Balanced effort keys Charger women to win over Northern Michigan
January 17, 2009 - As dominant as senior Katie Cezat has been throughout this season for the Hillsdale College women's basketball team, it has always taken a team effort for the Chargers to win the games they've won this season. That was never more evident than in Saturday's victory at home over Northern Michigan.
Cezat (pictured) led the team with 22 points, 17 rebounds and seven
blocked shots, and was one of five players to score in double figures as Hillsdale topped the Wildcats 78-67 at Jesse Philips Arena. Hillsdale, ranked No. 4 in the nation, is now 13-2 overall and 8-2 in the GLIAC. The team will make its annual trek through Ohio next week, playing road games vs. Ashland Thursday and Tiffin Saturday.
Cezat was honored after the game for scoring her 1,000th career point, but was forced to work hard for her 22 Saturday, thanks to a very aggressive NMU defense that double- and triple-teamed her nearly every time she touched the basketball.
That kind of defense was vulnerable to open shots by other Charger players, and they stepped up in big ways.
Junior Janay Miller continued her fine play of late, finishing the game with 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the floor. She did an excellent job of running upcourt in transition, and made excellent decisions with when to shoot or pass the ball. She led the team with 13 points at halftime, draining six of her first nine shots of the game.
As the game stayed tight through the second half, several players made big shots that helped keep the lead and momentum in Hillsdale's corner. Seven different players scored points in the final seven minutes of the game for Hillsdale, keeping the Wildcat defense off-balance as it tried to close a double-digit gap.
Hillsdale used a scoring burst late in the first half to grab an eight-point lead at halftime. But the Wildcats played with focus and energy in the first few minutes of the second half, quickly slicing t lead downto one, 45-44, with 16:31 left in the second half.
The Chargers responded big-time, going on a 12-0 run that opened the lead back up to 13 with 11:37 left in the game. NMU wouldn't get closer than nine points to Hillsdale for the rest of the game.
Cezat was in the middle of the big scoring run in the second half, scoring five of the team's 12 points in that run. Freshman guard Chelsea Harrison added five points in that span, banking in a layup in traffic, then draining a 3-point shot from the corner to keep the Chargers in control.
Harrison also made four straight free throws in the game's waning moments, finishing with 11 points for the game. Junior guard Brooke Knight played another steady and controlled game, hitting sefveral jumpers in the first half. Knight had 14 points and seven rebounds for the game.
Senior Claire Aubrey played a strong defensive game, and added 11 points to the Charger total.
Click on the link below for statistics from Saturday's game.
Box score
Cezat (pictured) led the team with 22 points, 17 rebounds and seven
blocked shots, and was one of five players to score in double figures as Hillsdale topped the Wildcats 78-67 at Jesse Philips Arena. Hillsdale, ranked No. 4 in the nation, is now 13-2 overall and 8-2 in the GLIAC. The team will make its annual trek through Ohio next week, playing road games vs. Ashland Thursday and Tiffin Saturday.Cezat was honored after the game for scoring her 1,000th career point, but was forced to work hard for her 22 Saturday, thanks to a very aggressive NMU defense that double- and triple-teamed her nearly every time she touched the basketball.
That kind of defense was vulnerable to open shots by other Charger players, and they stepped up in big ways.
Junior Janay Miller continued her fine play of late, finishing the game with 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the floor. She did an excellent job of running upcourt in transition, and made excellent decisions with when to shoot or pass the ball. She led the team with 13 points at halftime, draining six of her first nine shots of the game.
As the game stayed tight through the second half, several players made big shots that helped keep the lead and momentum in Hillsdale's corner. Seven different players scored points in the final seven minutes of the game for Hillsdale, keeping the Wildcat defense off-balance as it tried to close a double-digit gap.
Hillsdale used a scoring burst late in the first half to grab an eight-point lead at halftime. But the Wildcats played with focus and energy in the first few minutes of the second half, quickly slicing t lead downto one, 45-44, with 16:31 left in the second half.
The Chargers responded big-time, going on a 12-0 run that opened the lead back up to 13 with 11:37 left in the game. NMU wouldn't get closer than nine points to Hillsdale for the rest of the game.
Cezat was in the middle of the big scoring run in the second half, scoring five of the team's 12 points in that run. Freshman guard Chelsea Harrison added five points in that span, banking in a layup in traffic, then draining a 3-point shot from the corner to keep the Chargers in control.
Harrison also made four straight free throws in the game's waning moments, finishing with 11 points for the game. Junior guard Brooke Knight played another steady and controlled game, hitting sefveral jumpers in the first half. Knight had 14 points and seven rebounds for the game.
Senior Claire Aubrey played a strong defensive game, and added 11 points to the Charger total.
Click on the link below for statistics from Saturday's game.
Box score
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