Players on the Hillsdale College women's basketball team have been enduring final exams over the past week. If Thursday's test was "Basketball Shooting 101," the team would have easily earned an A+.
The team set a single-game program record with 17 made 3-point baskets in an 85-61 win over Lake Erie College at Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena. The win knocked the Storm from the ranks of the unbeaten in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, and makes the Chargers 4-6 overall and 3-2 in conference.
All nine players who played made a 3-point shot, showing off the team's impressive offensive balance and execution. The team's four non-starters - Grace Touchette, Lauren Daffenberg, Sydney Anderson and Julia Wacker - went a combined 9-for-17 from behind the arc. The team ran a patient offense and waited for players to open up on the perimeter. And when those open shots came avaialble, they knocked them down.
Three Chargers scored in the double digits, with another two adding eight points a piece. Senior forward Makenna Ott played a well-rounded game. She scored a season-high of 22, along with six rebounds and five assists.
Senior guard Allie Dewire added 11 points and five rebounds and sophomore guard Jaycie Burger led Hillsdale with a season-high of eight rebounds to go along with eight assists. Touchette came off the bench to add 15 points.
Despite a large victory for the Chargers, the game did not begin in such a way. The first quarter got off to a slow start as neither team scored for nearly two minutes. But once Lake Erie got on the board both teams played an evenly matched quarter, ending with a narrow Hillsdale lead, 19-16.
By the start of the second half the Chargers established their place on the court. They had a 39-25 lead, sparked by a buzzer-beating half-court shot by Dewire at the end of the second quarter.
The Chargers outscored the Storm 20-8 in the fourth quarter. A three-pointer by Touchette sealed the game to put the Chargers ahead by 25, giving them their largest lead with just under two minutes to go.
Tonight's team effort led to season-high of 20 assists for Hillsdale, along with a second-highest shooting percentage of 45.5. The Chargers were only two rebounds away from a season record in rebounding as well. They out rebounded the Storm 44-26.
The Chargers will continue their G-MAC campaign on Tuesday when they host the Ursuline College Arrows at 1 p.m.
PHOTO: MaryKate Drews
WORDS: Calli Townsend