NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, N.Y. – Behind a season-best 30-point effort from redshirt junior Ashanti Abshaw, the Cleveland State University women's basketball team collected a 70-61 win at Niagara Friday evening at the Gallagher Center. CSU's third consecutive win moved the Vikings to 5-2 on the year.

Cleveland State at Niagara Box Score

Game Stats
- Ashanti Abshaw posted a game-high 30 points, 28 of which came in the final three quarters.
- Abshaw also posted team highs for CSU in assists (4) and steals (4).
- Khayla Livingston and Olivia Voskuhl also reached double figures for the Vikings.
- Livingston notched 13 points, five rebounds and three assists on the game.
- Voskuhl tallied 13 points, a team-high seven rebounds and three assists.
- Shadae Bosley added a season-high four blocked shots with four rebounds while Jade Ely finished with five points, three assists and two steals.
- CSU shot 25-of-55 (45.5%) from the field while holding Niagara to 24-of-64 (37.5%).
- The Vikings were 7-of-21 (33.3%) from distance while the Purple Eagles were 2-of-11 (18.2%) from international waters. 

Game Notes
- Ashanti Abshaw posted the third 30-point game of her career, all of which have come away from home.
- Her 30 points, the most allowed by Niagara this season to an opponent, allowed her to surpass 1,200 for her career. It was also the fifth time this season she surpassed 20 points.
- With her four blocked shots, Shadae Bosley became the fifth Viking all-time to reach the 100 blocked shots plateau. She finished the game with 102 for her career.
- CSU posted team season bests in blocks (6) and free throw percentage (.929).
- Cleveland State had 25 points in the second quarter for the second straight game. It was the third time this season that the Vikings had 25+ points in any quarter.
- Cleveland State's third straight win moved the Vikings to 5-2 on the season. It is the best 7-game start to a season for CSU since 2010-11. It is the second time CSU has started this well under current head coach Kate Peterson Abiad. 

The Game
The teams traded baskets in the early going with CSU relying on sharp shooting to take a small edge after the opening quarter. Livingston scored the first eight points of the game for CSU on a pair of three pointers and a jumper. After Niagara took a 10-8 lead with four minutes left in the frame, CSU went on a 9-4 run to close the quarter with four different Vikings scoring in the spurt. Both teams made seven field goals in the opening quarter, but CSU connected a trio of shots from distance.

The second quarter was the difference in the game as the Vikings ran away from the host Purple Eagles. A lay-up from Abshaw and a three from Voskuhl gave CSU an eight-point lead early on, an edge the guests still enjoyed at the midpoint of the quarter. Cleveland State then scored nine straight points over a 2:25 span, seven of which came from the free throw line, to open up a 17-point lead. Niagara would hit a pair of free throws with under two seconds left in the half to make the halftime score 42-27.

Cleveland State initially came out strong in the third quarter, scoring on its first three possessions to open up a 21-point lead at 48-27, its largest of the night. That run would prove important as, after calling a timeout, Niagara slowly chipped away at its deficit over the remainder of the quarter. The Purple Eagles hit a jumper at the buzzer to trim their deficit to 11 points, the closest thus far in the second half.

Niagara scored on its first two possessions of the fourth quarter to cut CSU's lead to 55-48, but that was as close as it would get. Abshaw hit a three with an assist from Voskuhl on Cleveland State's next possession to cut into Niagara's momentum and reestablish a double digit lead. CSU still led by 10 points with 4:30 left. At that point, Abshaw would grab a CSU miss and convert an old-fashioned three-point play before scoring on CSU's next possession, after a Bosley steal, to push CSU's lead to 15 with under four minutes left, effectively putting the game away.

Coach Talk
"I felt we controlled the game in the first half very well," Peterson Abiad said. "We got high percentage shots and knocked them down. Coming out of the locker room in the second half, Niagara was ready to play and was effective in its full court pressure, which forced us to change our tempo. I think we're learning how to manage those types of situations and figure out how to get back on track. I thought we did that well enough tonight to get the win." 

Up Next
- Cleveland State returns home for its final non-conference home game of the season this coming Wednesday, Dec. 6, when it hosts Ohio.