CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Cleveland State women's basketball team opened the 2012-13 season Thursday evening, defeating Walsh University, 83-67, in an exhibition contest. Four Vikings scored in double-digits against the Cavaliers, led by Shalonda Winton who tallied 26 points and 13 rebounds. Cori Coleman and Honesty King each posted 14 points, while Imani Gordon added 10. Kiersten Green tallied a game-high seven steals, while Winton posted three blocked shots and four assists.
The Vikings got off to a strong start, gaining a 12-5 lead with four points from Winton and two three-pointers from King over the first four minutes. CSU was then able to extend its lead to 22-11 at the 11:14 mark, and held a double-digit lead for the next five minutes before Walsh started to make a comeback in the closing minutes of the first half.
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The Cavaliers went on an 8-3 run over the next 1:40, coming within six points (30-24), before the Vikings closed out the first half posting 13 of the final 17 points. Included in that run was a three-pointer from Coleman and another from King, her fourth of the contest.
Cleveland State was able to hold its double-digit lead throughout the first five minutes of the second half, before Walsh was able to close the gap once again at the 15:18 mark (49-41). The Cavalier push wouldn't last for long though, as the Vikings tallied 12 straight points, including back-to-back Coleman three-pointers, to gain a 21-point advantage (68-47) with 10:42 left to play.
The Vikings held at least a 15-point lead for the remainder of the contest, and gained their largest lead of the night (22 points) at the 74-52 mark with a Gordon layup. CSU finished strong, converted seven of their final eight free throws for the 83-67 victory.
Also scoring for the Vikings Thursday evening were Kaila Montgomery (7 points), Nafeshia Holifield (6), Kiersten Green (2), Adesuwa Aideyman (2) and Haley Schmitt (2). Holifield also added six rebounds, while Gordon tallied five boards.
The Vikings will continue the exhibition portion of their schedule this Sunday (Nov. 4), hosting Urusline College at 4:00 p.m. in the Wolstein Center.
