Playing one of its most balanced and efficient games of the season, the Charger women's basketball team got back on the winning track Saturday afternoon.
Five players scored in double figures, as Hillsdale rolled to a 69-51 win over Tiffin University before its biggest crowd of the season at the Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena.
The win gives Hillsdale its 11th victory of the season, exceeding its total from all of last year. The Chargers are 11-8 overall and 5-7 in the GLIAC.
Tiffin led by eight points early in the first quarter, but Hillsdale battled back to tie the game at 17 after the first 10 minutes. The second and third quarters were dominated by the Chargers, who outscored the Dragons 38-17 in the middle two quarters to blow the game open. Hillsdale's defense and rebounding were key in that time frame, as the team forced Tiffin into tough shots, and allowed few offensive rebounds.
Hillsdale outrebounded Tiffin 50-34 in the game.
The Chargers held the Dragons to 12 percent shooting in the second quarter and 22 percent shooting in the third quarter. Meanwhile, Hillsdale consistently had excellent ball movement and spacing offensively, and mixed up its shooters with great effectiveness.
A standout in the win was junior forward Jessica De Gree, who recorded her first career double-double. She finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench, and played aggressively at both ends of the court. She used a quick first step to drive hard to the basket time and time again.
Sophomore guard Allie Dewire stuffed the stat sheet like few have in recent years for the Chargers. Despite sitting out the entire second quarter, she racked up 13 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and three steals in her finest all-around performance. She helped get Hillsdale set up in early offense thanks to her speed and aggressiveness, and made great decisions with the ball throughout the game.
Senior guard Morgan Blair also displayed decisiveness on offense, and scored 11 of her 13 points in the first half. She found creases in the Tiffin defense and shot 6-for-11 from the floor. Sophomore forward Makenna Ott buried three 3-point field goals to finish with 11 points, while junior center Allie Dittmer had 14 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and two blocked shots in yet another standout performance for the Chargers.
Hillsdale outscored Tiffin 38-14 on points in the paint, a testament to its patience in running its offense.
UP NEXT: Hillsdale plays at Lake Erie College at 5:30 p.m. Thursday