Women's Basketball Championship Summary - Quarterfinals
March 12, 2008
Championship Central
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - In the quarterfinals of the Horizon League Championship, No. 4 seed Cleveland State defeated No. 5 seed Butler (79-68), while No. 2 seed Wright State took down No. 7 seed Youngstown State (69-60). In Wisconsin, No. 3 seed Milwaukee held off Valparaiso (67-60), while No. 1 seed Green Bay beat No. 9 seed Loyola (83-67). The Championship semifinals and finals will be held in Green Bay, Wis. at the Kress Events Center.
No. 4 seed Cleveland State 79, No. 5 seed Butler 68
CLEVELAND, Ohio - A solid second half effort secured a win for fourth-seeded Cleveland State, 79-68, in their first round game of the Horizon League Tournament against Butler Wednesday night at the Wolstein Center. With the win, the Vikings advance to the tournament semi-final round for the first time since the 2002-03 season.
With the win, the Vikings improve to 17-13 (11-8 HL), ending the Bulldogs' season at 20-10 (10-9 HL).
Kailey Klein paced the Vikings with a game-high 20 points (5-11 FG, 2-6 3PT, 9-12 FT) to go with her game-high 13 rebounds. She also contributed six assists and two steals.
After a first half that saw the Vikings lead by as many as 21 and as little as three, and a second half that featured four lead changes, CSU proved to have the answers to Butler's attack when it mattered most, outscoring the Bulldogs 19-10 in the final eight minutes of the game to take the lead and secure the win.
The Vikings started the game shooting well, using a 7-0 run to take the initial lead. Bulldog head coach Beth Couture then called a timeout to halt CSU's momentum, and Butler quickly responded with their first points of the game on a Susan Lester lay-up to make the score 7-2 at the 16:41 mark.
The Vikings then outscored the Bulldogs 26-10 over the next seven minutes of regulation to build a 21-point lead, 33-12, at the 9:29 mark following a three-pointer by Jessica Rouque. The lead was CSU's largest of the game.
The Bulldogs then showed resolve to make a game out of it, going on a run of their own to cut the Vikings' lead in the first half to as little as three with a Tara Miller three-pointer to make the score 42-39. The Vikings added another two from Dominique Butler to go into the locker room with a five point lead, 44-39.
Butler was able to take their first lead of the game at the 13:21 mark of the second half on a lay-up by Candace Jones, 51-50. After three more lead changes, the Vikings gained the lead for good following three free throws from Klein, making the score 60-59 at the 8:05 mark. CSU never looked back, closing out Butler with a 19-10 final eight minutes to run the final score to 78-69 in favor of the Vikings.
Reigning Horizon League defensive player of the year Dominique Butler also gave the Vikings a boost with 13 points (5-for-10 shooting, 3-for-3 FT) to go with seven boards, while Jessica Roque came off the bench to contribute 15 points (5-9 FG, 2-3 3PT, 3-3 FT).
The Bulldogs were led in their losing effort by Brittany Bowen, who had a team-high 17 points on 7-for-16 shooting, including 2-for-5 from three and 1-for-2 from the line.
Box Score
No. 2 seed Wright State 69, No. 7 seed Youngstown State 60
DAYTON, Ohio - Wright State shot 58 percent in the first half and had four players score in double figures as the Raiders defeated Youngstown State 69-60 in Horizon League women's basketball quarterfinal action at the Nutter Center Wednesday night.
The WSU lead was just 12-11 nine minutes into the game until the Raiders scored eight straight points, including back-to-back threes from Whitney Lewis. A Heather Karner triple made it 25-20 with 6:27 remaining in the half, but two Shey Peddy foul shots and a jumper from the freshman guard pushed the margin up to 11 before Wright State took a 37-29 lead into the break.
The Raiders shot 58 percent from the floor over the first 20 minutes compared to just 36 percent for Youngstown State.
WSU gradually extended the lead to 49-33 following a Peddy three-pointer at the 12:38 mark, only to see the Penguins close the gap to 50-42 after a Velissa Vaughn free throw with 8:56 left.
Back-to-back Karner threes again made it an eight-point game at 56-48 with 6:45 remaining, but Kanisha Ward responded on Wright State's next possession by banking in a three just before the shot clock expired.
Two foul shots and a layup by Erica Richardson made it 63-48 and the Raiders maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the way until two Toni Roscoe free throws rounded out the scoring.
The Raiders shot 46 percent for the game compared to Youngstown State's 35 percent. YSU held a 36-33 rebounding advantage, but WSU had a 15-13 edge in second-chance points and also led in points in the paint (34-14), points off of turnovers (23-9) and fast-break points (10-0).
Peddy paced all scorers with 26 for the Raiders as she hit 10 of 13 shots, including four of five from three-point range. Lewis and Thomas each had 10 points and seven rebounds, with Thomas adding five assists, while Sierra Crayton also had 10 off the bench.
Tiara Scott posted a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds to lead Youngstown State (14-17) while Heather Karner had 15, Toni Roscoe 11 off the bench and Lauren Branson 10 along with six assists.
Wright State, now 15-15 on the season, heads to Green Bay for a semifinal matchup with Milwaukee on Friday, March 14, at 6:30 Eastern time. That game will be shown on the Horizon League Network. The championship is set for Sunday, March 16, at 1:00 Eastern and will be televised on ESPNU.
Box Score
No. 1 seed Green Bay 83, No. 9 seed Loyola 67
GREEN BAY, Wis. - The Green Bay women's basketball team (26-4) won its 13th straight game Wednesday evening with a strong showing in the second half as the top-seeded Phoenix defeated No. 9 seed Loyola 83-67 at the Kress Center.
Junior center Lavesa Glover led the Phoenix with 21 points while fellow junior Erin Templin was one off her career best with 16 points. Senior Kayla Groh and junior Rachel Porath added 14 and 12 points, respectively.Kati Harty just missed double-figures in scoring with nine points, but the junior guard teased a double-double with a career-tying high seven assists in the win.
Green Bay will now host the remainder of the Horizon League championship, starting Friday with semifinal action. The Phoenix will take on No. 4 seed Cleveland State at 8 p.m. central, while No. 2 seed Wright State will take on No. 3 seed Milwaukee at 5:30 p.m. central. Sunday's title game is slated for noon central and will be aired live on ESPNU.
Loyola (8-23) was led by Maggie McCloskey and her 22-point effort, while Elyse VanBogaert and Keisha Collins each added 16 points.
After scoring the first 10 points of the game, it looked as if Green Bay was on track to cruise past the lower-seeded Ramblers. But Loyola (8-23) clawed back, shooting 53.6 percent from the field in the first half. With a three-pointer by McCloskey with 1:16 left in the half, the Ramblers completed an 11-2 run to take a 38-33 lead. Green Bay answered with a quartet of free throws before the half, but entered the locker room trailing by one, 38-37.
But Green Bay burst out of the halftime break and answered Loyola with a 14-3 run to start the second half as part of its 46-29 second-half advantage. The Phoenix shot a blistering 68.2 percent in the second 20 minutes while holding Loyola to just 36.4 percent. After giving up seven three-pointers in the first half, Green Bay allowed just three long-distance shots of the Ramblers in the final half.
Loyola cut the Phoenix lead one more time, this time to a four-point game on a pair of McCloskey free throws after being fouled on a three-point attempt. But a Glover layup and a Porath three-pointer ignited a 16-4 run to put the contest away.
Aiding the Green Bay's cause was a season-low nine turnovers, a total that included four in the final 2:42 when the game was out of reach.Green Bay improved to 33-5 all-time in the Horizon League championship with the win and posted its 25th straight win at home against Horizon League foes.
Box Score
No. 3 seed Milwaukee 67, No. 6 seed Valparaiso 60
MILWAUKEE, Wis. - Junior Traci Edwards scored 26 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to lead the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's basketball team to a 67-60 win over Valparaiso in the quarterfinals of the 2008 Horizon League Tournament Wednesday evening at the Klotsche Center.
The third-seeded Panthers (17-13) advanced to the semifinals, where they will face No. 2 Wright State (15-15). The Raiders defeated Youngstown State, in Dayton, Ohio. UWM and WSU will square off Friday at the Kress Center in Green Bay, Wis. Tip off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
Edwards picked up her 17th double-double of the season, while adding a pair of blocks. She pushed her season scoring total to 614, just one point off the school record she set last season. Senior Aubri Rote added 10 points, knocking down three 3-pointers, while junior Jody Crumble chipped in seven points, nine rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Sarah Ott led three Crusaders (14-16) in double-figures, hitting five 3-pointers for 15 points. Aimee Litka also did all of her scoring from behind the arc, making four 3's, and Agnieszka Kulaga finished with 10 points and nine assists.
Milwaukee led by as many as 18, but could not shake a sharp-shooting Valpo squad. Edwards converted an old fashioned three-point play with 4:19 to play, giving UWM a 60-42 advantage. The Crusaders then rattled off a 15-1 run to pull within four at 61-57 at the 41-second mark. The Panthers converted 6-of-8 free throws the rest of the way to hold off Valpo's charge.
UWM shot 45.1 percent in the game, including 8-for-19 on three-pointers, while it held Valparaiso to just 37.9 percent from the field. The Crusaders did make 14-of-30 three-point attempts, but Milwaukee's size was too much, as the visitors were limited to 8-for-28 inside the arc.
The Panthers gained a 26-14 advantage in the paint and cleaned up on the boards with a 42-31 edge. They also tied a season-high with five blocked shots.
Milwaukee looked as though it would run away with the game a number of times, including after building a 15-6 lead less than halfway through the first half. A 10-0 Valpo run gave it its only lead of the game at 16-15 before back-to-back threes from freshman Lindsay Laur and sophomore Jodie McClain gave UWM the lead for good.
In the second half, it was a back-and-forth battle, as the Panthers used a 12-3 run to take a 14-point lead. Then the Crusaders had a 10-2 run of their own, before going 5:40 without a point to allow Milwaukee to build its largest lead of the game of 18 points.
Box Score
