An 8-2 run after the game was tied at 48 proved to be fatal for the Hillsdale College women's basketball team Saturday afternoon.
The Chargers lost a 59-52 decision to Ohio Dominican in Columbus. Hillsdale is now 5-9 overall and 2-5 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference.
Senior Julia Wacker popped in a jump shot with 7:51 to go in the fourth that put Hillsdale on top 48-46. To that point, the game had been very tightly played, with neither team able to build a significant lead on the other. But the one big run in the game occured shortly thereafter, and was put on by the Panthers, who would score 10 of the game's next 12 points to get the lead for good.
Missed shots and turnovers plagued Hillsdale over the game's next five minutes, during which ODU upped its lead to 56-50 with 1:29 to go. Wacker ended the drought with a layup to make it a four-point game, but at that point, just 41 seconds remained, not enough time for the Chargers to get enough possessions to climb back into the lead.
The first and third quarters were good ones for the Chargers, who took a three-point lead after the first and led by one after three. But the second and fourth quarters were controlled by the Panthers, who erased their one-point deficit going into the fourth quarter with a 17-9 scoring edge over the game's final 10 minutes.
Sophomore guard Grace Touchette played a strong game, finishing with 18 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists. Wacker and Lauren Daffenberg each added 7 points for the Hillsdale offense in the loss. Freshman forward Sydney Mills was strong on the glass with a team-high 11 rebounds.
PHOTO: Jim Drews