The Collegian

Issue date: 3/5/09 Section: Sports

Head coach Claudette Charney and senior Katie Cezat embrace after the Chargers came from behind in the last minutes of the game Tuesday to beat Lake Superior State University. With the victory, the Chargers progress to the GLIAC Final Four, which will be held this weekend at Michigan Technological University in the Upper Peninsula.

Senior Aaron Waldie and Tom Korte pump up the crowd Tuesday night for women's basketball.

Freshman Chelsea Harrison is ready to attempt a shot against a Lake Superior State player -- she scored fourteen points in the game.

A crowd of more than 1,000 fans roared and cheered Tuesday night during a four-minute battle between the Chargers and Lake Superior State University. Players and fans were on-edge as the Chargers snagged a win after being down 12 points with four minutes left.

The Chargers defeated the Lakers 62-60 in the first round of the GLIAC Tournament, and the women progress to the semifinals Friday night against Grand Valley State University, who they beat at home but lost to earlier in the season. They play at Michigan Technological University.

"We're going to have to play very well," head coach Claudette Charney said. "We're just going to have to get after them."

Charney said Grand Valley will play both man-to-man and zone defense, which the Chargers will have to work around and manipulate to get shots.

The Chargers were down for nearly the entirety of Tuesday's game.

"It was a crazy four minutes," senior Claire Aubrey said. "I think we finally just snapped into it. This was what we have been waiting for all season."

Behind until there was 6:01 left in the first half, the Chargers tied the game 19-19, players struggled to make shots. In addition, the Lakers often triple-teamed senior Katie Cezat.

"She held the ball a little, but she couldn't get any shots," Charney said after the game.

Down by two, 22-24 at half, the Chargers took until the end of the game to make a true comeback, remaining behind until a string of made field goals and free throws leveled the score.

The Chargers were down 47-59 with 4:01 on the clock.

Beginning with two made free throws by Aubrey, the team went on a 15-1 run.

Freshman Chelsea Harrison scored five points in the last four minutes, Aubrey two, Cezat four, and junior Brooke Knight four including a layup which brought the score to 60-59 with 39 seconds left on the clock.

With 12.7 seconds left, Cezat sunk two free throws, upping the score to 62-59.

Before Laker Jaclyn Armstrong took two free throws, 0.1 seconds were left. Armstrong made one free throw: 62-60.

"We got aggressive and that helped us," Charney said. "We forced turnovers and put on the press."

Aubrey lauded Harrison for scoring many clutch points.

"Chelsea did not play like a freshman at all," she said. "She's got ice in her veins."

The student section was bigger than ever and a large group of Delta Sigma Phi's clad in white led cheers throughout the game, except when Cezat took her last two free throws. Then, they called for silence.

Charney said she and the team appreciated the deafening roar of the home crowd.

"It was wonderful!" she said. "It helped us out. They [the Lakers] had us and we took it from them."

Aubrey agreed, saying although the roaring of Delt Sigs often drowned out the whistles, the team loved the support.

"It's amazing how much support we get from the community," she said.

Senior Tom Korte cheered wildly with his fellow fraternity brothers and football players.

"Enthusiasm is contagious," he said. "It's fun to keep on the edge."

Sophomore David Bakker said head football coach Keith Otterbein gave his players a good reason to go to the game and cheer: lighter conditioning Thursday morning.

"It gave us an incentive to go to the game and make a difference," he said.

Last week, the Chargers beat Tiffin University 76-74 and Ashland University 81-55.

The Tiffin game followed suit with Tuesday's game: questionable until the very end.

In that game, a clutch three-pointer by Harrison and a basket by junior Janay Miller pulled the Chargers ahead.

Despite struggling in the first half, the Chargers led for most of the second half. With 2:31 left, Tiffin took the lead, 69-71.

A few more points were scored on each side and with 8.8 seconds left, the score was 71-74.

Harrison made her way to the corner and sunk a three-pointer, tying up the score.

A confusing play put the ball back into Charger hands after a Tiffin player stepped over the out-of-bounds line when throwing in the ball.

Tiffin called a timeout, allowing the Chargers to formulate a play.

With 1.4 seconds left on the clock, a play designed for Cezat to score turned into Miller seeing and seizing an opportunity, sinking the game-winning basket at the buzzer.

"I saw the middle wide open, so I ran down the lane and Brooke saw me," Miller said. "I was so excited. We definitely needed that, especially after our Northern game."

Charney said Tiffin and Hillsdale didn't match up well, which produced difficulties.

"We didn't guard their guards," she said. "We didn't go to Katie enough and we didn't guard their dribble drives."

Charney called Harrison's 8.8-seconds-remaining three-pointer "the biggest three of the season."

She said the last few seconds of the game were "a blur."

"There was such emotion, it was amazing," she said. "It all worked itself out."

The Chargers easily took down Ashland Saturday, often leading by more than 15 points.

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