February 21, 2009 – Two of the best women’s basketball teams in the nation squared off in Houghton, Michigan Saturday afternoon, and both played up to their gaudy records. And it was Hillsdale College who came up with unquestionably their biggest win of this memorable season.

Thanks to a brilliant second half on offense and clutch play by everyone on the court, Hillsdale defeated the No. 16 Michigan Tech University Huskies 98-91 in an intense game at the SDC Gymnasium. The Chargers are now 22-3 overall and 17-3 in the GLIAC, tied for first place with the Huskies in the overall conference standings.

Hillsdale also clinched the GLIAC South Division championship for the second year in a row with the victory. If Hillsdale and Northwood were to finish tied for first in the division, the Chargers win the top spot by virtue of their season sweep of the Timberwolves.

It was the first win for the Chargers at Michigan Tech since Jan. 10, 2002.

Playing in one of the loudest and most hostile arenas in the country, the Chargers played with poise and toughness, particularly in the second half when they scored nearly as many points as Michigan Tech averages giving up per game.

Hillsdale outscored Michigan Tech 59-44 in the second half. The Huskies average giving up 56.6 points per game, first in the GLIAC. The Chargers shot 20-for-30 from the field (66.7 percent) in the second half, and were 17-for-22 from the free throw line in the game's final 20 minutes.

Keying the offensive explosion for the Chargers was, as usual, senior Katie Cezat. But in this game, the Chargers benefited from a pair of career-high scoring performances from two very valuable players on this year’s team.

Senior forward Katie Eckinger scored a career-high 20 points, 11 coming in the first half. Her outside shooting was key in the first half, helping the Chargers to stay close to a Michigan Tech team that was playing well off the emotion generated from its home crowd. Eckinger was a brilliant 8-for-11 from the field, and had five rebounds and five assists in the finest all-around game of her career.

Senior guard Brooke Knight, who does a little of everything to help the Chargers win games, put a new shot from her repertoire out in this game to give Hillsdale a key swing in momentum.

Knight hit a shot from five feet behind half court at the first-half buzzer that seemed to inject the Chargers with the energy they needed in this gym. Knight’s shot came right after a four-point play by Michigan Tech’s Sarah Stream with 1.8 seconds left in the first half that gave Michigan Tech a temporary nine-point lead.

But Knight’s shot not only sparked her offense (17 second-half points), but was the start of a 15-3 Hillsdale run that spilled over into the first part of the second half, when the Chargers seized control of the contest.

Knight finished with 20 points, three rebounds and six assists while once again, playing all 40 minutes of the contest. Thanks in part to Knight's ballhandling, the Chargers set a team record for fewest turnovers in a game, with three. The old record was nine, set on two different occasions.

Cezat, facing some of the best defensive pressure she has by any team, playing another outstanding game. She had 30 points, 18 rebounds and four assists. Twenty-one of her points came in the second half.

The first half was extremely well-played by both teams, with a total of just five turnovers being committed by the two squads. Tech was red-hot throughout the first half, shooting 58 percent from the field.

Hillsdale wraps up the regular season at home next week, hosting Tiffin University Thursday night, and Ashland University on Saturday, Feb. 28.

Click on the link below for the box score from Saturday’s game.

Box score