December 18, 2008 - Last year, the Hillsdale College women's basketball team wore t-shirts that read "I wanna be like Brooke Knight," Thursday night's game vs, the University of Findlay is an example of why those shirts exist.

Knight converted a coast-to-coast layup with three seconds remaining in the game to life the No. 6-ranked Chargers to an exciting 72-70 victory over the Oilers in the Jesse Philips Arena. The win extends Hillsdale's season-opening winning streak to nine, and the team will seek its 10th in a row Saturday night at Grand Valley State.

Knight took an inbounds pass with six seconds left, drove down the left baseline and pulled up to hit a short jump shot off the glass to give the Chargers the lead. A late 3/4-court shot by the Oilers fell short, giving Hillsdale its closest win of the season.

Knight played big in the game's final two minutes, swishing two free throws with 1:43 to go to break a 66-66 tie. Her ballhandling and leadership were assets to the team as it battled a much-improved Oilers team tooth and nail down the stretch.

Findlay guard Audra Mihalic, who played an outstanding game, made a layup to re-tie the game 68-68 with 1:30 left in the game. On Hillsdale's next possession, senior forward Katie Cezat converted an offensive rebound for a layup to push the Chargers back into the lead, 70-68.

A long jump shot by Findlay's Ashley Westenbarger once again tied the game with less than 10 seconds remaining, setting up Knight's heroics.

The Chargers led by as many as 11 points in the first half, thanks to tight defense against Findlay's 3-point-oriented offense. But Mihalic singlehandedly made it a tie game at halftime, scoring 13 points in the final 2:07 of the half to bring the Oilers to a 35-35 tie with the Chargers at intermission. Mihalic had 20 points by halftime.

Findlay's momentum carried over into the first part of the second half as it took a three-point lead. But led by Cezat's constant aggressiveness with the ball, the Chargers regained the lead.

Cezat took a season-high 27 shot attempts from the field, and turned in yet another huge performance. She led all players with 34 points, 18 rebounds and three blocked shots in the game. She played all 40 minutes of the contest, and managed to maintain her effectiveness on offense and defense despite being whistled for her fourth foul with 2:10 left in the game.

In her last two contests, Cezat has a total of 70 points, 38 rebounds and 16 blocked shots.

Knight finished with 10 points, three rebounds and two steals for the Chargers. Junior Janay Miller added nine points, while senior Katie Eckinger contributed eight. Senior guard Claire Aubrey played a solid all-around game with seven points, four assists, four rebounds and three steals.

To view the box score from the game, click on the link below.

Box score