January 14, 2010 - Returning to the site of its greatest triumph of last season, the Hillsdale College women's basketball team came agonizingly close to its greatest triumph of this season.

The Chargers gave everything No. 5-ranked Michigan Tech could handle Thursday night in Houghton, but in the end, the Huskies erased an 18-point halftime deficit to top Hillsdale, 78-74 in overtime. MTU, who opened the season ranked No. 1 in Division II, is now 13-1 overall and 8-1 in the GLIAC, while the Chargers are 6-7 overall and 6-3 in conference play.

The Huskies, the defending Midwest Regional champions, lost at home twice to Hillsdale last year, including the Chargers' GLIAC Tournament championship victory back on March 7, 2009. For a while, a third straight win inside one of the GLIAC's loudest venues, appeared very possible for Hillsdale.

The Chargers shot 53 percent in the first half and raced out to a 46-28 lead by halftime. The Chargers made seven of their first 11 shots from 3-point land in the half.

But it didn't take long for Michigan Tech to close that gap. The Huskies went on a 19-2 run in the first five minutes of the second half to make the score 48-47. MTU later went on an 8-0 run to tighten the game further, leading to a dramatic final four minutes of regulation and overtime.

Michigan Tech's Katie Wysocky missed one free throw with 16 seconds left to give the Chargers the ball, down two points. Senior guard Janay Miller converted a layup as time expired to tie the game and force overtime.

The Huskies took a five-point lead in overtime after a jump shot by forward Danae Danen and a 3-pointer by Katie Zimmerman. Charger guard Chelsea Harrison answered with her fifth 3-point make of the game, and another jumper from Miller tied the game again at 74-74 with around a minute remaining. But that would be the last time Hillsdale would score in the game.

The loss spoiled some big-time performances by Hillsdale. Harrison was 5-for-7 from the 3-point line, and led the team with 21 points. Sophomore Elizabeth Brannick played a career-high 29 minutes, and finished with nine points and a career-high 13 rebounds. Six of her rebounds came on the offensive end of the floor.

Senior Brooke Knight had 11 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, while Miller scored 16 and freshman Emily Anderson scored 14. Hillsdale outrebounded Michigan Tech 43-34 in the game, but the Huskies held a 9-0 edge in blocked shots in the game.

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

Michigan Tech 78, Chargers 74 (OT)