how to maintain composure when it comes down the stretch to get the win.”

Green Bay struggled from the field in the first half but was able to open on a 6-0 run over the first seven minutes of the contest. After missing its first three attempts of the game, freshman Tesha Buck (Red Wing, Minn.) started the scoring with a jumper in the lane before Kaili Lukan and freshman Sam Terry (Baraboo, Wis.) each added a basket. Meanwhile the defense held Valparaiso without a basket over the first 7:43 of the game, with the Crusaders finally getting on the board with a Jessica Carr jumper at 12:17.

The Phoenix led by four (10-6) with 8:35 remaining before Valparaiso went on a 10-0 run to jump out to a 16-10 lead with 4:39 on the clock. Lexi Miller put down a three, and Sharon Karungi gave the Crusaders its first lead of the game (11-10) connecting on a layup as it steadily built to the six point advantage.

A Buck three  with four minutes remaining ended the Green Bay scoring drought, and the Phoenix continued to chip away at the lead, pulling to within a point on two occasions in the final minutes.

The Crusaders held on to a three point lead (20-17) with 1:29 remaining before the Green Bay closed on a 6-0 run to take a 23-20 halftime lead. Kaili Lukan hit one of two free throws before Buck put the Phoenix ahead with her second three of the contest and senior Sam Zastrow (Algoma, Wis.) pulled down an offensive rebound on a missed breakaway layup for the final points of the half.

Both teams struggled shooting in the opening stanza, with Green Bay shooting 29.4 percent (10-34) while Valpo shot 33.3 percent (7-21).

Valpo scored the first points of the second half but on the next Green Bay possession junior Megan Lukan found an open Buck beyond the arc for her third three point basket of the contest. The Crusaders responded with a three of their own on the next possession (26-25), but the Phoenix then went on a 14-1 run to take a 39-27 lead and set the stage for the late game dramatics.

Green Bay struggled from the field in the first half, shooting 29.4 percent (10-34) before rebounding to go 47.4 percent (9-19) in the second half. Despite shooting just 25.0 percent from deep (8-32) in the contest, timely threes kept the Phoenix in the game. The Phoenix owned a narrow 33-32 advantage on the boards and for just the second time this season was outscored in the paint, 24-20.

Buck lead the Phoenix with 14 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four steals. Kaili Lukan also finished in double digits with 12.

Valpo finished the game shooting 37.0 percent from the field (17-46) and 15.0 percent (3-20) from deep. Karungi had a game-high 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Miller and Liz Horton chipped in 10 points apiece.

“Our defense did a great job tonight and really kept us in the game when our offense struggled,” Borseth said.

Wright State 94, Milwaukee 70
The Wright State women's basketball team bounced back from its overtime loss to Green Bay in a big way Saturday, building as much as a 35-point lead before defeating Milwaukee 94-70 at WSU's Nutter Center.

The margin was just two before a 10-0 run, capped off by a KC Elkins three, gave the Raiders a 33-21 advantage with 4:03 remaining in the first half.  Milwaukee's Angela Rodriguez ended the streak with a three, only to see Kim Demmings answer with one of her own to push the lead back into double figures for the rest of the half, with WSU taking a 43-31 differential into the break.

Wright State shot 53 percent in the opening 20 minutes compared to 40 percent for the Panthers.

A 17-2 run to start the second half, seven of coming from Tay'ler Mingo, extended the lead to 60-33 with 15:13 remaining and the Raiders later led by as much as 35 on three different occasions, the final one being 81-46 on two Breanna Stucke foul shots at the 8:06 mark.

WSU shot 42 percent in the second half and hit 18 of 26 free throws to finish at 47 percent and 22 of 34, respectively, while Milwaukee shot 39 percent, including 11 of 28 from three, and was 11 of 14 at the stripe.  The Raiders led 46-24 in points in the paint and 23-9 in points off of turnovers.

Ivory James led Wright State with 22 points on eight of 11 shooting from the field while Mingo added 19, 12 in the second half.  Demmings added 15 points and eight rebounds and Tayler Stanton had 10 points.

Rodriguez paced Milwaukee (8-19, 4-10 Horizon) with 19 points, 15 in the first half, while Bre'Zall Warren had 17 and Avyanna Young a double-double of 12 points and 13 rebounds.