February 12, 2009 - Teams ranked in the top five in the nation make a habit of winning games just like the one won by the Hillsdale College women's basketball team Thursday night.

Playing with ruthless aggression, the Chargers pounded Wayne State University 86-56 in front of another big crowd at the Jesse Philips Arena. Hillsdale is now 20-2 overall, but more importantly, 15-2 in the GLIAC. The Chargers are now tied for first place in the overall conference standings with Michigan Tech, who lost on the road to Ferris State 67-62 Thursday night.

After the Warriors held a 12-11 lead with 14:31 left in the first half, the Chargers left the Warriors in the dust with a 13-0 run. Just four minutes later, the Chargers held a 24-12 lead, a lead that would never get below 10 points the rest of the game.

As has been the case over the past two seasons, the Warriors had no answer for the skill and productivity of Hillsdale forward Katie Cezat. In five games against WSU since the start of last season, Cezat has averaged 34 points per game, a figure above her already-incredible scoring average on the season.

Thursday's game by Cezat was more of the same. She equaled Wayne State's point total at halftime (24-24), and finished with 36 points, 19 rebounds and two blocked shots in just 24 minutes on the court. It was her fewest minutes played of the season, but she used the time effectively, going 13-for-20 from the floor and 10-for-14 from the free throw line.

Cezat added two more records to her list in this game as well. Her first free throw made broke her own school record for free throws made in a season, a mark she set last year. She now has 162 free throws made on the season.

With her fifth field goal, Cezat also set a new GLIAC record for field goals made in a season. She has now made 173 field goals in 17 GLIAC games this season, and five games still remain on the conference ledger.

Junior Janay Miller also played an outstanding game, finishing with 20 points, one shy of her career-high, set on two occasions earlier this season. She was 8-for-12 from the field and hit a pair of 3-point shots in Hillsdale's win.

Junior guard Brooke Knight had eight assists, increasing her lead in the GLIAC in that category. As a team, the Chargers had 18 assists in the contest. The team is averaging 19 assists per game this season, second-best in all of the NCAA Division II.

Hillsdale will face a tough test at home Saturday afternoon, hosting Northwood University at 1 p.m. The Chargers and Timberwolves have owned the top two spots in the GLIAC South Division all season. Hillsdale edged Northwood 80-76 in overtime in the teams' first meeting in Midland back on Jan. 8.

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


Box score