A strong second half helped spark a return to the win column for the Hillsdale College women's basketball team Sunday afternoon.
After trailing by as many as 11 points in the first half, Hillsdale put together a 51-point second half en route to an 81-71 win over the visiting Malone University Pioneers at Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena.
Hillsdale is now 6-4 overall and 3-3 in conference play, while Malone falls to 4-7.
Junior guard Morgan Blair ignited a 13-2 third-quarter run that flipped a four-point Charger deficit into a seven-point lead. Blair, who went scoreless in the first half, found her range nicely in the third quarter, when she went on a personal 8-0 run with a 3-pointer, a layup and a three-point play.
Blair shared scoring lead honors in the game with 12 points for Hillsdale.
Malone responded by taking a brief one-point lead late in the third quarter, but the period ended with a flourish for the Chargers. Freshman Makenna Ott's layup regained the lead for the Chargers, 53-52, with 10 seconds to play. On the subsequent inbounds pass, junior guard Becca Scherting stole the ball and Ott popped in a short jumper as time expired to quickly increase Hillsdale's lead to three entering the fourth quarter.
The Chargers put the game on ice with a 20-5 run in the fourth quarter, featuring baskets by five different players. Sophomore center Allie Dittmer controlled the painted area, delivering two layups in the game-clinching run.
Freshman Brittany Gray and senior Kayla Geffert each scored 12 points to match Blair's total. Gray in particular showed improved confidence and aggressiveness on the offensive end of the floor. She positioned herself into good shooting areas, becoming a threat that had to be accounted for. She also collected 3 steals, 3 rebounds and 2 assists.
Sophomore Maddy Reed had 7 points, 6 rebounds and 2 steals off the bench, while Dittmer added 7 rebounds to her effort. Scherting had 9 points, 5 rebounds and 4 steals.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE: Hillsdale is among the GLIAC leaders in rebounding margin, and the Chargers kept that up in this game, going plus-7 (41-34) in the win…Alex Moynes made her first appearance on the court since March 5, 2014…Sophomore Jessica De Gree made her first collegiate start and collected 5 rebounds in 10 minutes…Hillsdale's team 3-point percentage went from 23 percent in the first half to 41 percent in the second half...This was the final regular season meeting between these teams until they're both members of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference in the 2017-18 season.
UP NEXT: The Chargers battle Wayne State at 5:30 p.m. Thursday in Detroit.
PHOTO CREDIT: Kadie Lowery