The Hillsdale College women's basketball team battled back from a deep deficit to make a game of it late, but couldn't come all the way back against host Cedarville in an 89-83 loss on Thursday night.
The Chargers outscored the Yellowjackets 20-11 in the fourth quarter, cutting a 15-point deficit at the start of the period to a four point edge with five seconds to play, but ran out of time in the loss.
Hillsdale opened the game on fire, looking like they were in a great position to end a three-game road losing drought. Led by sophomore Carly Callahan, who hit four first quarter 3-pointers and scored 14 of her 17 points in the contest in the opening period, the Chargers shot 67% from the floor and 75% from 3-point range to take a 30-20 lead after one quarter.
But Cedarville came back with a vengeance in the second quarter, right as the Chargers cooled off. The Yellow Jackets hit six second quarter 3-pointers and outscored the Chargers 28-13 to turn a 10 point deficit into a five point halftime lead.
The first seven minutes of the second half would prove decisive. The Yellow Jackets carried their momentum over effectively, outscoring Hillsdale 26-8 in that stretch to push their lead to 23 points. While Hillsdale was able to fight back and stay within striking distance, that second half lead would prove too much to overcome.
Senior Grace Touchette led the Chargers with 24 points and four rebounds, with most of her scoring coming in the second half in an impressive bid to give Hillsdale a chance late that fell just short. Sydney Mills chipped in 17 points and 11 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the season, as well as two blocks, and Callahan added 17 points, four rebounds and two assists. Peighton Nelson also finished with eight points, four assists, three steals and two blocks for the Chargers.
Hillsdale shot 45.2% from the floor and 38.7% from 3-point range, a solid offensive night, but were outpaced by a red-hot performance from Cedarville, who shot 47.7% from the floor and a scorching 54.2% from deep. The Yellow Jackets also used a strong showing at the free throw line, with 14 makes on 19 attempts, to pull away late.
The Chargers are now 3-4 overall, 0-1 in the G-MAC, and will look to snap a three game losing streak at home on Saturday against Trevecca Nazarene at 1 p.m.
Photo by Isabella Sheehan