A frustrating season continued Saturday afternoon for the Hillsdale College women's basketball team Saturday afternoon.
Northern Michigan University's Tess Weatherly snuck behind the defense and scored a layup with 6 seconds left to give the Wildcats a 58-57 win over the Chargers at Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena. The loss leaves Hillsdale at 9-14 overall and 6-13 in the GLIAC.
A nifty layup by Charger senior Sarah Theut gave the Chargers a 57-56 lead with 7 seconds left, and appeared to put the team in prime position for a win. After a series of well-placed passes and screens, Theut took a pass, dribbled by two players, ducked under another, and drove from the left side, finishing with a right-handed layup that sent the big crowd into a joyful celebration.
After a Wildcat timeout, NMU set up a play that was well-designed and well-executed. NMU's Darby Youngstrom threw a two-handed overhand pass to Weatherly, who ran around and behind the Charger defense, running herself wide open within easy layup range.
Without a timeout, Hillsdale had to hurry the ball up the court after Weatherly's basket, and the team's last shot at the hoop would not go in.
For much of the game, the Chargers were in control. Hillsdale led by as many as 12 points, and led the contest for more than 36 of the game's 40 minutes. The Chargers looked strong particularly on the defensive end of the floor, forcing 20 Wildcat turnovers while holding the visitors to 39 percent shooting from the floor.
On the other end of the court, freshman forward Makenna Ott enjoyed the most productive game of her young career. She set a career-high with 23 points, connecting on eight of her 13 shots from the floor, while draining a career-high five 3-point field goals. She did all that in just 22 minutes on the floor, while grabbing 4 rebounds and blocking 2 shots.
Sophomore center Allie Dittmer had 9 points, 10 rebounds and a block, and freshman Allie Dewire also scored 9 for Hillsdale.
UP NEXT: Hillsdale takes on Ferris State in Big Rapids at 6:00 Thursday night.
PHOTO CREDIT: Sarah Klopfer