Thursday night's GLIAC women's basketball game started and ended badly for the Hillsdale College Chargers.
Playing in one of the conference's toughest venues, the Chargers fell behind by 18 points 10 minutes into the game and never recovered, losing to Michigan Tech 83-53 in Houghton. Hillsdale is now 8-7 overall and 5-6 in conference play.
The Huskies immediately jumped on the Chargers, taking a big lead to open the game. Hillsdale shot 2-for-16 from the field in the first quarter, and faced a 25-7 deficit entering the second. In the second and third quarters, the teams played relatively even, with Hillsdale slicing that lead in half at one point.
But Michigan Tech regained dominance in the fourth quarter, outscoring Hillsdale 23-10 to easily wrap up the win.
The Chargers were held to 34 percent shooting for the game. They did a good job of bouncing back from their frigid first quarter to shoot 8-for-14 from the floor in the second quarter. But in the fourth, the team's shooting touch went away once again, as Tech extended its lead. Hillsdale also shot just seven free throws in the contest, compared to 17 for MTU.
Michigan Tech damaged the Chargers inside, scoring more than half their points (44) in the paint.
Junior guard Morgan Blair was by far the team's most efficient offensive player, scoring 9 points while attempting just five shots. Junior Becca Scherting shared scoring lead honors with Blair, while senior Kelsey Cromer, who made her first start of the season, tossed in 8.
UP NEXT: Hillsdale heads to Marquette to battle Northern Michigan University at 1:00 Saturday.
PHOTO CREDIT: Michigan Tech University athletics