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GAME 8
Miami (Ohio) (5-3) at Cleveland State (3-4)
Date: Saturday, December 8, 2012
Time: 2:00 p.m.
Site: Wolstein Center - Cleveland, Ohio
Series: Miami (Ohio) leads, 7-0
Last Meeting: Miami 89, Cleveland State 71 (@MU, 12/1/07)
SETTING THE SCENE
The Vikings will look to continue their two-game win streak this Saturday (Dec. 8), hosting the Miami (Ohio) Redhawks in a 2:00 p.m. contest. The Vikings, who enter the week just one win shy of reaching a .500 record for the year, defeated Indiana, 69-58, the last time out. Saturday's contest will be the eighth meeting between the two teams, with CSU still trying for its first victory over the Redhawks.
LAST TIME OUT
Last Sunday Cleveland State picked up their first road win of the season, defeating Indiana, 69-58. The victory was the second all-time against the Hoosiers and the first in Assembly Hall.
SCOUTING THE REDHAWKS
Miami (Ohio) also enters the week on a two-game win streak, most recently defeating Wright State, 72-54...With a 5-3 record, the Redhawks are tied for second in the MAC East Division behind Akron (7-1)...Kirsten Olowinski became the all-time leader in blocks last weekend (135) and also became the 21st Redhawk to post 1,000 career points in the WSU contest...Courtney Osborn is closing in on the top of the all-time scoring chart, currently sitting third (1,706) and ranking second in the MAC this season averaging 18.7 ppg...Olowinski is averaging 10.1 rebounds per game this season, ranking second all-time at MU with 899 career boards.
TAKING CARE OF THE BALL
For the first time since the 2009-10 season the Vikings committed less than 10 turnovers, recording nine against Indiana. On the other hand, CSU forced Indiana into 16 turnovers, marking the sixth game this season that Cleveland State's opponent has had 15 or more turnovers. Sunday also marked the fifth time this season that CSU has recorded fewer turnovers than its opponent.
GREEN CONTINUES SCORING STREAK
Kiersten Green, who struggled offensively through the first two games of the season, continued her scoring streak against Indiana, posting her fifth straight double-digit game with a career-high 15 points. Green, who bettered her career mark that she set against Nevada earlier this year, was 5-for-11 from the field and 5-for-6 from the free throw line against the Hoosiers.
COLEMAN FROM BEHIND THE ARC
Cori Coleman, who has a team-high 12 three-pointers so far this season, has recorded three three-pointers in back-to-back games - against VCU and at Indiana. Coleman ranks 13th in the league with a .353 three-point percentage, and has converted at least one shot from the behind the arc in six out of seven games this year.
20+ FOR WINTON
For the sixth time this season Shalonda Winton reached the 20-point mark, posting 23 at Indiana. Winton, who leads the league in 20-point performances, has scored at least 20-points in six games this season, and just missed the mark against VCU with 17 points.
...ALSO MARKED CAREER-HIGH IN ASSISTS
Along with her 23-point performance against the Hoosiers, Shalonda Winton was just shy of her sixth double-double of the season, recording a career-high nine assists. Winton, who notched eight assists during the first half, ranks fourth in the league with 3.9 assists per game and has a team-high 27 on the season.
VIKINGS STRONG OFFENSIVELY AGAINST INDIANA
With a 26-for-53 performance from the field at Indiana last Sunday, Cleveland State posted a .491 field goal percentage - their best mark of the season. The last time the Vikings posted a field goal percentage of .490 or higher was against IPFW during the 2010-11 season (.526/30-for-57).
...ALSO STRONG AGAINST SANTA CLARA
The Vikings also had a strong offensive performance against Santa Clara (Nov. 24) earlier this season, posting a .450 field goal percentage (27-for-60). For the second straight season, CSU has now tallied a field goal percentage of .450 or higher in multiple games, also doing so against Green Bay (.460/23-for-50; Jan. 21) and Milwaukee (.462/24-for-52; Jan. 19) last year.
WINTON MAKING A DEFENSIVE DIFFERENCE
Shalonda Winton moved up the career blocks list against Indiana, posting her seventh block of the season. Winton now ranks fifth on the all-time career blocks list with 84 and leads the league averaging 1.0 blocked shots per game this season.
SCHMITT CONTINUES STRONG PLAY
Haley Schmitt, who recently set a career-high at Nevada (Nov. 23), bettered the mark last Wednesday against VCU (Nov. 28), recording 12 points on a 4-for-6 performance from the field. Schmitt was also 2-for-2 from behind the arc, while also posting five rebounds, an assist and a steal.
WINTON BECOMES ALL-TIME LEADER IN OFFENSIVE BOARDS
With six offensive rebounds against Nevada (Nov. 23), Shalonda Winton became the all-time leader in the category at Cleveland State, and enters Saturday's contest with 291. Winton, who now has 837 total rebounds on her career, passed Lanette Taylor (1989-92) who tallied 283 offensive rebounds during her career.
DOUBLE-DIGIT SCORING GAMES
For the last five contests Cleveland State has had at least three players score in double-digits, including Shalonda Winton andKiersten Green who have tallied 10 or more points in all five contests. In all five games, the top three point-scorers for CSU have combined for over 60-percent of the Vikings' points.
VIKINGS WITH THE STEAL
Entering the week Cleveland State leads the league averaging 10.3 steals per game, while four players rank in the top-10 individually - the most from a single school. The Vikings have notched double-digit steals in four contests this season, including a season-high 15 against Nevada. The individuals who rank in the top-15 are; Shalonda Winton (3.0-2nd), Kiersten Green (2.4-3rd),Imani Gordon (2.0-5th), Cori Coleman (1.6-10th).
WINTON IN THE NATIONAL STATS
After the first seven games of the season, Shalonda Winton ranks in the top-60 nationally in four categories. Winton ranks fifth nationally averaging 23.4 points per game, while she ranks 29th nationally with 10.6 rebounds per game. As one of just 13 players nationwide to have at least five double-doubles on the year, Winton ranks eighth, while also ranking 59th with 3.0 steals per contest.
WINTON REACHES 800-REBOUND MILESTONE
With her 12 boards at Illinois earlier this season, Shalonda Winton became the sixth Viking all-time to reach the 800-rebound milestone. Winton currently ranks sixth all-time at CSU with 837 rebounds, needing 18 more boards to move into fifth place which is held by Lanette Taylor (854 rebounds).
WINTON TIES CAREER-HIGH AGAINST NEVADA
Shalonda Winton's 31 points against the Wolfpack tied a career-high for the senior, and marked the third 30-point game of her career. Winton is one of two league players to post 30-point games this season (Shareta Brown, Detroit) and is second in the league with 164 points through seven games.
UP NEXT
The Vikings will hit the road for the final time during December, traveling to Nashville, Tenn. for a 3:00 p.m. EST contest against Tennessee State on Sunday, December 16. The contest will mark the third in the all-time series, with Cleveland State owning a 2-0 advantage.