CLEVELAND, Ohio – For the seventh straight season the Cleveland State women's basketball team was victorious in its home opener, defeating Toledo, 81-71 Friday evening. The win also gave CSU its fifth win in season-openers over the past six years.
"I am very pleased with how we performed both offensively and defensively against a tough opponent in Toledo for our first game of the season," head coach Kate Peterson Abiad said. "They execute their plays very well and you definitely have to be tuned in defensively against them or they have the strength to get some easy baskets. I felt like our players were very focused throughout every possession, and I thought we did a very good job of handling everything they threw at us offensively. We certainly had some break downs at times, but overall I was very pleased with our performance."
The Vikings were led by four players who finished with double-figure points, including Cori Coleman who notched her 10th 20-point game of the season finishing right on 20 points. Imani Gordon was just shy of a double-double, recording 16 points and nine rebounds, while Adesuwa Aideyman chipped in 13 points and Ashanti Abshaw added 12 points in her collegiate debut.
"Primarily we ran our motion offense tonight, which is all about reading and reacting. We have a lot of potential scorers on our team, and we have encouraged them over the past two weeks to really work without the ball and we are seeing better looks offensively because of that. I think because of the number of players that can score for us, our boxscore may look different from game-to-game, depending on who gets the looks and how people defend us. Tonight, Cori and Imani both had great offensive games and were able to contribute, combing for 36 of our points," Peterson Abiad said.
During the opening half, the Rockets were able to get out to an early lead, but an 11-3 run from the Vikings that started at the 7:20 mark gave Cleveland State a nine-point lead (34-25) that they would hold for the rest of the frame. During this run, CSU notched a trio of three-pointers, including one from Coleman who had a team-high four made shots from behind-the-arc.
Going into the halftime break, the Vikings held a 41-31 advantage, after Gordon was able to convert a three-point shot as time was expiring.
Throughout the first part of the second half the two teams traded baskets, until CSU posted a 6-2 run – with three points from Coleman and three from Abshaw – to gain their largest lead of the contest at 56-42 with 8:30 left to play. The Vikings were able to hold a double-digit lead for the next four minutes, before Toledo went on a 9-2 run to close the gap to just seven points at the 62-55 mark.
"In her college debut, I thought Ashanti played some quality minutes for us and was definitely able to shake off the first game nerves. She was really focused defensively, and was paying attention to what she had to do. She has always been an offensive-minded player, but I think she is quickly becoming part of our defensive system," Peterson Abiad said.
After Toledo was able to cut the lead, the Vikings responded with back-to-back three pointers from Aideyman, to regain a 13-point lead (68-55) with just 3:35 left on the clock. Cleveland State was then able to control play over the final three minutes, and cemented the victory with an 8-for-10 effort from the free throw line over the final 1:07.
As a team, Cleveland State shot 44-percent from the floor (28-63), including a 50-percent mark during the first half (15-30). The Vikings recorded 15 assists on the game, with all but one player recording at least one helper – with a team-high four coming from Brooke Smith.
The Vikings will now hit the road for a three-game roadswing, beginning at Big Ten opponent Minnesota on Wednesday, November 19. Links for live stats and live audio can be found on the women's basketball schedule page at CSUVikings.com
"Minnesota is going to be bigger, and have more scoring potential so we will really have to be dialed in and ready to play next Wednesday. We will look at what hurt us in this game – boxing out and offensive consistency being two of those things – and work hard over the next couple practices to improve those areas. Moving forward we just have to take care of us, and focus on what we are doing. The Minnesota game is a game that we know will be a big challenge, but I am looking forward to seeing what this team can put together and bring to the court," Peterson Abiad said.
