February 26, 2009 - Charger junior Janay Miller banked in a short jumper at the buzzer to push the Hillsdale College women's basketball team to an amazing 76-74 home win over Tiffin Thursday night.

The win gives the Chargers a school-record tying 23rd win season. Hillsdale (23-3) is also 18-3 in the GLIAC, while Tiffin falls to 7-19.

Miller's shot capped an unbelievable final 10 seconds that saw the Dragons close in on certain victory, only to have the Chargers make three straight plays that defied description to pull out one of their most dramatic wins in years.

With Tiffin ahead 74-71, Miller missed a 3-point shot from the left wing area that could have tied the game with eight seconds left. Tiffin's Holly Focke grabbed the rebound and was immediately fouled. She went to the free throw line with a chance to put the Dragons ahead by at least four points with eight seconds left in the game.

But the first free throw was missed, and Hillsdale took off down the court. After a handful of passes, freshman guard Chelsea Harrison swished a 3-point shot from the right corner with 1.4 seconds left to tie the game at 74-74.

In the confusion and noise of the subsequent in-bounds play, Tiffin turned the ball over before the ball was thrown inbounds, giving Hillsdale the ball back, under the Dragon basket, with no time expiring off the clock.

A Tiffin timeout gave Hillsdale a chance to set up the game-winning play. Junior guard Brooke Knight, always reliable with the basketball, had the ball out of bounds, and found Miller cutting up through the lane with a perfect pass. Miller jumped and floated in the shot as the horn sounded, clinching the amazing victory for the Chargers.

The loss ruined what was a spirited effort by the Dragons, who played a tough and smart game against the No. 8-ranked Chargers. But ultimately, Tiffin had no answer for Charger All-American Katie Cezat.

Playing all 40 minutes of the game, Cezat scored a season-high 39 points, to go along with 12 rebounds, four assists and five blocks with just one turnover. Cezat scored 14 points in the first seven minutes of the second half, when Hillsdale used a 17-4 run that turned a three-point halftime deficit into a 10-point lead.

But the Dragons kept picking away at the lead, using timely 3-pointers and an effective zone defense to work their way back into the ballgame. Tiffin was 8-for-22 from 3-point land in the contest, and outrebounded the Chargers 35-33 in the game. Hillsdale came into Thursday's contest leading the conference in rebounding margin.

Miller, Knight and Harrison each scored nine points for the Chargers. Hillsdale shot 51 percent for the game, and was 14-for-17 from the free throw line as a team.

Leanne Lucius led Tiffin with 22 points.

Hillsdale will host Ashland at 1 p.m. Saturday in the regular season finale for both teams.

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

Box score