The last time the Hillsdale College women's basketball team won a game inside the Gilmour Center on the campus of Tiffin University, no player from the current Charger roster had even completed their junior year of high school yet.
Some big plays down the stretch on both ends of the court by senior Megan Fogt helped spark Hillsdale to a 66-61 win over the Dragons Thursday night in Hillsdale's GLIAC opener. The Chargers are now 3-0 on the season and 1-0 in conference play, and will take on Ohio Dominican University in Columbus, Ohio Saturday at noon.
In a game that saw both teams shoot less than 40 percent from the floor, it was fitting that Fogt, the reigning GLIAC Player of the Year, step up on defense to help make a difference in the game.
With Hillsdale ahead by three in the game's final minute, Fogt recorded her fourth blocked shot of the game, grabbed the subsequent rebound, got fouled, then hit two free throws with 6 seconds to play to sew up the win. Tiffin's defense limited Fogt to just 7 field goal attempts in the game, but she still finished with 12 points, 9 rebounds and a season-high 4 blocked shots.
This is the Chargers' first 3-0 start since the 2010-11 season.
Hillsdale's defense held Tiffin to 35 percent shooting from the field and forced the Dragons into 23 turnovers. Tiffin didn't make a single 3-pointer in the second half, and juniors Madison Berry and Ashlyn Landherr combined for 7 steals in the win.
Berry led Hillsdale in scoring with a season-high 14 points, 10 of them coming in the first half. Junior Kayla Geffert made a strong contribution off the bench with 11 points, going 3-for-5 from the field while making all four of her free throws.
Hillsdale got off to a strong start in the game, taking a 15-6 lead in the opening few minutes. Tiffin responded with a 22-8 run to take a five-point lead with 2:19 left in the first half. But the Chargers counterpunched effectively, rallying to take a 31-30 lead into intermission. Berry made four straight free throws to help the Chargers get momentum and the lead back.
Even though the game was tied five times in the second half, Hillsdale never trailed, finding a way to make a key stop, or to hit a jump shot during stretches where points were tough to come by. Sophomore guard Morgan Blair hit two shots in the second half during a point where six total points were scored by the teams in five minutes of play in the second half.
Freshman Allie Dittmer had 6 points and 8 rebounds off the bench for Hillsdale, while freshman guard Michele Boykin (pictured) scored a career-high 6 points.