Schedule
Hillsdale (3-2, 0-0 G-MAC) at Davenport (3-2, 0-0 GLIAC) | 2 p.m. ET Sunday, Nov. 27 | DU Student Center | Grand Rapids, MI
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Additional Info
Hillsdale Roster | Davenport Roster | Hillsdale Stats | Davenport Stats
Projected Starters
Hillsdale: #4 Peighton Nelson, Fr., G, Cottage Grove, WI/Monona Grove (5.0 ppg, 2.8 apg, 1 spg); #5 Sydney Mills, Jr., F, DeWitt, MI/DeWitt (14.2 ppg, 13.6 rpg); #22 Grace Touchette, Sr., G, Northfield, MN/Northfield (14.2 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 3.2 apg); #31 Ashley Konkle, Jr., C, Aurora, IL/Benet Academy/Western Michigan (7.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 1.6 bpg); #32 Arianna Sysum, Jr., F, Eaton Rapids, MI/Eaton Rapids (6.2 ppg)
Davenport: #5 Ryan Harvey, Sr., G, Ada, MI/Forest Hills Eastern (2.2 ppg, 2 apg); #10 Alexa Kolnitys, Fr., G, Midland, MI/Dow (5 ppg, 2.6 apg); #22 Ellie Toney, Fr., F, Corunna, MI/Corunna (11.8 ppg, 4 rpg); #24 Jaci Walker, So., F, Middlebury, IN/Northridge (5.2 ppg, 2.6 rpg); #30 Lillee Gustafson, So., Highland, MI/Hartland (14.2 ppg, 10.4 rpg, 1.4 spg, 1.8 bpg)
Scouting the Opposition
Davenport: After a 2-26 season last year, the Panthers look like a team on the rise under new head coach Shonda Sanders. At 3-2, Davenport has already won more games than last year five games into the season, most recently an impressive 71-70 win over Northwood.
Sanders has done an impressive recruiting job, bringing in two new starters in freshman point guard Alexa Kolnitys and Ellie Toney who have helped raise the team's ceiling. But she's also done impressive development on players who were left behind by the previous regime. Sophomore Lillee Gustafson has blossomed into the team's leading scorer and a double-double machine this season, while fellow sophomore Jaci Walker has also made significant improvements in her second year with the program.
The Panthers are a deep team, with 13 players who've appeared in at least three of the program's five games so far. Along with the starting lineup, substitute guards Makenna Bryant and Scout Nelson play key roles off the bench as well, and Lourdes transfer Mary Liedel also gets consistent playing time.
Sanders is a former Central Michigan star player who came to Davenport after serving as an assistant at Saginaw Valley State for three seasons. Sanders has also spent time as the head coach at Delta College for two years, as well as three years as an assistant at Alma College.
Scouting Hillsdale
The Chargers made huge strides in the 2021-22 season, improving by nine wins from the previous year and finishing just one win away from a winning season and a berth in the G-MAC Tournament.
With turnover at other programs across the G-MAC, the expectation is for the Chargers to push even higher this year, with an impressive amount of talent returning from last year's squad.
All five starters return from the 2021-22 team, including All-G-MAC players Grace Touchette and Sydney Mills, and G-MAC Freshman of the Year Peighton Nelson. Those three stars, along with defensive menace Ari Sysum and versatile guard Dani Salenbien, give Hillsdale a great nucleus to build around.
While Nelson is the headliner, Hillsdale is expecting great things from all the members of this year's sophomore class. Second-year players Carly Callahan and Caitlin Splain played well off the bench for the Chargers last year and should be ready for bigger roles this season, while Kendall McCormick could make an impact after a year of adjusting to the college game as well.
In the post, Hillsdale returns another solid reserve in senior Maverick Delp, and adds a potential game-changer in Western Michigan transfer Ashley Konkle. The 6-2 center got playing time for the Broncos and could make a huge impact for the Chargers in 2022-23 after sitting out last season while recovering from an injury.
Hillsdale is coached by Charlie Averkamp, who returns for his third season with the Chargers this year, along with second-year assistants Brianna Brennan and Brooke Bailey.
Other Notes
- The Chargers were picked to finish 6th in the 2022-23 G-MAC Preseason Coaches Poll in line with their 7th place finish in 2021-22. Defending champion Ashland was picked to repeat as title-winners, while Kentucky Wesleyan was picked second and Walsh third.
- Hillsdale has split two all-time meetings with Davenport, winning 81-44 last season at home and dropping a tight 77-75 contest on Nov. 24, 2019 in Grand Rapids.
- A first-team All-G-MAC player last season, senior Grace Touchette is poised to make several all-time lists in Hillsdale College women's basketball history. Touchette is 11th in career points with 1,296, just one point behind Nikki Wustman (2003-07) for 10th place. At 300 career assists, Touchette could break into the top 10 all time in that stat as soon as this Sunday. Touchette is already sixth all-time at Hillsdale in career 3-pointers made with 181, and matching last season's numbers should move her into third all-time in that stat.
- Junior Sydney Mills is a repeat second-team All-G-MAC honoree, and has averaged a double-double in each of the past two seasons. She's picked up right where she left off last year with four double-doubles and five double-digit rebound games to start the 2022-23 season, including a 27 point, 15 rebound performance at Lake Superior State on Tuesday. Mills is currently sixth all-time in career rebounds with 750 and another season of eligibility after this one. A strong, healthy finish to Mills' career should see her become just the third player in program history with 1,000 rebounds in her career, and potentially threaten Sandy Skaisgir's career record of 1,146 rebounds.
- While many of Hillsdale's starters are upperclassmen, a quartet of impressive sophomores is already making a big impact for the Chargers and showcasing a bright future for the program. Peighton Nelson, the 2022 G-MAC Freshman of the Year, is the team's starting point guard and leads the squad in assists, while Carly Callahan and Caitlin Splain are playing starter's minutes off the bench and averaging a combined 28 points per game between them through two contests. The fourth sophomore of the group, Kendall McCormick, is working her way into the lineup as well after spending her freshman season adjusting to the college game. All four players will be crucial to Hillsdale's success moving forward.
- Hillsdale's wins on opening weekend – a 98-90 overtime victory over Truman State, and a 66-55 win over Quincy – mark the first time since 2016-17 that the Chargers opened the season with back-to-back wins. Hillsdale started the 2016-17 season 4-0. If the Chargers can piece together three more wins over the next week, it would be Hillsdale's first five-game winning streak to start the season since 2010-11. Hillsdale's all-time record for wins to open the season is 12, set in the 2004-05 campaign.