December 20, 2007 - Playing without two of its top scorers for long stretches, the Hillsdale College women's basketball team was able to put a halt to its two-game losing streak in an impressive 69-51 win Thursday night vs. Texas A&M International. The game is the second for the Chargers at this week's Lady Rattler Christmas Classic at St. Mary's University in San Antonio, Texas.

The Chargers are now 9-2 on the season and are off until Jan. 3, when the team returns to conference play with a road game vs. Ashland University.

In a fast-paced, sometimes harried contest, Hillsdale did an outstanding job of defending the quick Dust Devils with solid ball movement and good court coverage against their pressing defense.

Playing without high scorers Janay Miller and Katie Cezat for long stretches of the game, the Chargers got contributions from many players in building on a 12-point halftime lead.

TAMUI scored six quick points early in the second half to cut the score to 45-35. But the Chargers responded with a 15-2 run to put the game out of reach. Three-point shots by freshman Kara McCormick and sophomore Brooke Knight helped key the game-clinching run.

Knight played an outstanding game, bringing the ball up against constant pressure while making sound decisions and hitting key shots throughout the game. She finished the game with 11 points, seven rebounds, nine assists and six steals while playing all 40 minutes of the game.

Claire Aubrey joined McCormick and Julie Slot for the team's scoring lead, each contributing 12 points. Katie Cezat, limited to 17 minutes on the court due to foul trouble, finished with eight points and nine rebounds.

The Chargers limited the Dust Devils to 35 percent shooting for the game, and held a 52-37 edge on the boards. Hillsdale gathered a season-high 24 offensive rebounds in the game.

Hillsdale finished the first half on a 20-7 run.

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