DETROIT, Mich. – Despite double-doubles from Imani Gordon and Alexis Eckles, the Cleveland State women's basketball team fell at Detroit Saturday afternoon, 78-65. With the loss, the Vikings now stand at 15-10 overall this season and 7-5 in Horizon League play.
Imani Gordon led the Vikings with her fourth double-double of the season, posting a team-high 23 points along with 11 rebounds, while Alexis Eckles notched her seventh double-double of the year with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Brooke Smith tallied a career-high 17 points on the game along with four assists.
Detroit went into the halftime break with a 12-point lead (43-31), and then extended their lead to 55-36 over the first six minutes of the second period. The Vikings responded to this run with 12 straight points of their own, to bring the contest to 55-48 with 10:30 left to play.
After holding the Titans scoreless for a stretch of 4:47, Detroit was able to snap CSU's scoring streak with a jumper at the 8:58 mark to put the score at 57-48 with just under nine minutes left on the clock.
Smith notched four straight points over the next few possessions then, bringing the Vikings back within five points (57-52) at the 6:56 mark. The Titans were then able to extend their lead to double-digits once again at 63-52, and held at least an eight-point lead over the final 5:19 of the contest.
Over the final 1:45, Cleveland State put the Titans on the free throw line, as Detroit went 11-for-14 from the charity stripe to hold onto the advantage and come away with the 78-65 victory.
The Vikings will now stay on the road, traveling to Valparaiso for a 8:05 p.m. EST contest on Wednesday, February 25.