November 28, 2008 - It had been almost two weeks since the Hillsdale College women's basketball team had played before its Friday night game against the University of Southern Indiana. The layoff had no ill effects on the still-undefeated Chargers.

A superior defensive effort helped lead Hillsdale to a 70-55 win over USI at the University of Indianapolis Thanksgiving Tournament Friday night. The Chargers, ranked 15th in the nation and now 3-0 overall, will play the host Greyhounds at 3 p.m. Saturday.

Rust is a frequent concern for teams who go this long of a period of time without playing, but Hillsdale immediately seized the lead in this game and never looked back.

The Chargers never trailed in the game, and after USI tied the game 13-13 midway through the first half, they never let go of the lead. A key 3-point basket by senior Katie Eckinger broke that tie, and sent Hillsdale on a 26-14 run to end the first half.

Hillsdale extended the lead out to 20 with an 8-0 run to open the second half. In all three of its wins this season, the Chargers have opened the second half with a game-deciding scoring run that took all the drama out of the final outcome.

Hillsdale held Southern Indiana to just 27 percent shooting from the field for the game. USI made just seven field goals in the second half.

Senior forward Katie Cezat turned in another dominating performance for the Chargers, leading all players with 29 points and a season-high 19 rebounds. Seventeen of those rebounds were on the defensive end. Cezat also had four blocked shots and three assists in the win.

Eckinger contributed 12 points and was 2-for-3 from 3-point territory. Senior Claire Aubrey had 11 points, eight rebounds and five assists for Hillsdale. Sophomore forward Laura Barczak came off the bench to contribute seven points and four rebounds in 14 minutes of action.

Sophomore guard Brooke Knight had six points and nine assists for the Chargers.

Click on the link below for the box score from Friday's game.

Box score