Preview of Cleveland State's Trip to Women's NCAA Basketball Tournament
SETTING THE SCENE: Cleveland State will play in the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship for the second time in the last three seasons when the 15th-seeded Vikings travel to second-seeded Notre Dame for an opening round game on Sunday, March 21, beginning at approximately 2:50 p.m. in Purcell Pavillion at the Joyce Center. The game, part of the Kansas City Regional, will follow Sunday's first game between No. 7 Wisconsin and No. 10 Vermont with the two winners playing for a spot in the regional semifinals on Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. at Notre Dame. The Vikings enter the tournament playing their best basketball of the season, winning seven of their last eight contests, including three games last week to claim their second Horizon League Championship in the last three seasons. CSU enters the NCAA Championship at 19-13 overall, marking the third straight year that the Vikings have won 19 games, tied for the second most in a single season in school history. This will be the sixth meeting between CSU and Notre Dame with the Fighting Irish winning the previous five match-ups. UND is 27-5 overall and placed fourth in the Big East with a 12-4 mark.
PREVIEWING CLEVELAND STATE: For the second time in the last three seasons, Cleveland State will be playing in the NCAA Championship by virtue of winning the league's automatic bid. CSU's strength is built around its four seniors, led by three-time first team All-Horizon League selection Kailey Klein (18.6 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 2.3 apg). Joining her in the starting backcourt are senior twin sisters Jessica Roque (6.1, 2.6, 2.9) and Angel Roque (7.1, 2.5, 2.6) and junior Shawnita Garland (12.9, 4.9, 3.3), a second team all-league pick. Senior Stephaine Crosley (7.3, 5.8) is the most experienced post player on the roster and is joined in the frontcourt by sophomore Destinee Blue (2.0, 2.0) and freshmen Shalonda Winton (6.1, 4.9) and Kaila Montgomery (0.3, 0.5).Freshman guard Honesty King (3.4 ppg) continues to work her way into the rotation after redshirting last season, while sophomore Janelle Adams (5.0, 3.8) is an athletic wing-forward who has filled a bigger role this season. Sophomore Takima Keane (2.2, 0.7) provides depth as a wing-forward combo who can stretch the defense with her shooting.
THE HEAD COACH: Kate Peterson Abiad is in her seventh year at the helm of the CSU women's basketball program and claims an all-time record of 85-127. She has built CSU into one of the top programs in the Horizon League, leading the Vikings to two of the last three league titles and the first two bids to the NCAA tournament in program history. Peterson Abiad has led the Vikings to 19 wins in each of the last three seasons, tied for the second most in a single season in school history. The sixth head coach in school history, she spent six years as an assistant coach at Wisconsin, serving as the recruiting coordinator starting in 1998 after working as an assistant coach at Eastern Illinois (1993-97) and Indiana (1991-93). A 1991 graduate of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Peterson Abiad earned Kodak All-America honors her senior season after setting the NCAA Division III record for three-pointers per game at 3.85.
Date: Sunday, March 21, 2010
Time: 2:50 p.m. EST
Site: South Bend, Ind. - Purcell Pavilion at Joyce Center
Records: CSU: 19-13 / UND: 27-5
TV: ESPN (Eric Collins & Brooke Weisbrod)
Radio: WHK 1420 AM (David Wilson)
Tickets: $16 - adults
$11 - students (college age & younger)
Call 216-687-5440 for more info.
Series: UND leads, 5-0
Last Mtg: @UND 107, CSU 65 (11/26/02)
