Michigan Tech and Hillsdale to Meet in 2009 GLIAC Tournament Championship Game

Release information courtesy of Brad Monastiere (Hillsdale College) and Wes Frahm (Michigan Tech)

Houghton, Mich. -- The Michigan Technological University and Hillsdale College women's basketball teams will meet in the 2009 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship game after winning semifinal battles on Friday evening.

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Hillsdale College 90, Grand Valley State University 68
(click here for box score)

Playing an exceptional team defensive game, the Hillsdale College women’s basketball team advanced to the 2009 GLIAC Women’s Basketball Tournament Championship Game with a 90-68 win over Grand Valley State Friday night in the semifinals.

The Chargers, now 26-3 on the season, will face the host team, Michigan Tech University, at 5 p.m. Saturday. Hillsdale and Michigan Tech split their regular season meetings. This will be Hillsdale’s second appearance in the conference tournament championship game in the past three seasons.

Hillsdale opened the second half clicking on all cylinders, spreading the ball around on offense while continuing the suffocating defense that helped the team secure the lead in the first half.

The two-time GLIAC Player of the Year, Katie Cezat, was held in check by the Laker defense in the first half, and went into the locker room with six points and two rebounds. But Cezat returned to her dominant ways in the second half, tallying 21 points in the first 11 minutes of the second half, on her way to 29 points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots for the game.

In addition to her production in the game, Cezat tied an NCAA Division II record for double-doubles in a season, putting together her 26th of 2008-09.

The first half was a grinding game controlled by both defenses. The Chargers did a brilliant job of help defense off Grand Valley’s dribble drives and ball movement. Grand Valley outshot Hillsdale in the first half by percentage, but the Chargers forced 11 turnovers and grabbed eight offensive rebounds in the first 20 minutes.

As Hillsdale’s defense built a first-half lead, it would be the Charger offense that would take command of the contest.

But the beginning of the second half was all Hillsdale, as the team delivered a heavy shot to the Lakers, quickly building a double-digit lead. A 16-5 run in the half’s first five minutes gave Hillsdale an 18-point lead, a lead that wouldn’t shrink by much throughout the rest of the game. Cezat scored 10 points in the first five minutes of the second half, and her passing led directly to dagger-like 3-point baskets by Claire Aubrey and Chelsea Harrison, countering any offense the Lakers could dig up.

Hillsdale outscored Grand Valley State 56-41 in the second half. The team shot 20-for-28 from the field (71 percent) in the second half.

Senior Katie Eckinger got the team off to a good start offensively, and finished with 13 points. Junior Janay Miller added 10, and Aubrey scored 12 points. Freshman Katie Bildner drained two 3-point shots, and scored a career-high eight points in the contest.

Junior Brooke Knight dished out a career-high 12 assists, falling one short of the school record.

Grand Valley freshman Jasmine Padin made five 3-point baskets, and led the Lakers with 22 points.

In two games at Michigan Tech’s SDC Gymnasium this season, the Chargers have averaged scoring 94 points per game. The Chargers beat Michigan Tech 98-91 back on Feb. 21.

In Hillsdale’s last tournament championship game, the Chargers lost to Gannon University 88-77 in 2007.

Michigan Technological University 71, Ferris State University 53
(click here for box score)

HOUGHTON, Mich. — Michigan Tech will play for its second Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament Championship tomorrow after tonight’s 71-53 victory over Ferris State. The Huskies (24-5) played a stellar defensive game by holding the Bulldogs (13-15) to just 18 second-half points

The first frame was a back-and-forth affair until freshman Lynn Giesler came off the bench to score six straight points and start a 9-0 Tech run. Senior Alicia Schneider drained the first of two 3-pointers in the game during the run. The Huskies’ largest lead in the stanza was eight under a minute to play before they settled for a 41-35 halftime margin.

Michigan Tech opened the second half by holding FSU to just five points through nine minutes. Giesler’s three-point play at the 11:35 mark put the hosts up by 16. The Huskies continued their stingy defense the rest of the game to come away with the victory.

“I was really happy with our defense — especially in the second half,” said John Barnes, who was named GLIAC Coach of the Year at Thursday’s (March 5) awards banquet. “We rebounded really well, and Lynn played an outstanding game. It gave our whole team a lift.”

Giesler finished with career-high 13 points without missing a single shot all night. She was 4-of-4 from the field and 5-of-5 from the foul line.

Katie Wysocky, coming off a lackluster performance from Tuesday’s (March 3) quarterfinal, totaled game highs of 17 points, 17 rebounds, five assists and three assists in a stellar all-around night. Danae Danen (14) and Katie Zimmerman (12) also reached double figures.

Tech shot 47 percent for the game while limiting the Bulldogs to 40 percent (29 in the second half). The Black and Gold also posted a 39-26 rebounding advantage.

No. 18-ranked Michigan Tech, which has now won five straight GLIAC Tournament games, will get a much-anticipated rematch with No. 6-ranked Hillsdale tomorrow in the GLIAC Championship game. The teams split their regular season series with the road team winning each time. The most recent matchup was a 98-91 HC win at the SDC Gym two weeks ago.

Tipoff for tomorrow’s GLIAC Championship game is slated for 5 p.m.