GAME #28
Cleveland State @ Northern Kentucky
Saturday, March 5 | 7:00 p.m. | Highland Heights, Ky.
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Cleveland State @ Northern Kentucky
SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State women's basketball team will close out the 2015-16 regular season Saturday (March 5), traveling to Northern Kentucky for a 7:00 p.m. contest. The Vikings enter the final contest of the regular season slate with an 8-19 overall record and a 5-12 mark in Horizon League play, while NKU is currently 17-11 overall and 9-8 in league play.
A WIN SATURDAY WOULD…
Put the Vikings back on the winning track…Give the two teams a season split in the series…Mark Cleveland State's first-ever win against Northern Kentucky…Bring Kate Peterson Abiad within two wins of the 175th of her head coaching career.
THE CLEVELAND STATE/NORTHERN KENTUCKY SERIES
This will be just the third meeting between the two teams, and just the second as Horizon League opponents. Prior to the matchup during the first half of league play back in January, the two teams hadn't met since the 1981-82 season. Saturday will mark the first time that Cleveland State will play at Northern Kentucky in program history.
SCOUTING THE NORSE
Northern Kentucky enters Saturday's contest with a 17-11 overall record and a 9-8 mark in their first season of Horizon League play…Entering the final contest of the 2015-16 regular season, NKU is tied for fifth in the Horizon League standings…The Norse have won three out of their last five games, including a 70-59 victory over Youngstown State last time out…Northern Kentucky ranks third in the league averaging 72.7 points per game, while also ranking third with a +7.6 scoring margin…The Norse have a league-best .354 three-point field goal percentage this season, while they rank third with a .420 clip from the floor…Individually, Christine Roush ranks third among league players averaging 16.4 points per game, while Courtney Roush ranks third with a .553 field goal percentage.
ABSHAW IMPROVES ON FRESHMAN CLASS SCORING RECORD
Redshirt freshman Ashanti Abshaw continues to add to her Cleveland State freshman class scoring record, entering Saturday's contest with a program-best 436 points this season. Abshaw broke the CSU freshman class scoring record following her 23-point performance against UIC last weekend, and then added to her point total with a career-high 26 points against Valparaiso and 14 points at Wright State. Abshaw eclipsed the previous record of 387 points, which was set by Debra Taylor during the 1987-88 season.
…ABSHAW NAMED HORIZON LEAGUE FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
After setting a program record for freshman scoring last weekend, Ashanti Abshaw was named the Horizon League Freshman of the Week on Monday, February 29. The weekly honor is the fifth of the season for Abshaw, as she is one of three league freshmen to earn the honor at least five times this year (Taylor Jones, Oakland & Emily Vogelpohl, Wright State).
NEWMAN & BUTLER HAVE STRONG PERFORMANCES OFF THE BENCH
Cleveland State got strong performances from Nicolete Newman and Chrishna Butler off the bench at Wright State last time out, with both posting career-highs in multiple categories. Newman finished the game with a career-high tying 11 points on a career-best 3-for-6 effort from three-point, along with a career-best six assists. Butler recorded a career-best nine points on a perfect 3-for-3 performance from the field, including a 2-for-2 effort from behind-the-arc.
SMITH ON THE DEFENSIVE END
Entering Saturday's game at Northern Kentucky, Brooke Smith continues to lead the Horizon League averaging 3.1 steals per game. Smith, who is the only league player to average more than 3.0 steals per game, has notched at least two steals in all but five games this season, and notched a career-high of eight against UNCG and Oakland earlier this year. Nationally, Smith ranks 10th with her 3.1 steals per game, while she also ranks 17th with her 82 total steals this season.
BOSLEY BLOCK PARTY
Shadae Bosley put on a blocking clinic during the month of February, averaging 2.4 blocked shots per game during this seven-game stretch. Bosley, who has 36 total blocks this season, notched a career-high seven blocked shots against Oakland (Feb. 6), marking the highest single-game block total among league players this season. Bosley currently ranks fifth among league players averaging 1.4 blocks per game on the year, and is five blocked shots shy of cracking the top-10 on the CSU single-season record list.
ABSHAW SETS FRESHMAN CLASS REBOUNDING RECORD
Following her six-rebound performance at Wright State last time out Ashanti Abshaw set a program record for freshman class rebounding, finishing the contest with 251 rebounds this season. Abshaw, who has posted 11 double-digit rebounding performances this season, leads the team and ranks second among league players averaging 9.3 boards per game. Abshaw eclipsed the previous record of 250 rebounds which was set by Dianne Foster during the 1979-80 season.
LIVINGSTON FROM BEHIND-THE-ARC
Redshirt sophomore Khayla Livingston currently sits atop the Cleveland State career record book with a .401 three-point field goal percentage (79-for-197), and has been Cleveland State's top three-point shooter this season. For the year, Livingston is 55-for-132 (.414) from behind-the-arc, converting at least one three-pointer in all but three contests this year, including a career-high six at Detroit earlier this season. Among Horizon League players, Livingston is tops with her .414 clip from behind-the-arc and ranks eighth averaging 2.0 three-pointers per game.
UP NEXT
Cleveland State will participate in the 2016 Horizon League Championship next week, with play beginning on Thursday, March 10 and continuing through Sunday, March 13. The Vikings will have to wait for the conclusion of the regular season play to figure out what seed they will be for the upcoming tournament.
