UPDATE 12/2/2020: The Saturday, Dec. 5 women's game against Trevecca Nazarene has been postponed to a date to be determined later. The Charger women's basketball team is now traveling to Findlay on Thursday for a 5:30 p.m. game. The men's basketball game against Trevecca Nazarene on Saturday, Dec. 5 is still on as scheduled at this time.
The season is just starting, but 2020 has already thrown an additional curveball for the Hillsdale College women's basketball team to deal with.
The Chargers were originally slated to open the season on Thursday, Dec. 3 with a home game against Kentucky Wesleyan, but that game has been postponed to Dec. 31 at noon.
Although the scheduled season opener has been moved, Hillsdale still will get the chance to kick off the season at home against G-MAC foe Trevecca Nazarene on Saturday.
In order to comply with current Michigan Department of Health and Human Services mandates, spectators will not be allowed at Saturday's game against the Trojans. Fans who want to follow along with the action can do so via our internet livestream, which is linked below, or listen to the game on the radio at either 92.1 WCSR or 101.7 WRFH/Radio Free Hillsdale.
Schedule
Trevecca Nazarene (0-0, 0-0 G-MAC) at Hillsdale (0-0, 0-0 G-MAC) | 1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 5 | Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena | Hillsdale, MI
Follow/Watch
Additional Info
Hillsdale Roster | Trevecca Roster | 2019-20 Hillsdale Stats | 2019-20 Trevecca Stats
Players to Watch
Hillsdale: #21 Lauren Daffenberg, Jr., G, Yorkville, IL/Yorkville (12.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg in 2019-20); #22 Grace Touchette, Jr., G, Northfield, MN/Northfield (12.6 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.7 apg in 2019-20); #3 Jaycie Burger, Sr., G, Pittsford, MI/Pittsford (8.3 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 2.5 apg in 2019-20); #5 Sydney Mills, So., F, DeWitt, MI/DeWitt (6.3 ppg, 6.4 rpg in 2019-20).
Trevecca: #20 Olivia Pepperman, Sr., G, Maryville, TN/Maryville (12.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.8 apg, 2.8 spg in 2019-20); #11 Samantha Whiteman, So., G, Covington, OH/Covington (9.4 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 4.1 apg in 2019-20); #34 Kaitlynn Wilks, So., F, Stanford, KY/Lincoln County (9.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg in 2019-20); #24 Keeley Carter, Fr., G, Lafayette, TN/Macon County (20 points in exhibition loss to Austin Peay)
Scouting the Opposition
Trevecca Nazarene finished ninth in the G-MAC standings in 2019-20, missing out on the conference tournament by one place, but appear to be on the upswing heading into the 2020-21 campaign. The Trojans had no seniors in their rotation last year and return all five starters, though only two of those five played in a 90-76 exhibition loss to Division I Austin Peay on Nov. 28.
Senior Olivia Pepperman was a second team All-G-MAC player in 2019-20 for Trevecca, leading the Trojans in points, rebounds and steals, and will be a key player again this year, while sophomores Samantha Whiteman and Kaitlynn Wilks return after starting as freshmen and will look to build off their initial campaigns.
A potential x-factor for the Trojans is the contribution of six new players to the team, led by freshman guard Keeley Carter and junior college transfer Alex McFarlin. Carter led Trevecca in scoring against Austin Peay with 20 points, while McFarlin finished in double figures as well. If that level of play continues, the new faces could give the Trojans a boost on the court and in the G-MAC standings.
Trevecca Nazarene is coached by Chad Hibdon, who enters his fifth season in charge of the Trjoans, with a 38-71 overall record and 28-48 mark in G-MAC play.
Scouting Hillsdale
With three starters returning and several players with more experience under their belt, as well as a new coach at the helm in Charlie Averkamp, the Chargers could be a much-improved team from their 12th place finish in the G-MAC last season.
Much of the optimism surrounding the Chargers stems from the return of a talented backcourt trio that's accumulated significant experience over the last two seasons. Leading the way is junior Lauren Daffenberg, a second-team All-G-MAC pick last season who led the team in scoring (12.7 points per game) in 2019-20 and is on pace to go down as one of the program's best 3-point shooters of all time when her career is over.
Daffenberg is flanked by junior Grace Touchette, another versatile offensive player and sharpshooter who averaged 12.6 points per game in 2019-20, and senior leader Jaycie Burger, who's entering her third season as a starter and whose versatile game makes a big impact at both ends of the floor for the Chargers.
Hillsdale will have to find rotation replacements for graduated seniors Sydney Anderson and Julia Wacker. To help replace the lost production, the Chargers will look for more from sophomore Sydney Mills, who quickly developed into the team's sixth man and its most effective post player offensively in her first season in college last year, as well as junior Anna LoMonaco, another top reserve from the 2019-20 season.
Leading the way is Averkamp, who comes to Hillsdale College as a coach on the rise after a four-year tenure at Division III Benedictine University in suburban Chicago where he led the Eagles to unprecedented heights in the history of the program. Averkamp has posted a 98-35 record as a head coach and he will aim to build the Chargers back into a contender quickly.
Other Notes
Hillsdale is 3-3 all-time against Trevecca Nazarene, having split the season series with the Trojans in all three seasons since joining the G-MAC in 2017…the Chargers won the most recent meeting with Trevecca, beating the Trojans 61-45 in Nashville on Feb. 6, 2020, but lost their most recent contest at home against the Trojans, 65-54, on Jan. 18, 2020…The Chargers are looking to snap a three-game losing streak in season openers dating back to the 2016-17 campaign, but were 6-1 in season openers in the seven years prior to the start of that streak…With 120 3-pointers in two seasons, junior Lauren Daffenberg needs just four 3-pointers to break into the top 10 all-time in Hillsdale women's basketball history in 3-pointers made. With two seasons left to play, Daffenberg is on pace to challenge 2012 graduate Chelsea Harrison's program record of 237 3-pointers made.