BASKETBALL PREVIEW: Charger women look to maintain grip on first place; men's basketball team to host Lake Superior State Thursday night
January 8, 2008 - The new year is off to a rousing start for the Hillsdale College women's basketball team.
The first-place Chargers will play their first home game of the new calendar year Thursday night when they welcome Lake Superior State University to Jesse Philips Arena for a 6 p.m. tipoff. Hillsdale's men's team takes on the Lakers at 8 p.m.
Hillsdale's women's team comes into Thursday's game sporting an 11-2 overall record, and 4-1 in the GLIAC South Division. The Chargers are in first place in the division, a half-game in front of defending conference champion Gannon University. Hillsdale is coming off a pair of impressive road wins last weekend, over division rivals Ashland (64-45) and Findlay (88-74).
Those two games saw a pair of players enjoy career-best performances. In Thursday's win over the Eagles, senior Julie Slot scored a career-high 32 points, making six 3-point field goals. The effort helped garner Slot her first GLIAC South Division Player of the Week award, announced Monday.
Junior forward Katie Cezat is playing as well as any player in the conference, and took her performance up another notch in last week's wins. She tied a 24-year-old school record with 21 rebounds in Thursday's victory over Ashland. She followed up that game with a career-high 33 points in Saturday's road victory vs. Findlay. Cezat is currently second in the GLIAC in scoring and first in rebounding.
Cezat and Slot lead a fast-improving Charger team into a single game this week against the Lakers. Lake Superior State is a team that traditionally, Hillsdale has had trouble with. The Lakers have won seven of the past nine meetings with the Chargers, including last year's victory by the Lakers in Sault Ste. Marie.
Hillsdale pulled out a 90-87 overtime win over LSSU in the teams' last meeting at Philips Arena, back on Jan. 26, 2006. That game marked the first victory by Hillsdale over LSSU since Feb. 24, 1999.
Lake Superior State comes into Thursday's game with a 6-9 overall record, and 2-5 in the GLIAC. The Lakers lost their last game, 68-65, to Northwood University on Saturday. Northwood is also the only team to defeat the Chargers within conference play this season.
The game will feature one of the conference's hottest offenses against a playmaking defense. Hillsdale has scored more than 80 points in back-to-back games for the first time this season in its two wins last week. The Chargers' 88 points vs. Findlay are a season-high.
Lake Superior State leads the GLIAC in blocked shots per game, and features the league's leader in total blocks, Alyssa VanderWal. Forward Jaclyn Armstrong leads LSSU in scoring at 11.7 points per game, and returns as one of the most talented post players in the conference. She was the GLIAC Freshman of the Year in 2005-06.
While Cezat and Slot have gone on big scoring binges lately, they are hardly the only players improving on the offensive end for Hillsdale. Guards Brooke Knight and Claire Aubrey each achieved new career-highs in scoring in the two games last week. Both Knight and Aubrey bring a wealth of toughness, defense and rebounding to the team, so their scoring is a welcome bonus to the surging Chargers.
Hillsdale received two votes in the latest Division II Top 25 poll. No GLIAC teams are ranked, but Michigan Tech and Ferris State joined the Chargers in the "others receiving votes" category.
When the men tip off, Hillsdale will play at home for the first time since Dec. 8, and would very much enjoy a replay of that memorable game. In the Charger men's last home appearance, senior Tim Homan scored a career-high 40 points, and set a school record with 10 3-point field goals in a big win over Saginaw Valley State University.
The Chargers stand at 8-5 on the season and 3-2 in the GLIAC. This is the third time in four years Hillsdale has been 8-5 after 13 games, but this year's team has been a pleasant surprise, leading the conference in scoring and winning three overtime games under first-year head coach John Tharp.
The last OT win for Hillsdale came last Thursday, 112-110 at division foe Ashland. In that game, Homan along with Keith MacKenzie and Tony Gugino each scored 27 points or more to lead the team to one of its most thrilling wins of the past five years.
MacKenzie leads the GLIAC in assists, with more than five dimes per game. He has been a catalyst to the team's improved offense, and is a superlative passer. MacKenzie represents a legitimate 3-point threat at any point during a possession.
Gugino won his second GLIAC South Division Player of the Week award on Monday. He has taken his game to a new level in his third season, leading the conference in scoring and ranks among the GLIAC leaders in blocked shots. Gugino's 124 career blocked shots are fifth on Hillsdale's all-time list.
Hillsdale is averaging 84 points per game, and has scored at least 71 points in all but one game this season. That one game occurred Saturday, when the University of Findlay showed why it's so tough at home, holding the Chargers to 26 points under their average coming into the game in an 82-60 Oilers' win. It was the 34th time in 39 all-time matchups that Findlay came out on the winning side vs. Hillsdale.
Hillsdale trounced Lake Superior State 87-70 in the last meeting between the two teams in Jesse Philips Arena. Mirroring the results on the womens' side, the Lakers defeated Hillsdale at the Soo last year.
The Lakers sit in second place in the GLIAC North Division with a 3-4 conference mark, and 4-8 overall. LSSU is led by one of the most talented big men in the conference in 6-foot-8 forward Ryan Kuhl. A prep standout at Rochester Adams High School, Kuhl is averaging 12 points and six rebounds per game this season. The Lakers also feature another player who's name will be familiar with Hillsdale-area basketball fans. Freshman Micah Hudson is averaging seven points per game for LSSU this season. Hudson is a former standout at Jackson Christian High School, but spent his final two prep seasons at Chelsea High School.
For more information on Lake Superior State's two teams, click on the links below.
Lake Superior State University women's basketball
Lake Superior State University men's basketball
The first-place Chargers will play their first home game of the new calendar year Thursday night when they welcome Lake Superior State University to Jesse Philips Arena for a 6 p.m. tipoff. Hillsdale's men's team takes on the Lakers at 8 p.m.
Hillsdale's women's team comes into Thursday's game sporting an 11-2 overall record, and 4-1 in the GLIAC South Division. The Chargers are in first place in the division, a half-game in front of defending conference champion Gannon University. Hillsdale is coming off a pair of impressive road wins last weekend, over division rivals Ashland (64-45) and Findlay (88-74).
Those two games saw a pair of players enjoy career-best performances. In Thursday's win over the Eagles, senior Julie Slot scored a career-high 32 points, making six 3-point field goals. The effort helped garner Slot her first GLIAC South Division Player of the Week award, announced Monday.
Junior forward Katie Cezat is playing as well as any player in the conference, and took her performance up another notch in last week's wins. She tied a 24-year-old school record with 21 rebounds in Thursday's victory over Ashland. She followed up that game with a career-high 33 points in Saturday's road victory vs. Findlay. Cezat is currently second in the GLIAC in scoring and first in rebounding.
Cezat and Slot lead a fast-improving Charger team into a single game this week against the Lakers. Lake Superior State is a team that traditionally, Hillsdale has had trouble with. The Lakers have won seven of the past nine meetings with the Chargers, including last year's victory by the Lakers in Sault Ste. Marie.
Hillsdale pulled out a 90-87 overtime win over LSSU in the teams' last meeting at Philips Arena, back on Jan. 26, 2006. That game marked the first victory by Hillsdale over LSSU since Feb. 24, 1999.
Lake Superior State comes into Thursday's game with a 6-9 overall record, and 2-5 in the GLIAC. The Lakers lost their last game, 68-65, to Northwood University on Saturday. Northwood is also the only team to defeat the Chargers within conference play this season.
The game will feature one of the conference's hottest offenses against a playmaking defense. Hillsdale has scored more than 80 points in back-to-back games for the first time this season in its two wins last week. The Chargers' 88 points vs. Findlay are a season-high.
Lake Superior State leads the GLIAC in blocked shots per game, and features the league's leader in total blocks, Alyssa VanderWal. Forward Jaclyn Armstrong leads LSSU in scoring at 11.7 points per game, and returns as one of the most talented post players in the conference. She was the GLIAC Freshman of the Year in 2005-06.
While Cezat and Slot have gone on big scoring binges lately, they are hardly the only players improving on the offensive end for Hillsdale. Guards Brooke Knight and Claire Aubrey each achieved new career-highs in scoring in the two games last week. Both Knight and Aubrey bring a wealth of toughness, defense and rebounding to the team, so their scoring is a welcome bonus to the surging Chargers.
Hillsdale received two votes in the latest Division II Top 25 poll. No GLIAC teams are ranked, but Michigan Tech and Ferris State joined the Chargers in the "others receiving votes" category.
When the men tip off, Hillsdale will play at home for the first time since Dec. 8, and would very much enjoy a replay of that memorable game. In the Charger men's last home appearance, senior Tim Homan scored a career-high 40 points, and set a school record with 10 3-point field goals in a big win over Saginaw Valley State University.
The Chargers stand at 8-5 on the season and 3-2 in the GLIAC. This is the third time in four years Hillsdale has been 8-5 after 13 games, but this year's team has been a pleasant surprise, leading the conference in scoring and winning three overtime games under first-year head coach John Tharp.
The last OT win for Hillsdale came last Thursday, 112-110 at division foe Ashland. In that game, Homan along with Keith MacKenzie and Tony Gugino each scored 27 points or more to lead the team to one of its most thrilling wins of the past five years.
MacKenzie leads the GLIAC in assists, with more than five dimes per game. He has been a catalyst to the team's improved offense, and is a superlative passer. MacKenzie represents a legitimate 3-point threat at any point during a possession.
Gugino won his second GLIAC South Division Player of the Week award on Monday. He has taken his game to a new level in his third season, leading the conference in scoring and ranks among the GLIAC leaders in blocked shots. Gugino's 124 career blocked shots are fifth on Hillsdale's all-time list.
Hillsdale is averaging 84 points per game, and has scored at least 71 points in all but one game this season. That one game occurred Saturday, when the University of Findlay showed why it's so tough at home, holding the Chargers to 26 points under their average coming into the game in an 82-60 Oilers' win. It was the 34th time in 39 all-time matchups that Findlay came out on the winning side vs. Hillsdale.
Hillsdale trounced Lake Superior State 87-70 in the last meeting between the two teams in Jesse Philips Arena. Mirroring the results on the womens' side, the Lakers defeated Hillsdale at the Soo last year.
The Lakers sit in second place in the GLIAC North Division with a 3-4 conference mark, and 4-8 overall. LSSU is led by one of the most talented big men in the conference in 6-foot-8 forward Ryan Kuhl. A prep standout at Rochester Adams High School, Kuhl is averaging 12 points and six rebounds per game this season. The Lakers also feature another player who's name will be familiar with Hillsdale-area basketball fans. Freshman Micah Hudson is averaging seven points per game for LSSU this season. Hudson is a former standout at Jackson Christian High School, but spent his final two prep seasons at Chelsea High School.
For more information on Lake Superior State's two teams, click on the links below.
Lake Superior State University women's basketball
Lake Superior State University men's basketball
33 East College St.
Hillsdale,
MI
49242
• Tel: +1 517 437-7341 • Fax: +1 517 437-3923
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