The Charger women's basketball team went down to a 66-60 defeat at the hands of Walsh University in the first game of 2016 for both teams Saturday afternoon at Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena.
The loss drops Hillsdale to 5-4 overall and 2-3 in the GLIAC, while Walsh improves to 4-1 in conference play.
The Cavs outscored the Chargers 20-14 in the decisive fourth quarter, breaking what was a 46-46 tie. Hillsdale junior Becca Scherting hit a 3-point basket to give the Chargers a 49-46 lead with 8:41 to play. But Walsh answered impressively, going on a 15-3 run over the next three minutes to pull away for good.
In that stretch, the Cavs made six of their seven shots from the field, three of them coming from behind the 3-point stripe. Meanwhile, the Chargers went cold, turning the ball over four times and making just one shot, a 3-pointer by senior Kayla Geffert.
Three-point baskets were a big story in the game, as Walsh attempted twice as many as Hillsdale, and outscoring the Chargers 27-9 in that part of the stat sheet. Walsh went 9-for-28 on threes, compared to 3-for-14 for Hillsdale.
Geffert led the Chargers with 14 points, 8 coming in the first quarter. Scherting added 11, while junior guard Morgan Blair turned in a strong performance of 9 points and 5 rebounds.
Hillsdale committed 31 turnovers in the loss, compared to 18 for Walsh. The Cavs scored 23 points off Hillsdale turnovers, nine of those in the fourth quarter.
UP NEXT: Hillsdale hosts Malone at 2 p.m. Sunday afternoon.
PHOTO CREDIT: Kadie Lowery