Feb. 27, 2001

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Vikings, Titans Battle For Third Seed: Today's winner earns the No. 3 seed for next week's MCC Tournament...if the Vikings were to win, they own the tie-breaker by virtue of sweeping the season series...Detroit leads the all-time series with CSU by a 18-3 margin, including a perfect 10-0 mark at home...however, the Vikings won 91-77 in Cleveland on Feb. 3...junior guard Michelle James and senior guard Shari Hill lead the Titans in scoring at 15.9 and 14.7 ppg...junior forward Molly Peterman paces Detroit with 6.3 rpg...the Titans are 10-2 at home this season, while CSU is 4-8 on the road.

The First Time Around: Mahogany Green equaled her own school record with seven three pointers en route to scoring a career-high 37 points as CSU defeated Detroit, 91-77, on Feb. 3. Detroit led for the first two minutes, but a 19-6 CSU run gave the Vikings a lead they would never relinquish. The Titans trimmed a 46-35 halftime deficit to five points at the 17:35 mark of the second stanza, but Green scored 13 straight points over the next four minutes to extend the Vikings' margin back to double-digits. Abby Scharlow added 16 points and five rebounds, while Tonya Crum and Kim Brockway both posted double-doubles for the Vikings. Crum tallied 10 points and 10 rebounds, while Brockway added 10 points and a career-high tying 12 boards. Randee Henry paced the Titans with a career-best 23 points and five rebounds, while Shari Hill added 15 points. Michelle James, who entered the game as the MCC's leading scorer (16.4 ppg), was held to just eight points.

AARP Discounts Honored: Saturday truly was Senior Day as Mahogany Green, Venus Harmeyer and Bridget Oberer led the Vikings to one of the most impressive wins in school history. The trio combined for 51 points, 19 rebounds and 15 assists versus Butler. Harmeyer tallied a career-high 21 points on five triples, Oberer notched a season-best 16 points and Green nearly recorded a triple-double with 14 points, 13 boards and eight assists.

In The Doghouse: Just a few more tidbits about CSU's win Saturday against the Bulldogs...Butler's 39 points equaled the MCC season-low and were the fewest scored by a CSU opponent since a 79-38 defeat of Chicago State on Jan. 30, 1988...in the 27-year history of the program, only the 1975-76 squad's 104-33 drubbing of Hiram exceeded the 54-point margin of victory...the win -- the Vikings' ninth in 12 home games -- assured CSU of its third consecutive non-losing season, the first time that has happened since 1978-79 through 1980-81.

On Tap: Following today's contest, the Vikings will travel to Chicago to participate in the MCC Tournament at Illinois-Chicago Mar. 8-10.

Vikings Demolish Bulldogs: Following an emotional pregame ceremony honoring Cleveland State's four seniors, the Vikings (14-12, 7-6 MCC) jumped out to a 17-0 lead in the first 3:30 and never looked back, en route to defeating Butler (8-17, 3-9), 93-39, last Saturday. Making her first start in two seasons at CSU, Bridget Oberer was responsible for the Vikings' first seven points, courtesy of two of assists and a three-point play. A pair of timeouts could do nothing to curb CSU's momentum, as the Bulldogs went 18 consecutive possessions without scoring, until freshman guard Sarah Bolten finally knocked down a three-pointer at the 12:35 mark. The Vikings led 47-12 at the half, and for the game out-shot the Bulldogs 47.1-21.9 percent. In addition, CSU out-scored Butler 42-12 in the paint and held a massive 60-39 rebound margin, despite the fact the Bulldogs entered the contest as conference's top rebounding team. Venus Harmeyer matched her career-high with five three pointers en route to a career-best 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting. Oberer finished with a season-high 16 points and added six assists and four steals. Mahogany Green nearly recorded her second career triple-double, totaling 14 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists. Abby Scharlow joined the trio in double-digits with 11 points and five steals. Valerie Burg and Julie Schrader paced Butler with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

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 79-87 (.476) 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 14th 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: After setting the school record last year for three-pointers in a season (231) and game (17 vs. Loyola 2/19), the Vikes are once again atop the conference at 7.81 bombs per game (3rd in the nation as of Feb. 26). The Vikings have led the MCC each of Duffy 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 242 straight contests -- ranking behind only Louisville's current 290-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 46 times in 166 games (28%). Of those 46 contests, CSU has been victorious on 42 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 9-0 this season when topping 80 points.

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 out-rebounded 12-of-26 foes, going 9-3 in those contests. After finishing last in the MCC in 1999-00 in rebound margin, the Vikings currently rank fifth.

Ramblin' Woman: Junior forward Tonya Crum is playing her first season in a CSU 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 scoring (8.2-25th), rebounding (6.8-5th) and field goal pct. (.476-9th). In addition, she has posted five double-doubles in conference play. In 13 MCC contests she is averaging 9.7 ppg and 8.6 rpg, which rank 22nd and 2nd, respectively.

Apple Of Their Eye: A glance at senior Bridget Oberer's game-by-game stats reveals that she did not play in CSU's road games at Butler and Illinois-Chicago. Injuries haven't kept her from the court, rather student teaching obligations have. She works during the week at an elementary school in Lakewood.

No Barnburners Here: In 1999-2000, 18 of CSU's 30 games were decided by less than 10 points, with the Vikings winning eight. However, so far this season 17-of-26 games have been double-digit margins of victory. CSU's 14 wins have come by an average of 18.6 points a game, while the Vikings' 12 losses have been by an average of 11.2 points a game. CSU's defense is the big reason for the discrepancy, as its opponents are shooting just 36 percent in Viking wins, but 44 percent in losses.

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 second in the conference in scoring (15.4), tied for first in assists (4.46) and sixth in steals (1.96). In addition, despite measuring just 5-9, she is second in the MCC in both rebounds (7.9) and double-doubles (eight), trailing only Butler's Kelly Kuhn who stands 6-3 (9.4 rpg and nine 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 73 blocks -- more than every other team in the MCC but Butler (87) and Loyola (87). In her third season, Brockway ranks second at Cleveland State with 155 career blocks. Her total of 73 swats last season equaled the school record set by Jessica Toth in 1995-96.

Harmeyer Heats Up: In 13 non-conference contests, Venus Harmeyer scored in double-digits just four times and averaged just 7.5 ppg. However, the conference leader in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.64) has scored in double-digits in eight of CSU's 13 MCC games, including a career-high 21 versus Butler (2/24). In conference play, she is averaging 10.6 ppg, 3.23 apg and has knocked down a team-best 28 three-pointers.

Injury Equals Opportunity: Erika Roudebush's sprained ankle on Jan. 2 has given freshman Abby Scharlow the opportunity to see more playing time in the 15 games since, including eight starts. She has responded by averaging 10.3 ppg, 2.87 spg and 2.07 apg. She has scored double-digits in seven of the games and broke out for a career-best 20 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the floor in CSU's win over Loyola on Jan. 18.

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 started the first 11 contests this season (before spraining her ankle), and 17 overall, as the two guard and responded with a pair of career-highs. In the season-opener against Ohio State, she torched the nets for 21 points and followed that two days later with a career-high 22 against Niagara. She currently ranks among the MCC leaders in scoring (19th), field goal pct. (14th), three-point field goal pct. (9th) and three-pointers (10th).

Green Breaks Loose: Senior forward Mahogany Green etched her name into the Cleveland State record books in the Feb. 3 win against Detroit and earned MCC Player of the Week honors for the first time in her career. She connected on 13-of-25 field goals en route to scoring a career-high 37 points - the highest total in the MCC this season and tied for the third-highest output in CSU history. In addition, Green matched her own school record with seven three-pointers on 14 attempts. She also added eight rebounds, three assists and a career-high tying two blocks. When Detroit cut CSU's lead to just five at the 17:35 mark of the second half, Green scored 13 consecutive points for the Vikings over the next four minutes to push the lead back to double-digits.

Center Of Attention: On Dec. 11, junior center Kim Brockway earned MCC Player of the Week honors for the second time in her career (Jan. 3, 2000). 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: Against Prairie View A & M (11/25), Mahogany Green became the 15th player in CSU history to 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 in CSU's win over Belmont, she pulled down her 500th rebound, to become just 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.

She Takes Charity: Sophomore shooting guard Erika Roudebush is having a fantastic year shooting the ball. Not only is she shooting .430 from the floor and .337 from the three-point line, but she is blistering the net at a .909 (40-for-44) clip from the free throw line. Her string of consecutive free throws was snapped at 23 versus Loyola (Jan. 18). The school record of 26 was set by April Cunningham in 1996-97.

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.

In A Minute: Last year Audra Cook, Juli Grant and Mahogany Green each averaged over 30 minutes per game. This season Duffy Burns is able to utilize CSU's deeper bench, as Green is leading the team at just 29.2 minutes per game. In addition, eight other players are seeing at least 10 minutes of action.

Charitable Donations: The Vikings shot a solid .718 from the free throw line in their non-conference action -- much better than the school-record .696 set last year. However, since MCC play started, CSU has stepped it up a notch, knocking down freebies at a .752 clip. In the five games from Jan. 20 - Feb. 8 CSU was almost automatic, knocking down 114-of-135 (.844) from the charity stripe.

Taylor Goes Into Hall: On Jan. 20, Deb Taylor joined former cagers Laura Englehart, Sue Hlavacek and Sue Koziol in the CSU Athletic Hall of Fame. Taylor played for the Vikings from 1987-91, finishing with 1,748 points and 893 rebounds -- both of which rank third all-time at CSU. She is one of just two players to lead the Vikings in scoring four times and a three-time all-conference pick. Men's basketball players Eddie Bryant and Shawn Hood as well as baseball player Luis Martinez were also enshrined.

Baptiste Leaves Team: Sophomore center Nicole Baptiste (Beavercreek, Ohio/Beavercreek) has decided to transfer from Cleveland State. She left the basketball team on Jan. 17, but will remain enrolled in classes through the end of the spring semester. In 11 contests for the Vikings this season, she averaged 4.5 ppg and 3.1 rpg in 11 minutes of action.