The Hillsdale College women's basketball team hits the road for the long weekend to take on two tough G-MAC foes, looking to pull an upset this week.
The Chargers face two difficult foes -- Malone on Thursday and Ohio Dominican on Monday -- but also two teams that the Chargers nearly upset at home earlier in the season.
You can follow along with the Chargers on the road on the Great Midwest Digital Network, by clicking on the links below for live stats and webcasts for both of this weekend's contests.
Schedule
Hillsdale (2-13, 2-13 G-MAC) at Malone (6-9, 6-9 G-MAC) | 5:30 p.m. ET Thursday, Feb. 11 | Osborne Hall | Canton, OH
Hillsdale (2-13, 2-13 G-MAC) at Ohio Dominican (10-5, 10-5 G-MAC) | 7:30 p.m. ET Monday, Feb. 15 | Alumni Hall | Columbus, OH
Follow/Watch
Live Stats vs Malone | Webcast vs Malone | Live Stats vs ODU | Webcast vs ODU
Additional Info
Hillsdale Roster | Malone Roster | ODU Roster | 2020-21 Hillsdale Stats | 2020-21 Malone Stats | 2020-21 ODU Stats
Projected Starters
Hillsdale: #2 Dani Salenbien, Fr., G, Adrian, MI/Lenawee Christian (6.5 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 3 apg); #22 Grace Touchette, Jr., G, Northfield, MN/Northfield (14.7 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.9 apg); #3 Jaycie Burger, Sr., G, Pittsford, MI/Pittsford (9.2 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 3.7 apg); #5 Sydney Mills, So., F, DeWitt, MI/DeWitt (13.3 ppg, 10.1 rpg); #15 Arianna Sysum, So., F, Eaton Rapids, MI/Eaton Rapids (8.9 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 1.1 bpg)
Malone: #2 Holly Groff, Sr. G, Macedonia, OH/Nordonia (18.2 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 3.4 apg); #4 Robin Campbell, Jr., G, Alliance, OH/Marlington (12.8 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 3.5 apg); #10 Alexis Hutchison, So., G, Centerville, OH/Centerville (10.9 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 2.2 apg); #13 Madison Hunter, Jr., G, New Concord, OH/John Glenn (10.2 ppg, 5.9 rpg); #12 Emma Kallas, So., G/F, Waukesha, WI/Martin Luther (8.5 ppg, 3.9 rpg).
Ohio Dominican: #12 Angela Troyer, Sr., G, Sugarcreek, OH, Berlin Hiland (22.6 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 2.4 apg, 2.1 spg); #10 Kennedy Schlabach, Jr., G, Millersburg, OH/Berlin Hiland (19.3 ppg, 6.7 apg, 1.7 spg); #22 Gabby Stare, Fr., G, Newark, OH/Newark (14.7 ppg, 5 rpg, 2.4 apg); #30 Alli Kern, Jr., G, Waterford, OH/Waterford (5.1 ppg, 9.1 rpg, 1.6 spg); #24 Olivia Fox, Sr., F, Newark, OH/Newark (11.7 ppg, 6.4 rpg)
Scouting the Opposition
Malone: Although it hasn't quite been the season the Pioneers have hoped to date, Malone is still an extremely dangerous offensive team to run into on the wrong night in the G-MAC, especially at home.
Guards Holly Groff and Robin Campbell, both All-G-MAC players in 2019-20, can put up points in bunches, and the emergence of Alexis Hutchison and Madison Hunter as double-figure scorers have made the Pioneers even more potent offensively.
Several close losses throughout the season have left Malone on the outside looking in of the G-MAC tournament currently, making the Pioneers a team that's desperate for wins to get back on the right side of the bubble.
The head coach at Malone is Selana Reale, who is entering her third season at the helm of the Pioneers. A former player and successful assistant at Malone, Reale has led the Pioneers to back-to-back winning seasons and earned G-MAC Coach of the Year honors in 2018-19.
Ohio Dominican: Back-to-back losses have dropped the Panthers back in the G-MAC title race, but Ohio Dominican is still second in the league's point rating system (PRS) that determines conference tournament seeding, and an extremely dangerous opponent.
ODU's is in a position to host a conference tourmament game despite being picked sixth in the preseason poll in large part due to the emergence of lead guard Angela Troyer, an All-G-MAC player last season who was the second option behind graduated senior Alexa Fisher. In Fisher's absence, Troyer has emerged as a conference player of the year contender, averaging 22.6 points and 6.6 rebounds per game.
It's not just Troyer, as guards Kennedy Schlabach (19.3 ppg) and Gabby Stare (14.7 ppg) give the Panhers one of the most lethal perimeter trios in the entire conference. At 81.3 points per game, ODU has one of the best offenses in the G-MAC, though a defense giving up 76.2 points per game has been a concern.
Ohio Dominican is coached by Lynsey Warren, who's had an accomplished nine-year run leading the Panthers, including three seasons of 18 or more wins in the last five campaigns.
Scouting Hillsdale
In their last four games, the Chargers have had chances to win all four, and lost two by less than four points. That competitiveness is a reason for optimism for Hillsdale despite a 2-13 overall record.
Always a strong rebounder, sophomore Sydney Mills has asserted herself as a scorer with double-figure nights in each of the last nine games, and is looking like an all-conference caliber player. Paired with the consistent production of junior guard Grace Touchette, Mills has helped the Chargers make big strides offensively in the past few weeks.
In other areas, too, the Chargers are showing improvement. Arianna Sysum, has been a key piece so far after a limited role in 2019-20, and junior Lauren Daffenberg is excelling in her new role as the team's sixth man, bringing offensive firepower off the bench.
Senior Jaycie Burger continues to be an excellent leader for the team, bringing defense, toughness and outside shooting touch to the lineup, while freshman Dani Salenbien is adjusting quickly to the collegiate game with a versatile set of skills to add to the Charger attack.
The Chargers are coached by Charlie Averkamp, who's in his first year with the Hillsdale program after an excellent four-year run at Division III Benedictine University. His staff includes Amanda Parker, the former head coach at Division III Dominican University, former Williams College player Angela Vecchiarelli, and former Wisconsin Parkside player Hayley Maystead.
Other Notes
- Hillsdale has a 7-5 edge over Malone in a series that dates back to 2013, when both teams were members of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, but the Pioneers have won three straight over the Chargers, including an 84-76 victory on Dec. 5, 2020, earlier this season.
- Hillsdale and Ohio Dominican are tied 9-9 in a competitive all-time series, but ODU has won the two most recent meetings, including an 87-80 Panther win at Hillsdale on Jan. 30, 2021, two weeks ago.
- Junior Lauren Daffenberg tied two career-highs with a strong performance off the bench in Saturday's 72-68 loss to Findlay, matching her best marks in points (25) and 3-pointers made (7) in a game. Daffenberg is now 7th in Hillsdale history in career made 3-pointers with 154, and is three behind former teammate Makenna Ott (2015-19)'s total of 157 for sixth all-time.
- Along with Daffenberg, senior Jaycie Burger is also working her way up the career made 3-pointers list. At 138 for her career after last week, Burger moved into the 9th spot all-time, passing Liz Cibor's (1998-02) total of 135. Burger is now chasing Mary Wiesen (1999-03) and her total of 144 made 3-pointers for 8th all-time. Daffenberg and Burger might not be the last from this year's squad to make the list – junior Grace Touchette has 109 made 3-pointers for her career and is climbing fast.
- Sophomore Sydney Mills is having an impressive season. She's second in the G-MAC in rebounding at 10.1 a game –and she's averaging double-double at 13.3 points per game as well. She's also the conference leader in defensive rebounds per game (8.1), and in total rebounds (122).