Jan. 18, 2001

Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

Vikings Face Loyola In Home MCC-Opener: Having lost six of its last seven contests, Cleveland State returns home to face Loyola...the Vikings have played just one home game since Dec. 9...CSU will look to improve on its 4-1 record in Goodman Arena...this is the second straight year the Vikings have started 0-2 in the MCC...the Ramblers are 2-0 in the conference for the first time since 1988-89...Loyola won just one MCC game all of last year...CSU leads the all-time series 11-1, including a spotless 6-0 mark at home against the Ramblers...the Vikings are just 1-3 since shooting guard Erika Roudebush went down with a sprained ankle...today mark's junior forward Tonya Crum's first contest against her former team.

The Last Meeting: Cleveland State snapped a five game losing streak - its longest since 1997-98 - with a convincing 96-67 win over Loyola. The Vikings were nearly unstoppable from three-point range, knocking down a school-record 17 triples (one shy of the NCAA record) on 33 attempts.

Mahogany Green led all players with a career-high 31 points and nine rebounds. Green tallied 21 of her points courtesy of a school-record seven three pointers. Audra Cook added 15 points and six rebounds, while Juli Grant earned her second career double-double with 11 points and a game-high 10 assists. Lauren Sirus paced Loyola with 18 points.

The Vikings knocked down 10-of-14 triples in the first half en route to scoring a season-best 51 points in the opening stanza. CSU's 96 points for the game were also a season-high.

Just Like Butter: During their recent 2-6 slide, the Vikings have turned the ball over at least 20 times in seven of those contests. Over the eight games, CSU is averaging 21.9 giveaways per game while dishing out just 16.9 assists. However, in the win over Belmont, the Vikings did record a season-high 26 helpers.

Baptiste Leaves Team: Sophomore center Nicole Baptiste (Beavercreek, Ohio/Beavercreek) has decided to transfer from Cleveland State. She has left the basketball team, but will remain enrolled in classes through the end of the spring semester.

On Tap: The Vikings host Illinois-Chicago on Saturday before travelling to Butler and Wright State next week.

Vikings Fall At UW-Green Bay: Two offensive dry spells proved to be the difference, as Cleveland State (7-8, 0-2 MCC) fell at UW-Green Bay (10-5, 2-0 MCC), 65-60. With the loss, CSU falls to 1-29 all-time against UWGB.

Leading 16-3 five minutes into the first half, the Vikings went eight minutes without a bucket as the Phoenix gained control and took a 28-23 lead into the locker room. Then, with the score knotted at 43-43 at the 12-minute mark of the second stanza, the Vikings went through another drought as UWGB went on a 13-5 run over the next seven minutes to put the game out of reach.

Senior forward Mahogany Green paced the Vikings with team-highs of 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Senior guard Venus Harmeyer joined Green in double-digits with 12 points.

Center Mandy Stowe and forward Anne Warden paced UWGB with 23 and 13 points, respectively, as the Phoenix held a 32-12 advantage in the paint.

For the game, the Vikings were out-shot 43-33 percent and out-rebounded 44-34.

Noting Coach Burns: Cleveland State Head Coach Duffy Burns is now in his sixth year at the helm of the Vikings. CSU has posted a 72-83 (.465) mark under his direction, and last season advanced to the first conference championship game in school history. In addition, in 1998-99 Burns directed CSU to the school's first winning record since 1983-84 when the Vikings went 19-8 under Alice Khol -- a span of 15 years. CSU has led the MCC in three-point shooting all five years Burns has been the head coach, while posting an impressive conference record of 8-6 in both 1997-98 and 1998-99.

A Glance At The Staff: Burns' staff is rounded out by Deb Roof, Erica Floyd and LeAnna Hicks. Roof is in her eighth year at Cleveland State -- and in her third term as the top assistant. She played for CSU from 1987-91 and is 13th all-time with 231 assists. Floyd is in her third year on the staff after spending the previous four seasons at Kent State. She graduated in 1993 from Ohio State and was a two-year letterwinner for the Buckeyes. Hicks, the graduate assistant for the second straight season, completed an outstanding four-year career at Cleveland State in 1999. She finished as the all-time leader in three-point field goals with 162 and is also in the top 15 in points (1,059-12th) and assists (343-4th).

Triple Threat: The Vikings are continuing their torrid pace from behind the three-point arc during Duffy Burns' tenure. After setting the school record last year for triples in a season (231) and game (17 vs. Loyola 2/19), the Vikes are once again atop the conference at 8.20 bombs per game (3rd in the nation as of Jan. 15). The Vikings have led the MCC each of Burns' five years in Cleveland and led the nation in 1996 with 8.5 threes per game. In addition, CSU has made a three-pointer in 231 straight contests -- ranking behind only Louisville's current 279 game run in NCAA annals.

80's Enough: In the six seasons since Duffy Burns arrived in Cleveland, the Vikings have hit his self-proclaimed "magic number" of 80 points 43 times in 155 games (28%). Of those 43 contests, CSU has been victorious on 39 occasions (91%). All four losses were to conference opponents: UW-Milwaukee (2/17/96), Butler (2/24/96) and Detroit (1/30/97 & 2/5/00). The Vikings are already 6-0 this season when topping 80 points.

She Takes Charity: Sophomore shooting guard Erika Roudebush is having a fantastic year shooting the ball. Not only is she shooting .484 from the floor and .407 from the three-point line, but she leads the MCC at a .935 (29-for-31) clip from the free throw line. Since missing her first two at the charity stripe against Prairie View A & M on Nov. 25, Roudebush has canned 21 freebies in a row, including a 6-for-6 effort against Belmont on a sprained ankle. The school record of 26 was set by April Cunningham in 1996-97.

Green Steps Up: There's a saying that goes: It's not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog. Senior forward Mahogany Green is living proof that this is true. She currently ranks fourth in the conference in scoring (15.1), first in assists (4.53) and fifth in steals (2.13). In addition, despite measuring just 5-9, she is second in the MCC in rebounds (7.9) and double-doubles (4), trailing only Butler's Kelly Kuhn who stands 6-3 (9.1 rpg and 6 double-doubles).

Twin Towers: Kim Brockway (6-4) and Karyn Woloszynek (6-3) are doing their best to make life in the paint miserable for CSU's opponents. The pair has combined for 44 blocks -- more than every other team in the MCC but Butler (53) and Loyola (53). In her third season, Brockway ranks second at Cleveland State with 131 career blocks. Her total of 73 swats last season equaled the school record set by Jessica Toth in 1995-96.

On The Rebound: Last year, the Vikings were out-rebounded in 22-of-30 contests. However, that didn't seem to bother CSU too much, as evidenced by its -38 rebound margin in its improbable three-game run to the MCC title tilt. This season, the Vikings have already out-rebounded eight-of-15 foes, going 5-3 in those contests. After finishing last in the MCC in 1999-00 in rebound margin, the Vikings currently rank third at -0.5.

In A Minute: Last year Audra Cook, Juli Grant and Mahogany Green each averaged over 30 minutes per game. This season, with CSU's deeper bench, as Green is leading the team at just 28 minutes per game. In addition, eight other players are seeing at least 11 minutes of action.

Century Club: Cleveland State's 101-point outburst against Belmont marked the fourth time under Duffy Burns that the Vikings have topped the century mark and the sixth time in school history. CSU last scored 100 points on Nov. 16, 1998 when it defeated Chicago State 106-58.

Injury Equals Opportunity: Erika Roudebush's sprained ankle has given freshman Abby Scharlow the opportunity to start the last four games at shooting guard. She has responded with 44 points, eight rebounds, six assists, 15 steals and just six turnovers in the four contests.

No Barnburners Here: In 1999-2000, 18 of CSU's games were decided by less than 10 points (with the Vikings winning eight). However, so far this season 10-of-15 games have been double-digit margins of victory. CSU's seven wins have come by an average of 20 points a game, while the Vikings' seven losses have been by an average of 12 points a game. CSU's defense is the big reason for the discrepancy, as its opponents are shooting just 35 percent in Viking wins, but 45 percent in losses.

Ramblin' Woman: Junior forward Tonya Crum is playing her first season in a Cleveland State uniform since transferring from Loyola Chicago following the 1998-99 campaign. Crum's redshirt season was a rough one, as she had to deal with mononucleosis and tearing the ACL in her left knee. As a sophomore, she was named first team All-MCC after finishing sixth in the conference in scoring (12.6 ppg) and second in rebounding (8.4). Currently, she is ranks among the MCC leaders in both scoring (6.9-T28th), rebounding (5.5-10th) and field goal pct. (.474-7th).

Shooting Guard Gets Rowdy: Sophomore guard Erika Roudebush is going to have a tough time topping her opening weekend. After coming off the bench all of last season, Roudebush has started 11 contests this season as the two guard and has responded with a pair of career-highs. In the season-opener against Ohio State, she torched the nets for a career-best 21 points and followed that two days later with a game-high 22 against Niagara. She currently ranks among the conference leaders in free throw pct. (1st), scoring (9th), field goal pct. (5th), three-point field goal pct. (5th) and three-pointers (8th).

Center Of Attention: On Dec. 11, Junior center Kim Brockway earned MCC Player of the Week honors for the second time in her career. Brockway helped direct the Vikings to a pair of wins during the week. At Akron, she tallied 11 points, three rebounds and a pair of blocks in just 17 minutes as CSU blew out the Zips. She followed that up three days later by going 7-of-10 both from the field and the free throw line en route to 21 points (just one shy of her career-high), as the Vikings edged IUPUI. Brockway also added four rebounds and two blocks against the Jaguars.

No. 23 Becomes No. 15: On Nov. 25 against Prairie View A & M, senior forward Mahogany Green became the 15th player in the 27-year history of CSU women's basketball to score 1,000 career points. Green scored the historic point with a free throw at the 5:44 mark of the first half. Her performance against the Panthers helped earn her a spot on the All-Tournament team. Then on Jan. 6 she pulled down her 500th rebound, to become the ninth Viking with 1,000 points and 500 boards.

Green Makes History: It's hard to imagine, but senior forward Mahogany Green accomplished something against Niagara on Nov. 19 that only one other player had done in a combined 97 seasons of men's and women's basketball at Cleveland State. Green posted a triple-double against the Purple Eagles, tallying 16 points, 13 rebounds and a career-best 10 assists. Sue Koziol is the only other player to have notched a triple-double, pulling off the feat twice in 1983.

Indiana Quintet: On Nov. 14 Duffy Burns announced the signing of five recruits to National Letters of Intent -- Indiana natives Jill Barnbrook (South Bend, Ind/John Adams), Kate Doll (Granger, Ind./Penn), Nikki Perkins (Lafayette, Ind./Jefferson), Maria Rickards (New Albany, Ind./New Albany) and Mandy Sichting (Martinsville, Ind./Martinsville) all inked with the Vikings during the early signing period. All five were slated as preseason All-State picks by Hoosier Basketball Magazine and Barnbrook, Doll, Rickards and Sichting were each listed among the top 750 players in the nation by All-Star Girls Report.