Northwood University's Bennett Center has long been a place where the Charger women's basketball team has struggled. Not so Thursday night, as Hillsdale College won its first intra-division game as a North Division squad.
Another dominating effort on the boards and a great game by senior Megan Fogt pushed Hillsdale to an 80-72 win over the host Timberwolves. The Chargers are back over .500 in conference play (5-4) and are 9-4 overall.
Hillsdale is an impressive 8-1 away from home this season. The team will try to continue that trend Saturday afternoon in Sault Ste. Marie when it takes on Lake Superior State at 1 p.m.
A 21-4 first-half run was key in the Chargers' victory. After falling behind 17-12 early, Hillsdale flexed its muscle on the boards, improved its defense and spread the ball around on offense to flip the five-point deficit into a 14-point lead by halftime.
The imtermission didn't slow Hillsdale down, as it quickly upped the lead to 18 before going up by as many as 20 - after a Kayla Geffert 3-pointer - 58-38 with 13:11 left in the game.
Later in the second half, the Timberwolves deployed a full-court pressure defense and greatly tightened the final score, slicing nearly a point a minute off Hillsdale's lead in the last 13 minutes. But four straight made free throws by junior Madison Berry helped hold Northwood off.
Fogt had one of her signature performances, helping the Chargers to a huge 42-31 edge on the boards. She shot 7-for-8 from the floor and had 19 points, 10 rebounds and a season-high 4 blocked shots.
Helping Fogt out on the boards was fellow senior Kadie Lowery, who set a new career-high with 11 rebounds to go along with 13 points, notching her first career double-double. Lowery had 9 points in the first half, setting a positive tone in the half with her outside shooting.
Sophomore guard Becca Scherting had 7 points in the first half, on her way to a career-best 11 points. Sophomore guard Morgan Blair played another intelligent floor game, picking up 7 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists. Kelsey Cromer and Geffert each scored 9 for the Chargers.
This was Hillsdale's first win at Northwood since Feb. 4, 2012.