CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland State women's basketball team got back on the winning track Thursday evening, picking up a 79-49 victory over Lake Erie. The Vikings improve to 2-2 on the season, with both wins coming at home in the Wolstein Center.

Cleveland State 79, Lake Erie 49 PDF Box Score

Starting Five
· Crockett, Slaney, Ely, White, Miller

Game Stats
· Jade Ely led the Viking offense with 18 points on a perfect 8-for-8 performance from the floor.

· Mariah Miller added 15 points and Savanna Crockett chipped in 10 points.

· Savanna Crockett and Mariah Miller led the rebounding effort, Crockett with 12 and Miller with 10 boards.

· As a team, the Vikings recorded 16 assists, with Jade Ely posting four helpers.

· Savanna Crockett recorded three blocked shots against Lake Erie, while Mariah Miller and Nadia Dumas each added one.

· Cleveland State tallied 13 total steals on the game, including five from Jade Ely.

Game Notes
· Savanna Crockett recorded her second straight double-double Thursday evening, finishing with 10 points and 12 rebounds.

· Mariah Miller tallied her second double-double of the season, posting 15 points and 10 rebounds.

· Shyla Latone appeared in her first collegiate game against Lake Erie, recording three points in three minutes of action.

The Game
During the opening minutes of the first quarter, Cleveland State was able to get out to a quick 7-3 lead and never looked back, as the Vikings went on to control play for the rest of the contest. The Vikings went on a 9-2 run during the middle of the frame, gaining a double-digit lead at the 16-6 mark on a Mariah Miller layup.

The Vikings then closed out the frame with a 22-13 lead, and posted a 15-2 run to start the second period, extending their lead to 37-15 with seven minutes left in the quarter. During this span, the Vikings went 3-for-3 from behind-the-arc, with JaMiya Braxton recording two three-pointers and Rachel Slaney adding the third. Cleveland State held a sizeable advantage for the rest of the period then, going into the halftime break with a 32-point advantage at 51-19.

Cleveland State was able to sustain its advantage throughout the third period, as it headed into the final 10 minutes of action with a 65-32 lead.

After Lake Erie opened the fourth quarter with five straight points, the Vikings responded with a 6-0 run of their own, including back-to-back layups from Savanna Crockett to regain a 30-point lead at 71-37. The two teams then traded baskets throughout the remainder of the contest, with Cleveland State clinching the 79-49 victory.

From The Sidelines
Overall thoughts on the game…
"I thought we played great in the first half, the second quarter was some of the best Cleveland State basketball that we have played so far this season. You always want to show growth, and in the first half that is what we did. We did a lot of things well as individual players, and even more important, we played really well as a team. We are all growing and fitting into this new system, so to show the improvement that we did tonight is definitely a step in the right direction."

Thoughts on Jade Ely's performance…
"Jade played well tonight, she made some good reads in transition, and did a good job of getting her teammates involved. She still has some things that she needs to work on, but she is continually improving her game and she is fitting into the true point guard role."

On tonight's performance and the continued growth…
"Overall our transition game was really good tonight, but we still left some points on the floor. The ceiling for growth is going to be unlimited for this team, and our players need to understand that. I thought we left something on the floor during the second half, which is disappointing. But when you come out of the lockerroom with a lead like that, it's hard to continue your momentum and keep up the pace. That's the difference with great teams though, they play hard no matter what the score is, and that is something that we need to improve on throughout the season."

On the upcoming three games…
"This next week is critical for us, and we have continually gotten better throughout the first part of this season. Although we didn't get the wins last weekend, we still went on the road and showed that we could play some really good basketball. We need to do that again next weekend, against some tough opponents. To get the results we want next week, we need to play well on both ends of the floor, and get better definitely."

Up Next
The Vikings will close out their current two-game homestand on Monday, November 19, hosting Illinois State at 7:00 p.m.