Schedule
Cedarville (5-16, 3-11 G-MAC) at Hillsdale (13-9, 9-5 G-MAC) | 5:30 p.m. ET Thursday, Feb. 15 | Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena | Hillsdale, MI
#1 Ashland (21-1, 14-0 G-MAC) at Hillsdale (13-9, 9-5 G-MAC) | 3 p.m. ET Saturday, Feb. 17 | Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena | Hillsdale, MI
Follow/Watch
Live Stats | Webcast | Tickets
Additional Info
Hillsdale Roster | Cedarville Roster | Ashland Roster | 2023-24 Hillsdale Stats | 2023-24 Cedarville Stats | 2023-24 Ashland Stats | G-MAC Standings
Projected Starters
Hillsdale: #3 Lauren McDonald, Jr., G, Chicago, IL/St. Ignatius/Air Force (12.2 ppg, 6.4 rpg. 3.2 apg, 1.7 spg); #5 Sydney Mills, Sr., F, DeWitt, MI/DeWitt (14.3 ppg, 8.9 rpg); #15 Kendall McCormick, Jr., G, Hinckley, OH/Highland (8.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.3 spg); #30 Caitlin Splain, So., G, Powell, OH/Olentangy Liberty (13.1 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.1 spg); #31 Ashley Konkle, Sr., C, Aurora, IL/Benet Academy/Western Michigan (4.5 ppg, 5.7 rpg)
Cedarville: #0 Brianna Zajicek, So., G, Pittsburgh, PA/Norwin (5 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.3 spg); #10 Leah Butterbaugh, Jr., G, Waynesville, OH/Waynesville (4.9 ppg, 3.9 rpg); #21 Regan Hubert, Fr., G, Cincinnati, OH/Homeschool (2.3 ppg); #22 KaCee Kyle, Jr, G, Greenwood Village, CO/Cherry Creek (9.2 ppg, 4 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.5 spg); #34 Kat Weakley, Jr, G, Columbus, OH/Worthington Christian (9.4 ppg, 3 rpg, 1 spg)
Ashland: #3 Morgan Yoder, G, Jr., Dundee, OH/Berlin Hiland (4.8 ppg, 3.7 apg); #10 Lexi Howe, Fr., G, Zanesville, OH/Tri-Valley (8.4 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.1 spg); #21 Macy Spielman, Sr., G, Upper Arlington, OH/Upper Arlington/Bowling Green (7.3 ppg, 2.2 apg); #25 Zoe Miller, Jr., F, Berlin, OH/Hiland/Bowling Green (14.8 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1 spg); #42 Annie Roshak, Sr, F, North Canton, OH/Hoover (15.8 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 1.2 spg)
Scouting the Opposition
Cedarville: It's been a tough season for Cedarville, which has dealt with brutal injury luck that's seen four key players sidelined for large chunks of the season, including returning All-G-MAC player Lydia Sweeney.
In the absence of Sweeney, the Yellow Jackets have turned to a variety of young players looking to make their mark, led by Texas-Rio Grande Valley transfer KaCee Kyle and junior Kat Weakley, who started the season as the team's first player off the bench and now leads the squad's healthy players in scoring as a full-time starter..
Sophomore Brianna Zajicek and freshman Regan Hubert have taken on significantly bigger roles with the injuries and are gaining valuable experience as well. Arguably as damaging to Cedarville's hopes as Sweeney's absence is an injury to post player Makenna Fee that's left Cedarville undersized inside. Sophomore Evan Neely has seen her role increase as a result.
All the absences have left Cedarville struggling to get stops at the defensive end, as the Yellow Jackets rank 13th in the conference and give up 73.4 points per game. Cedarville will hope to get a couple of players back and for continued growth from its young lineup of healthy players.
The Yellowjackets are coached by Addy Miller, in her first season in charge at Cedarville. A Drury graduate and former star player, Miller came to Cedarville after a three-year stint as an assistant at her alma mater, a NCAA DII power, and also spent time at Pittsburg State as an assistant.
Ashland: The defending NCAA Division II national champions and the top-ranked team in the nation currently, Ashland will be the best team the Chargers play this season.
The Eagles brought back almost all of their production from last year's title-winning team, led by NCAA DII Player of the Year Annie Roshak, who returns for a fifth season. Morgan Yoder, Macy Spielman, Zoe Miller and Hayley Smith are all veteran contributors who played big roles in last season's championship and make the Eagles one of the best teams in the country again this year.
To a strong core, Ashland has added an impact freshman in guard Lexi Howe, who's helped to plug the only vacated spot the Eagles had to fill on the floor.
Ashland pairs the third-best scoring offense in the country with a defense that gives up under 58 points per game, and outside of one hiccup against Ferris State, have largely rolled through their competition and are on track to win another G-MAC title and host the Midwest Regional once again.
Ashland is coached by Kari Pickens, an Eagles grad and former basketball star who followed legends Sue Ramsey and Robyn Fralick in the role and has a 145-12 record entering this season with four conference titles and the 2022-23 national title on her resume.
Scouting Hillsdale
The Chargers are surging right now, winning four straight on the road and seven of their last eight games to move into seventh place in the G-MAC and three games clear of the current cutoff to make the G-MAC Tournament. With six games left in the regular season, Hillsdale is hoping for a strong finish that could potentially give them a chance at hosting a conference tournament game for the first time since the 2008-09 season.
The Chargers entered the season having to replace three starters from 2022-23 but had a strong core returning from a team that played a deep bench in the previous season. Three-time All-G-MAC honoree Sydney Mills has averaged a double-double in each of the past three seasons and is on track to become the program's all-time leading rebounder in her final season at Hillsdale.
In addition to Mills, Hillsdale has several players who are in the midst of breakout seasons in 2023-24. Air Force transfer Lauren McDonald is a key piece who just scratched the surface of her potential in a half-season with the Chargers in 2022-23, and has been an all-around stat-stuffer. Now juniors, both Caitlin Splain and Kendall McCormick have grown considerably over two seasons at Hillsdale and have also made big leaps as upperclassmen with increased roles on the floor. Hillsdale also can look to senior Dani Hohlbein, a gritty veteran contributor who fills up the stat sheet when she's on the floor, as well as Ashley Konkle and Olivia Patch, two-way post presences who have carved out bigger roles in 2023-24.
Talented players in the Chargers' sophomore and freshmen classes have carved out their own roles and made important contributions to the squad's efforts in 2023-24. Sydney Pnacek, Annalise Pietrzyk, Savannah Smith and Emma Ruhlman all have played important minutes for the Chargers over the course of the season.
The road ahead will be tough for Hillsdale in G-MAC play, as the conference put four teams in the NCAA Tournament last season, including defending DII National Champion Ashland, and only gets tougher with the addition of 2021-22 NAIA National Champion Thomas More to the conference. While there will be plenty of tough games ahead for the Chargers in 2023-24, Hillsdale was able to beat two of those four NCAA Tournament qualifying teams, Trevecca Nazarene and Malone, last season, and took a third, Kentucky Wesleyan, to overtime in the G-MAC Tournament, proving that Hillsdale is capable of playing on the same level as those squads.
Other Notes
- The Chargers were picked to finish 8th in the 2023-24 G-MAC Preseason Coaches Poll in line with their 7th place finish in 2022-23. Defending NCAA DII national champion Ashland was picked to repeat as conference title-winners, while Kentucky Wesleyan was picked second and Trevecca Nazarene third.
- Cedarville leads the all-time series with Hillsdale 8-5 but the Chargers are 3-2 against the Yellow Jackets in the last three years, including a 77-49 victory at Cedarville on Jan. 27 this season. Hillsdale is 24-31 all-time against Ashland, but looking to snap an 11-game losing streak to one of the elite teams in the nation at the NCAA DII level. Hillsdale's last win over the Eagles was an 82-72 victory on Jan. 25, 2014.
- On Saturday, Hillsdale celebrates three graduating seniors in a pregame ceremony – Dani Hohlbein, Sydney Mills and Olivia Patch. All three players have spent four or more years with the Chargers and are on track to graduate having led Hillsdale to back-to-back winning seasons, while playing a key role for the squad across multiple campaigns.
- The Chargers are happy to have senior Sydney Mills back on the floor after missing six games due to injury. Earlier in the season, Mills became just the third player in Hillsdale College history and the second in G-MAC history to reach 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in her career after grabbing her 1,000th rebound against Quincy in a 31 point, 15 rebound performance that led to the Chargers' first win in November. She's 32 rebounds away from breaking the Hillsdale College program record set by Sandy Skaisgir in 1991. Mills also ranks in the top 10 all-time at Hillsdale in points (9th with 1,353), blocked shots (7th with 76) and 3-pointers made (7th with 173).
- Junior Caitlin Splain is on an impressive trajectory from beyond the arc – with 172 made 3-pointers through two and a half seasons, the Powell, Ohio native is eighth in program history, and on track to challenge Chelsea Harrison's program record of 237 made 3-pointers set in 2012. Hillsdale has several impressive marksmen on the squad, as Mills is also in the top 10 all-time at Hillsdale for made 3-pointers with 173.
- Junior Lauren McDonald has been filling up the stat sheet for the Chargers, as the guard has helped Hillsdale to a decent start. She currently ranks 10th in rebounds per game, seventh in assists, 12th in steals, and 15th in points. Her buzzer-beating mid-range shot forced overtime and was key to Hillsdale's 71-61 home win over Malone on Wednesday, Jan. 17. McDonald was a mid-year transfer from Air Force last season who showed flashes in the back-half of 2022-23, but appears to be making the leap to stardom with a full offseason with the team under her belt in 2023-24.
- Junior Kendall McCormick is starting for the Chargers for the first time in her career, and showing her bonafides as a defensive stopper. McCormick is averaging 2.3 steals per game, good for fourth in the G-MAC, with 12 multi-steal games so far and a career-high six steals in Hillsdale's 69-60 victory over Thomas More on Jan. 13. The junior is putting up career-highs across the board, including averaging 8.7 points per game after averaging 2.1 in 2022-23.
- Midway through 2023-24, Hillsdale is currently on track to make a massive leap defensively this season. The Chargers are giving up just 61.5 points per game so far, over six full points less than the 68.2 points they conceded in 2022-23, and seven points less than the 70.2 points they gave up in 2021-22. Emblematic of Hillsdale's success defensively is a stellar opponent field goal percentage – the Chargers are allowing opponents to shoot just 38.0% from the field against them, the second-best mark in the G-MAC behind only Ursuline.