CLEVELAND, Ohio – Behind a 20-point performance from junior Khayla Livingston the Cleveland State women's basketball picked up its third victory in Horizon League play Thursday evening, earning a 71-60 win over the Valparaiso Crusaders. With the win the Vikings improve to 8-7 overall this season and 3-1 in league action.

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Game Stats
· Khayla Livingston led the Viking offense with 20 points, while Ashanti Abshaw added 17 points and Nicolete Newman posted 13 points.
· Ashanti Abshaw led the rebounding effort grabbing 11 boards, while Khayla Livingston posted nine rebounds and Olivia Voskuhl and Nicolete Newman each added six boards.
· Jade Ely handed out a team-high four assists.
· Olivia Voskuhl tallied four steals on the game, while Ashanti Abshaw grabbed two steals.
· As a team, the Vikings posted eight blocked shots, including two from Olivia Voskuhl and Shadae Bosley.

Game Notes
· Khayla Livingston notched her second 20-point game of the season, finishing right on the number against Valparaiso.
· Ashanti Abshaw recorded her third double-double of the season, and her second straight double-double, with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
· With her 17-point performance against the Crusaders, Ashanti Abshaw eclipsed the 800-point mark for her career, finishing the game with 801 career points.
· For the eighth straight game Shadae Bosley notched at least one blocked shot, recording one block against the Crusaders to mark the 63^rd block of her career.
· Alexis Eckles is now just one blocked shot shy of recording her 60^th career block, and becoming just the 11^th Viking all-time to achieve the feat.
· With the win over Valparaiso, Cleveland State has now won four of its last five games and six of its last nine.

The Game
After a 21-point first quarter the Vikings were able to go into the halftime break with a lead for just the fifth time this season, holding a 30-27 advantage over the Crusaders.

The Vikings were able to carry their momentum into the third quarter then, outscoring Valparaiso 19-7 during the frame. After a 7-0 run during the middle of the third quarter the Vikings were able to gain a double-digit advantage at 39-29, and then closed out the quarter on a 10-5 run to put the score at 49-34 heading into the final 10 minutes of action.

Cleveland State was able to hold onto its double-digit lead throughout the majority of the fourth quarter, until an 8-4 run from Valparaiso brought the Crusaders back to within nine points at 64-55 with just over one minute left in the contest.

Although a Nicolete Newman free throw at the 1:07 mark put the Vikings back up by double-digits at 65-55, the Crusaders kept inching back into the game, coming within seven points multiple times over the next 37 seconds of action. With time running out, Valparaiso was forced to foul Cleveland State, with the Vikings going 6-for-8 from the free throw over the final minute of play to secure the 11-point victory.

Up Next
· Cleveland State vs. UIC – Saturday, January 14 – 1:00 p.m. – Wolstein Center