With the end of the season fast approaching, the Hillsdale College women's basketball team is looking to build some momentum for the future.
The Chargers have winnable games this week, traveling to Ursuline to take on a team they lost to by just five points in December, and also hosting 0-13 Ohio Valley on Saturday.
A strong finish could send a young squad with just one graduating senior into the offseason with energy to build off of for next winter.
While complying with MDHHS orders, Hillsdale College is now allowing a limited number of fans to attend games at Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena for the remainder of the season. You can find more details at this link, and you can also find links to ticket pages for each game below. Tickets will not go on sale until 24 hours before tip-off of each game, and each ticket is only good for the men's game on that day. A separate ticket will have to be purchased to attend the women's game prior to the men's contest.
You can also follow along with all the action on the Great Midwest Digital Network. Links to both live stats and the streaming webcast for each game are below.
Schedule
Hillsdale (2-15, 2-15 G-MAC) at Ursuline (7-11, 7-11 G-MAC) | 5:30 p.m. ET Thursday, Feb. 18 | Stano Athletic Center | Pepper Pike, OH
Ohio Valley (0-13, 0-13 G-MAC) at Hillsdale (2-15, 2-15 G-MAC) | 1 p.m. ET Saturday, Feb. 20 | Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena | Hillsdale, MI
Follow/Watch
Live Stats vs Ursuline | Webcast vs Ursuline | Live Stats vs OVU | Webcast vs OVU | Tickets
Additional Info
Hillsdale Roster | Ursuline Roster | OVU Roster | 2020-21 Hillsdale Stats | 2020-21 Ursuline Stats | 2020-21 OVU Stats
Projected Starters
Hillsdale: #2 Dani Salenbien, Fr., G, Adrian, MI/Lenawee Christian (7.2 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 3 apg); #22 Grace Touchette, Jr., G, Northfield, MN/Northfield (14.0 ppg, 3 rpg, 4.1 apg); #3 Jaycie Burger, Sr., G, Pittsford, MI/Pittsford (8.8 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 4 apg); #5 Sydney Mills, So., F, DeWitt, MI/DeWitt (13.7 ppg, 10.3 rpg); #15 Arianna Sysum, So., F, Eaton Rapids, MI/Eaton Rapids (9.1 ppg, 4 rpg, 1.1 bpg)
Ursuline: #5 Madison Cloonan, Fr., G, Kirtland, OH/Cornerstone Christian (9.6 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 1.1 spg); #4 Rebekah Green, Jr., G, Jackson, OH/Jackson (11.7 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.4 apg); #32 Alyssa Evans, So., G, Amanda, OH/Amanda-Clearcreek (11.3 ppg, 2.6 rpg); #1 Tamara Mathis, So., G, Canonsburg, PA/McMillan (9.6 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 3 apg); #33 Aubrie Marsh, So., F, Medina, OH/St. Vincent-St. Mary(7 ppg, 3.9 rpg)
Ohio Valley: #23 Marina Garcia, Fr., G, Leon, Spain/Ies Padre Isla (7.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 4.3 apg, 2.4 spg); #55 Nahia Urturi-Ortiz, So., G, Victoria, Spain/Asador 10 Gibajas (7.1 ppg, 4.9 rpg); #50 Lucia Gancedo, Fr., F, Leon, Spain/Ies Gil Y Carrasco (6.4 ppg, 3.4 rpg); #20 Jordan Fox, Sr., G, St. Marys, WV/St. Marys (15.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.1 spg) #35 Jemma Bennett, Jr., G, Brisbane, Australia/Clarendon College (8.7 ppg)
Scouting the Opposition
Ursuline: The Arrows have had a roller-coaster season that's included a five-game winning streak with victories over some of the G-MAC's best teams, and a five-game losing streak with losses to teams near the bottom of the standings.
Ursuline does have a deep squad, led by senior Morgan Mattimore, who is still leading the Arrows in scoring despite coming off the bench for the last 11 games.
The Arrows have a solid nucleus that's capable of explosive offensive nights, averaging a solid 75.4 points per game as a team, including seven games of 85 or more points this season. But Ursuline has been undermined by the conference's second-worst defense, conceding 81.6 points per game.
Currently, the Arrows are on the outside looking in of the G-MAC tournament picture, but a strong finish could see them overtake Malone for the last spot, making Thursday's game critical.
Leading Ursuline is head coach Shannon Sword, now entering her 11th season with the Arrows. During her time at Ursuline, Sword has guided the Arrows to two G-MAC regular season titles, two NCAA tournament appearances and a then-G-MAC record of 22 consecutive conference wins. She was also the G-MAC Coach of the Year in 2015 and 2016.
Ohio Valley: Shorthanded and deeply inexperienced, there's no sugar-coating what's been a rough year for the Fighting Scots in their final season in the G-MAC.
With just eight players on the roster and less dressing most nights, it's been hard for Ohio Valley to keep up with conference opponents, going 0-13 without a single one of those losses coming by single digits.
Senior Jordan Fox is a bright spot for the Fighting Scots, averaging 15.2 points per game and currently ranking 11th in the G-MAC in that stat, while a young core of four international players, including three from Spain, are getting valuable playing time and giving Ohio Valley something to build around in the future.
Ohio Valley is coached by Sonya Miller, who is in her fourth season in charge of the Fighting Scots program in 2020-21. Prior to taking the job at OVU, Miller was a successful coach at Wayne High School in Huber Heights, Ohio
Scouting Hillsdale
The Chargers haven't had the season they were hoping for in Charlie Averkamp's first season, but Hillsdale has been competitive in the vast majority of its 17 games and is looking to build momentum for next season with a young core.
Always a strong rebounder, sophomore Sydney Mills has asserted herself as a scorer with double-figure nights in each of the last 11 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 month.
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.
Hillsdale's lone 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 is 4-4 all-time against Ursuline, but have lost the last three meetings, including an 85-80 win by the Arrows on Dec. 31, 2020 earlier this season.
- The Chargers are 4-1 all-time against Ohio Valley, but lost the most recent meeting between the two teams in Vienna last season, 84-78. That win is Ohio Valley's only conference victory in the last five seasons.
- Junior Lauren Daffenberg continues to climb the Chargers' all-time 3-pointers made list. Daffenberg is now 6th in Hillsdale history in career made 3-pointers with 158, passing former teammate Makenna Ott (2015-19)'s total of 157 in the Chargers' loss to Ohio Dominican on Monday. Daffenberg is now eight 3-pointers behind Jodie Haines (2003-07) and her 166 made 3-pointers for fifth all-time. The record-holder for the Chargers is Chelsea Harrison, with 237 made 3-pointers in her career.
- Along with Daffenberg, senior Jaycie Burger is also working her way up the career made 3-pointers list. At 141 for her career after last week, Burger sits at 9th in Hillsdale history in 3-point makes, and is 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 113 made 3-pointers for her career and is climbing fast.
- Sophomore Sydney Mills is having an impressive season, retaking the G-MAC lead in rebounding at 10.3 a game –and she's averaging double-double at 13.7 points per game as well. She's also the conference leader in defensive rebounds per game (8.3), and second in total rebounds (175). Mills has five double-doubles on the season, most recently a 12 point, 15 rebound effort against Ohio Dominican on Monday.
- Hillsdale is one of only two teams in the G-MAC with multiple players in the top 10 in assists per game on the season, along with league-leader Cedarville. Touchette is currently 7th at 4.1 assists per game, and Burger is eighth at 4.0 assists per game.