CLEVELAND, Ohio – Behind a pair of 20-point performances from Ashanti Abshaw and Khayla Livingston, the Cleveland State women's basketball team picked up its first victory of the season, earning a 77-65 victory over Eastern Michigan Thursday evening. The Vikings are now 1-1 on the 2017-18 campaign.
Cleveland State vs. Eastern Michigan Box Score
Game Stats
· Ashanti Abshaw and Khayla Livingston led the Viking offense, Abshaw with 27 points and Livingston with 22 points.
· Olivia Voskuhl added 14 points.
· Mariah Miller grabbed a team-best 11 rebounds, while Olivia Voskuhl notched six and Shadae Bosley added five.
· Cleveland State recorded 20 assists on its 27 made field goals, including eight from Khayla Livingston.
· Ashanti Abshaw and Jade Ely both recorded a pair of steals on the game.
· Shadae Bosley recorded three blocked shots against the Eagles.
· As a team, Cleveland State knocked down 10 three-pointers, with six from Khayla Livingston and four from Ashanti Abshaw.
· The Vikings shot 52-percent from the floor during the contest, and recorded a .556 clip from behind-the-arc.
Game Notes
· Mariah Miller marked a career-high with her 11 boards against the Eagles – notching just her second double-digit rebound game of her career.
· With her three blocked shots against EMU, Shadae Bosley moved into fifth place in the CSU Career Record Book with 91 total blocks.
·Ashanti Abshaw recorded her second straight 20-point game of the season, and the 23rd of her career, with a 27-point effort against EMU.
· Cleveland State's .529 field goal percentage is a program-best since the 2014-15 season, when the Vikings also shot 52-percent against UIC (3/11/15).
· With her six three-pointers on the game, Khayla Livingston now has 150 career three-pointers.
· Thursday's win marked the first of the 2017-18 season.
The Game
The Viking offense was on fire from the start of the game, as they opened the first quarter on an 11-3 run, including a pair of three-pointers from Ashanti Abshaw. The Eagles were able to snap the Cleveland State scoring run with a layup at the 5:04 mark, but the Vikings responded with seven straight points, extending their lead to 18-5 with 3:55 left to play in the frame. Over the final three minutes of the quarter, Cleveland State outscored EMU 6-4 to take a 24-9 advantage into the second quarter.
Eastern Michigan was able to score seven of the first 12 points during the second frame then, forcing a Cleveland State timeout just three minutes into the period. The Vikings adjusted out of the timeout though, with Abshaw and Khayla Livingston each knocking down a three-pointer to regain a 35-16 lead at the 4:43 mark. Another run from Eastern Michigan brought the Eagles back within 10 points at the 35-25 mark, but the Vikings were able to close out the quarter on a 6-3 run, taking a 41-28 advantage into the halftime break.
During the opening minutes of the second half the Eagles were able to work their way back into the contest, closing the gap to just six points at the 44-38 mark, but a layup from Olivia Voskuhl put the Vikings back up by eight at 46-38 with 4:31 left in the quarter. The Vikings then tallied 10 straight points – including a pair of three-pointers from Livingston – to regain a double-digit lead at 56-38.
After taking a 56-45 lead into the final frame, the Vikings were able to maintain a double-digit lead for the majority of the fourth quarter, holding off multiple Eastern Michigan runs. After the Eagles were able to trim the lead down to just eight points in the final minutes of the contest, Cleveland State responded with a Livingston three-pointer, regaining an 11-point lead at 72-61. The Vikings then went on a 5-1 run with a 5-for-6 performance from the free throw line, extending the lead to 77-62 with less than one minute left to play. Cleveland State then went on to capture the 77-65 victory – the Vikings' first win of the 2017-18 season.
Livingston 1,000-Point Tracker
· Following a 22-point performance against Eastern Michigan, Khayla Livingston is now just 28 points shy of notching 1,000 for her career. Livingston would become the 28th Viking all-time to reach the milestone.
Up Next
· Cleveland State will host Marshall at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday (November 19), closing out a three-game homestand to open the 2017-18 season.
