HAMILTON, N.Y. (12/21/07)—Cleveland State’s Kailey Klein and Brittany Korth combined for 31 points to lead the Vikings to a 60-34 victory over Colgate University in non-conference women’s basketball action on Cotterell Court. Klein led all scorers with 19 points, while Korth had 12. Senior Shevorne Martin (Brooklyn, N.Y.) led the Raiders with nine points.

 

Colgate (1-11) had seven of its nine players in the scoring column with sophomore Laura Grimm (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and freshman Evan Librizzi (Essex Junction, Vt.) contributing six points apiece. Rookie forward Kendra Brim (Buffalo, N.Y.) led Colgate on the glass with seven rebounds to go along with her four points. Sami Kozlowski (New Market, Md.) had four points, three assists, and two rebounds for the Raiders.

 

Defense was the story of the game as both teams were held to under 40 percent shooting, and under 30 percent from long range. Cleveland State hit 35.1 percent (20-of-57) from the floor, while Colgate was 25.5 percent (12-of-47) overall from the field.

 

The first half was a defensive battle with the Raiders and Vikings playing stifling perimeter defense. The two teams struggled to get good looks at the basket in the opening 10 minutes with Cleveland State holding an 11-2 lead at the 10:37 mark. The Vikings started to hit their stride over the next three minutes, going on a 9-2 run for a 20-4 lead with just over seven minutes remaining.

 

Colgate remained unfazed and put together a run of its own as the Raiders outscored Cleveland State 10-2 over the next four minutes to make it a 22-14 game at the 4:30 mark. The Vikings answered with a mini 6-2 run to close out the half with a 12-point lead 28-16.

 

Cleveland State came out of the locker room in the second half and continued its high pressure perimeter defense. The Vikings continued their run that ended the first half, scoring six of the first seven points for a 34-17 lead two minutes in. They slowly built that lead to 22 points, holding Colgate to just 11 points in the first 13:15, and never looked back to earn the 60-34 victory.

 

Dominique Butler pulled down a game-high nine boards for the Vikings to go along with her nine points. Klein added eight rebounds to the effort as Cleveland State dominated the glass, 48-30. Natalie Miller paced the offense with four assists and also picked up two steals.

 

Colgate returns to action on Dec. 28 at Boston College. That game is set for 2 p.m..