Thompson Tallies 20 as Blackbirds Defeat Cleveland State in LIU Turkey Classic

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11/24/06 -- Senior Marquita Thompson (Garland, Texas) racked up 20 points and pulled down eight boards as the Long Island University women’s basketball team beat Cleveland State, 62-52, in a turnover-riddled opening game of the LIU Turkey Classic. Freshmen Tessy Hetting (Wiltz, Luxembourg) and Valerie Nainima (Suva, Fiji) also scored in double figures as the Blackbirds (2-3) limited the Vikings to a season-low 52 points.

Long Island started out by pounding the ball inside early. Thompson and fellow senior Sara Oblak (Skofja Loka, Slovenia) combined to score the team’s first 11 points, but Cleveland State rattled off eight straight to take a 17-11 lead.

The Blackbirds came right back and took an 18-17 lead on three-pointer by senior Masa Susic (Zenica, Bosnia-Herzegovina). After a pair of Thompson free throws and another trey from Susic, Long Island had established a six-point edge. Susic finished with six points.

Coming out of the locker room with a 29-24 lead, Long Island looked to expand its advantage. A jumper by Oblak gave the Blackbirds their largest lead of the game at seven points. The Vikings responded with a 15-6 run punctuated by a Stephanie Crosley bucket to give Cleveland State a two-point edge.

Long Island answered with a run of its own, scoring 18 of the next 20 points to take control of the game. Nine of those 18 points came from the charity stripe.

Nainima finished with 13 points and Hetting netted 10 points to go along with four rebounds. The teams combined for 40 turnovers, with 23 belonging to Cleveland State. The Vikings entered the game averaging 75.2 points per game, but were held to just 52 by the Blackbirds. Long Island shot 35 percent from the floor, while Cleveland State shot 38 percent.

Cleveland State’s Jessica Roque scored a team-high 17 points as the Vikings fell to 1-4. Natalie Miller added 14 points in the loss.

The Blackbirds will play in the championship game of the LIU Turkey Classic tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. against the winner of the game between South Alabama and the College of Charleston.