YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The Cleveland State women's basketball was able to pick up a series sweep over Youngstown State Saturday afternoon, notching a 53-43 victory over Penguins. With the win, the Vikings are now 6-18 on the season, and 3-11 in Horizon League play.
Game Stats
· Olivia Voskuhl and Brooke Smith both notched double-digit points for the Vikings, Voskuhl with 16 points and Smith with 14 points.
· Brooke Smith tallied 12 of her 14 points at the free-throw line, going 12-for-14 from the line.
· Ashanti Abshaw grabbed a team-high 14 rebounds.
· Khayla Livingston tallied five assists, while Brooke Smith added two.
· Brooke Smith grabbed a team-best four steals, while Ashanti Abshaw and Nicolete Newman both added three.
·As a team, the Vikings grabbed 13 steals, their 16th game with 10 or more steals this season.
Game Notes
· Saturday's game was played under the direction of Associate Head Coach Beth Couture, as head coach Kate Peterson Abiad was enjoying time with her newborn daughter Remi.
· This is the first series sweep for the Vikings this season, as Cleveland State picked up a 75-68 victory over the Penguins last month at the Wolstein Center.
The Game
After going into the halftime break trailing by just one point at 19-18, the Vikings opened the second half on a 10-2 run, regaining a 28-21 advantage with 5:08 left on the clock. The Penguins then responded with a 6-0 run of their own to come within one point at 28-27, but an Olivia Voskuhl three-pointer in the closing seconds of the third quarter put the Vikings back up by four points at 31-27.
Cleveland State was then able to extend its lead to double-digits at the start of the fourth quarter, as the Vikings opened the frame with eight straight points to gain a 39-27 advantage. After the Viking defense was able to hold the Penguins scoreless over the first 3:06 of the frame, YSU was able to close the gap to single digits with a three-pointer at the 6:54 mark, putting the score at 39-30.
Although a 4-for-4 effort from the free throw line from Brooke Smith over the next 1:19 put the Vikings back up by 13 at 43-30, Youngstown State responded with a 7-1 run over the next five minutes to put the score at 44-37. This would be as close as the Penguins would get though, as Cleveland State closed out the final two minutes of the contest outscoring YSU 9-6 for the 53-43 victory.
Up Next
· Cleveland State vs. UIC – Thursday, February 25 – 5:30 p.m. – Wolstein Center