CHICAGO, Ill. – Behind strong offensive performances from Ashanti Abshaw and Khayla Livingston, the Cleveland State women's basketball team picked up 63-59 victory over UIC Thursday evening, improving to 11-11 overall this season.

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Game Stats
· Khayla Livingston and Ashanti Abshaw led the Viking offense, Livingston with 24 points and Abshaw with 22 points.
· Olivia Voskuhl and Jade Ely each grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
· Khayla Livingston recorded seven assists on the game, while Jade Ely and Nicolete Newman both added three assists.
· Shadae Bosley notched three blocked shots on the game, while Khayla Livingston added two blocks and Olivia Voskuhl and Nicolete Newman posted one.
· As a team, the Vikings recorded 16 assists on 24 made field goals.
· Cleveland State recorded a .453 clip from the field, including a 58-percent mark during the first quarter.

Game Notes
· Ashanti Abshaw recorded her ninth 20-point game of the season at UIC, finishing with 22 points on a 9-for-15 effort from the field.
· Khayla Livingston tallied her fifth 20-point game of the season against the Flames, posting 24 points on the game.
· With her three blocked shots on the game, Shadae Bosley now has 75 blocked shots on her career – just the eighth Viking all-time to reach 75 career blocks.
· Cleveland State shot 45-percent from the field for the fifth time this season against UIC, posting a .453 clip from the floor.
· With the win, the Vikings picked up the season sweep of the Flames – the first sweep of the season for Cleveland State.

The Game
After going into the halftime break with a slight 33-32 advantage, the Vikings came out slow to begin the third quarter, as UIC gained a 38-35 advantage over the opening minutes. Cleveland State was able to stop the run with back-to-back Khayla Livingston three-pointers, giving the lead back to the Vikings at 41-38 with 5:41 left in the frame.

The Vikings were then able to hold the advantage for the rest of the frame, but a 6-0 UIC run over the end of the quarter brought the Flames back within two points at 50-48 heading into the final 10 minutes of action.

The two teams then traded baskets over the first part of the fourth quarter, until back-to-back baskets from Ashanti Abshaw and Livingston gave the Vikings a three-point lead at 59-56 with just over two minutes left to play. In addition to their mini scoring run, the Vikings had a strong defensive effort over the second half of the frame, holding UIC to just three points over the final 4:45 of the contest.

Over the final 19 seconds, Livingston went 4-for-4 from the free throw line, securing the 63-59 victory for the Vikings.

Up Next
· Cleveland State @ Valparaiso – Saturday, February 4- 2:30 p.m. EST – Valparaiso, Ind.