Horizon League Women's Basketball Release #20 - Postseason Preview

March 20, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Cleveland State and Green Bay will begin its respective postseason slates on Saturday. The Vikings will make their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Championship against Stanford (8:30 p.m.) in Palo Alto, Calif., while the Phoenix will head to Des Moines, Iowa to play Drake (5:00 p.m.) in a rematch of its 2007-08 season-opener.

NCAA Tournament Notes
- Cleveland State will play in its first-ever NCAA Women's Basketball Championship against Stanford on Saturday. The Vikings earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament after they won three straight games in the Horizon League Championship to claim the Tournament title for the first time in school history.

- The Vikings begin the NCAA Championship with a 19-13 overall record. The Vikings' 19 victories this season mark an 11-win improvement from last year's 8-22 record and are the most wins by a CSU team since its 23-6 record in 1982-83.

- Cleveland State tied for fourth place in the final League standings after it was picked to finish eighth in the circuit's preseason poll.

- CSU and Stanford have met one time with the Cardinal claiming a 95-69 win at the UNLV Tournament on Nov. 28, 1986.

-Sophomore guard Kailey Klein leads the Vikings in scoring with an average of 19.9 points per game. Klein enters the NCAA Championship after she averaged 22.3 points per game en route to being selected as the Most Valuable Player of the Tournament.

- Klein, junior guard Dominique Butler and senior guard Brittany Korth were each selected to the League's All-Tournament team.

- In the Horizon League Championship, the Vikings shot 50.6 percent from the field in three games as a team and hit at a 59.6 percent clip alone against Green Bay in the semifinals.

- Cleveland State outscored its opponents 239-190 in the Horizon League Championship.

- CSU scored a season-best 90 points in the victory over Green Bay. The 90 points were the most scored by a Viking team since Jan. 28, 2002, when CSU topped IPFW, 99-65.

- Klein was selected to the All-Horizon League First Team and Butler was named the League's Defensive Player of the Year. Butler was also choosen to the All-Defensive team.

WNIT Tournament Notes
- Green Bay will meet Drake for the second time this season. The Phoenix opened its 2007-08 campaign against the Bulldogs (Nov. 9) and posted a 78-66 victory.

- The Phoenix will make its second appearance in the WNIT (1992, 2006). Green Bay received the automatic bid to the Tournament after it won the Horizon League regular-season crown with a 17-1 record. Green Bay's regular-season League crown was its 10th straight title.

- Green Bay closed out the regular season on a 12-game winning streak and gained the No. 1 seed in the Horizon League Championship.

- In the League Championship, Green Bay increased its consecutive win streak to 13 games following an 83-67 victory over No. 9 seed Loyola before losing to (No. 4 seed) Cleveland State in the semifinals.

- Green Bay's loss in the semifinals of Horizon League Championship marked just the second time since 1996 that the Phoenix had not played in the League title game.

- Led by 2008 Co-Coach of the Year Matt Bollant, who began his first season in Green Bay this past November, the Phoenix feature a balanced offensive attack with four players averaging in double-figures led by senior guard Kayla Groh (14.2 points per game).

News from around the League
Butler
The Bulldogs (20-10 overall, 10-8 Horizon League) were eliminated in the quarterfinal round of the Horizon League Championship following a 79-68 loss on the road to Cleveland State.

The loss to the Vikings in the quarterfinal round of the Championship snapped Butler's four-game winning streak.

The Bulldogs trailed by five (71-66) with 2:52 to go in the game, but Butler was held to just one field goal for the remainder of the contest.

Four BU players scored in double-figures with Brittany Bowen leading the way with 17 points on 7-of-16 shooting. Sophomore forward Susan Lester and junior center Lade Akande scored 15 and 11 points, respectively.

As a team, Butler hit at a 43.1 clip from the field, but struggled from beyond the arc as it shot just 25.0 percent, including an 0-8 mark in the second half.

Butler's victory over Valparaiso gave the Bulldogs their 20th win of the season, the most for the team since the 1997-98 campaign (25-6) and the most during head coach Beth Couture's six-year tenure.

Cleveland State
The Vikings (19-13 overall, 10-8 Horizon League) captured their first-ever Horizon League Women's Basketball Championship crown by defeating Wright State 70-56.

Sophomore guard Kailey Klein notched her 12th 20-point scoring output of the season as she was selected as the Tournament MVP. For the week, Klein notched 67 points (22.3 points per game).

In addition, Klein also pulled down 13 rebounds to collect her fourth double-double of the year.

Joining Klein in double-figures was junior guard Dominique Butler (16 points) and Brittany Korth (13 points). In addition, Butler collected her first double-double of the year as she tallied 13 rebounds.

Klein, Butler and Korth were each selected to the Horizon League All-Tournament team.

With the win, Cleveland State earned a bid in the NCAA Championship for the first time in school history. The Vikings will faceoff against Stanford at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday.

CSU and Stanford have met one time with the Cardinal claiming a 95-69 win at the UNLV Tournament on Nov. 28, 1986.

Cleveland State begins the Championship with a 19-13 overall record, including a 10-8 League mark.

The Vikings' 19 victories this season mark an 11-win improvement from last year's 8-22 record and are the most wins by a CSU team since its 23-6 record in 1982-83.

Detroit
The Titans (6-24 overall, 3-15 Horizon League) fell in the first round of the Horizon League Championship on the road to Youngstown State to end their 2007-08 season.

Junior guard Zemora Davis led the Titans with 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting. Junior guard Sandi Brown also scored in double-figures as she tallied 11 points.

Detroit struggled from the three-point range against the Penguins as it went just 2-of-13 from beyond the arc.

Detroit ended its regular season with two losses on the road as the Titans dropped a 59-50 decision at Milwaukee on Thursday and then were defeated by Green Bay on Saturday, 71-51

Brown collected her fourth career double-double at Milwaukee with a team-high 17 points and a career-best 12 rebounds. In addition, sophomore Chanica Hall chipped in with 10 points and dished out a game-high four assists against the Panthers. Brown went on to score in her 15th double figure game this season in the regular season finale against Green Bay with a team-high 15 points.

Green Bay
The Phoenix (26-5 overall, 17-1 Horizon League) was eliminated from the Horizon League Championship after falling 90-66 to Cleveland State in the semifinal round of the Horizon League Championship .

Green Bay returns to action on Saturday in the first round of the WNIT on Saturday against Drake.

The Phoenix will make its second appearance in the WNIT and its first since the 2006. In two trips to the WNIT, the Phoenix is 0-2 losing to Illinois (2001) and Iowa State (2006).

Green Bay's loss dropped the Phoenix to 33-6 all-time in the League Championship. Prior to the loss, the Phoenix had won 25 games at home against League opponents.

Green Bay was led by junior center Lavesa Glover's 17 points as she led four players in double figures. Junior guard Kati Harty added 15 points as she went 8-of-8 from the free throw line.

Senior Kayla Groh and junior Rachel Porath also scored in double-figures as they scored 14 and 11 points, respectively.

The Phoenix shot 34.6 percent in the first half and trailed 42-26 at halftime. Green Bay came out of the locker room by going 5-of-6 from the field and cut the lead to seven, 44-37, with 16:13 to go, but the Phoenix would get no closer.

For the game, Green Bay shot 42.6 percent from the field, while connecting at a 44.4 percent clip from beyond the arc.

Loyola
The Ramblers (8-23 overall, 5-13 Horizon League) were eliminated in the quarterfinal round of the Horizon League Championship following a 83-67 loss to Green Bay on the road.

Loyola led at the half after shooting a 53.6 percent in the first half, but in the second frame, the team connected at a 36.4 clip from the field as it was outscored 46-29.

Sophomore guard Maggie McCloskey led the way with 22 points, and Elyse VanBogaert and Keisha Collins each added 16 points apiece for the Ramblers.

In addition, McCloskey went 6-of-10 from beyond the arc (60.0 percent).

The six treys gave McCloskey 90 for the season, three better than former Loyola player Mary Just's single-season school record (87) and just three short of Jessica Wilhite's (UWM) single-season Horizon League mark.

All five of Loyola's starters will return for the 2008-09 season.

Milwaukee
The Panthers (17-14 overall, 11-7 Horizon League) were eliminated in the semifinal round of the Horizon League Championship.

Junior center Traci Edwards posted her second straight 20 point game in the League Championhip as she poured in a game-high 25 points. In addition, she also tied a tournament and school record by finishing 11-for-11 from the free throw line.

Edwards was the only Milwaukee player who finished in double figures. The UWM junior also broke the school record for points in a season (639) and points per game (20.6).

Both teams combined for 57 turnovers (WSU 29-UWM 28). UWM finished the game shooting at 42.1 percent.

Sophomore Jodie McClain hit a three-pointer to give the Panthers a game-high 10-point lead at 33-23 with less than four minutes to play in the second half.

Milwaukee then went 10:29 without a field goal, settling for just five free throws. The Raiders, meanwhile, rattled off 19 points to take a 42-38 lead with 6:29 to play.

The Panthers closed out the League schedule by winning four of their last six games and finished in a second-place tie with Wright State.

UIC
The Flames (10-20 overall, 6-12 Horizon League) were eliminated from the Horizon League Championship in the first round following a 73-69 overtime loss to Loyola on Monday.

UIC trailed by eight with 8:18 to go in the second half, but UIC drained eight straight points to cut the deficit to one. The Flames tied the game with 18 seconds remaining, but in the overtime session UIC was outscored 14-10.

Sophomore guard Jessie Miller posted game highs of 22 points and 14 rebounds to record her second double-double of the season. She also had a game-high seven steals.

As a team, the Flames forced the Ramblers into 20 turnovers. UIC also had 12 blocks, five of which came from Cassie Johnson.

Valparaiso
The Crusaders (14-16 overall, 9-9 Horizon League) were eliminated in the quarterfinal round of the Horizon League Championship losing 67-60 at Milwaukee.

Valparaiso trailed by 18 points with 4:19 to play after trailing by just six at the half (30-24).

The Crusaders rallied to cut the lead to just four points (61-57) with 41 seconds to play, but they would get no closer as Milwaukee scored six of the final nine points to secure the victory.

Milwaukee, shot 45.1 percent from the field for the game, including 42 percent from beyond the arc, while Valpo hit at a clip of 38.0 from the floor, but made 14-of-30 three-pointers to keep the game within reach.

The 14 triples are the third most for the Crusaders in a single game in school history.

Junior forward Sarah Ott led the Crusaders with 15 points. Fellow juniors Agnieszka Kulaga and Aimee Litka each chipped in with 12 and 10 points, respectively.

In 2007-08, Litka scored in double figures in 27 of 30 games this season.

Wright State
The Raiders (16-16 overall, 11-7 Horizon League) fell 70-56 to Cleveland State in the Horizon League Championship final.

Wright State's loss in the Championship marked the second time in the last four years that a WSU team had lost in the League tournament title game.

The Raiders trailed by nine points at halftime after shooting 35 percent in the first half.

In the second half, Wright State was able to close its deficit to just two points at 53-51 with 5:55 remaining, but the Vikings would go on a 17-5 run for the remaider of the game.

Freshman guard Shey Peddy scored a game-high 31 points on 9-of-16 shooting as she was named to the All-Tournament team. Peddy was the only Raiders selected to the All-Tournament squad.

The Raiders finished the game by shooting 41.9 percent from the field, which was their lowest shooting percentage of the Tournament. WSU never trailed for the entire game.

Wright State closed out the 2007-08 campaign by winning six of its last 10 games.

The Raiders' 16 overall victories were the most since the 2004-05 season. WSU's win total was the second-highest dating back to 1987-88 campaign.

Youngstown State
The Penguins (14-17 overall, 8-10 Horizon League) were eliminated by Wright State in the quarterfinal round of the Horizon League Championship.

Junior forward Tiara Scott led the Penguins with team-bests of 18 points and 10 rebounds as she recorded her fifth double-double of the year.

Seniors Lauren Branson (10 points) and Heather Karner (15 points) and junior guard Toni Roscoe (11points) each scored in double figures,

As a team, YSU held a 36-33 advantage on the boards, but struggled from the field shooting just 35.2 percent from the field.

YSU finished the regular season with a loss at Loyola (86-70) on March 6 and a win on the road against UIC (71-62) on March 8.

The Penguins' victory over UIC marked its eighth League win and matched its highest total since joining the Horizon League in 2001-02.