January 10, 2008 - Playing at home for the first time in more than a month, the offense of the Hillsdale College women's basketball team kept cooking in an 81-72 win over Lake Superior State University.

The victory Thursday night improves the Chargers to 12-2 overall and 5-1 in the GLIAC. That 5-1 record is good for first place in the South Division.

After traveling nearly the entire length of the Lower Peninsula, the Lakers put forth a strong effort and made the Chargers earn every bit of the victory. Each team scored 37 points in the second half, but a nine-point first-half advantage ended up holding up for Hillsdale, who improved to 3-0 at home this season.

This marked the third game in a row the Chargers have scored 80 or more points in a game. The focal point of the effort once again came in the form of junior forward Katie Cezat, who had another big ballgame.

Cezat finished with 28 points and 13 rebounds, connecting on 12-of-19 shots from the field. She made shots from many different spots on the floor, finding room for her jump shot in addition to her usual inside post moves.

As a team, the Chargers shot 54 percent from the field, taking good shots against the tough LSSU defense. Although the Chargers missed 13 free throws, they were able to make them when they counted the most - late in the second half. The team made five of its six attempts from the charity stripe in the final two minutes of the ballgame.

Hillsdale was also able to close out the win without the services of point guard Brooke Knight, who fouled out after putting together a brilliant game.

Knight set a new career-high with 11 assists, to go along with nine points and six rebounds, with just one turnover in 36 minutes on the court. Knight expertly guided the Hillsdale offense in the half court, making good decisions with the ball and getting to players like Cezat, Julie Slot and Kara McCormick in the spots they are most comfortable shooting from.

Junior Claire Aubrey played a key role in the homestretch for the Chargers, scoring six of her 11 points in the final two minutes of the contest.

After trailing the Chargers by nine entering the second half, the Lakers put together an impressive stretch of basketball in the opening 10 minutes of the second half. A layup by Shalyn Beauchamp closed the gap to two points, 57-55, with a little more than nine minutes left in the game.

Hillsdale then responded with a 10-0 run - kicked off by a 3-pointer by McCormick - to widen the lead back to 12. A key sequence took place during that run, when Cezat made a basket, then hit two free throws on the same possession. After Cezat's basket, LSSU was called for a foul unrelated to the made basket. Cezat's four points on one possession was key to helping the Chargers keep the Lakers at bay.

Senior Julie Slot then answered a Lake Superior State 3-pointer with one of her own. That sequence has been typical of the way Hillsdale has put teams away during its terrific 12-2 start to the season.

Slot had 18 points and 11 rebounds for Hillsdale, while McCormick added nine. Beauchamp played a fine game for the Lakers, picking up 18 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Jaclyn Armstrong shared scoring honors for LSSU with 18.

Hillsdale is off this Saturday and returns to action next weekend with back-to-back road games against Northern Michigan and Michigan Tech.

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

Box score