CLEVELAND, Ohio – Behind a career-high tying 32-point effort from Ashanti Abshaw, the Cleveland State women's basketball team got back in the win column Saturday, picking up a 70-67 victory over UIC. The Vikings now stand at 11-4 overall this season and 3-1 in Horizon League play.
Cleveland State vs. UIC Box Score
Game Stats
· Ashanti Abshaw led the Viking offense with 32 points, while Mariah Miller chipped in 12 and Olivia Voskuhl added 10.
· Mariah Miller grabbed a team-high eight rebounds, while Ashanti Abshaw and Jade Ely both recorded four boards.
· Khayla Livingston posted six assists, while Ashanti Abshaw added three.
· Jade Ely notched two blocked shots.
· As a team, the Vikings recorded a .473 field goal percentage, including a .643 clip during the second quarter.
· The Vikings forced UIC into 16 turnovers, and recorded 23 points off of those turnovers.
Game Notes
· 23 of Ashanti Abshaw's points came during the first half against UIC, while the 32 points tied her career-high.
· Mariah Miller was just shy of a double-double, finishing with 12 points and eight rebounds.
· Cleveland State improved to 20-7 against UIC when playing in the Wolstein Center.
· The Vikings finished their four-game Horizon League opening homestand with a 3-1 record.
The Game
During the opening quarter, both teams traded baskets throughout the majority of the frame, until Cleveland State went on a 7-0 run over the final 1:51 to gain a 16-13 advantage after the first 10 minutes of play.
The second frame was much of the same, as both teams traded baskets throughout the opening portion, until a Mariah Miller offensive rebound and put-back broke a 26-26 tie at the 3:43 mark. Including this basket, the Vikings closed out the second frame on a 12-6 run, taking a 38-32 advantage into the halftime break.
Over the first 3:18 of the third frame the Vikings were able to extend their lead to double-digits, taking a 45-35 lead following an Olivia Voskuhl jumper at the 6:42 mark. The Vikings then added to their lead on the next possession, as another Voskuhl basket put the Vikings up by 12 at 47-35. Cleveland State was then able to control play throughout the rest of the frame, heading into the final 10 minutes of action with a 56-42 lead.
Despite holding a double-digit lead heading into the fourth quarter, the Viking offense went silent during the start of the final frame, as UIC took control of the game and closed the gap to just one point at 63-62 following a 7-0 run. The Vikings were able to stop the UIC run with a Jade Ely free throw at the 1:46 mark, and then regained a four-point advantage with an Abshaw steal and layup on the next possession.
The Flames were quickly able to trim the lead back to two points at 66-64, which held until the final 10 seconds of the contest, when Khayla Livingston converted a pair of free throws to put the Vikings up 68-64 with just seconds remaining.
On their next trip down the floor, the Flames converted a three-point shot to close the gap to just one point at 68-67, but another 2-for-2 effort from Voskuhl at the free throw line iced the game for the Vikings.
CSU Career Record Book
· With six assists against UIC, Khayla Livingston moved into seventh place in the CSU Career Record Book with 341 career helpers.
Up Next
· Cleveland State will hit the road for the first time during Horizon League play next week, traveling to Milwaukee (Thursday, January 11), Green Bay (Saturday, January 13) and Northern Kentucky (Monday, January 15) to play three games over a five-day span.
