The Hillsdale College women's basketball team put up a great fight on the road at Tiffin on Thursday, rallying from a 15 point halftime deficit to take a late lead, but came up short in overtime in a tough 68-63 defeat.
Trailing 38-23 at halftime after an ice-cold shooting start, the Chargers locked down defensively, holding Tiffin to just seven third quarter points, to claw their way back into the game, then pulled ahead late, taking a 57-54 lead on two Caitlin Splain free throws with 33 seconds to play.
But the Dragons found the tying 3-pointer on the next possession to force overtime, and took control on the boards in the extra period, grabbing three offensive rebounds that led to six points and helped Tiffin build a two-possession lead. The Chargers rallied again and had multiple chances to go ahead or tie, but couldn't get their shots to fall and the Dragons ultimately sealed the game at the free throw line.
Hillsdale's sophomore trio of Carly Callahan, Peighton Nelson and Caitlin Splain had a huge second half to give the Chargers a chance to pull out the victory. The trio scored 10 combined first half points but poured in 28 in the second half, including all 13 of Callahan's points in the game. Nelson chipped in 10 of her 12 points after the half, along with five assists and three steals, and Splain added 13 points and three rebounds for the contest as well.
Senior Grace Touchette led the Chargers with 14 points, including nine in the first half to help keep Hillsdale alive through a rough shooting stretch, and fellow senior Sydney Mills chipped in nine points and a game-high 16 rebounds as well for the Chargers.
The Chargers were a perfect 13 of 13 from the free throw line but couldn't overcome shooting struggles which persisted into the second half, hitting just 31.3% of their field goals and going 8 for 32 from 3-point range. Tiffin also had the edge inside, outrebounding Hillsdale 48 to 38 and outscoring the Chargers 32 to 18 in points in the paint, which proved to be the difference in overtime.
Hillsdale is now 4-5 overall, 1-2 in the G-MAC, with all five of Hillsdale's losses coming on the road. The Chargers will look to break that road losing streak on Saturday, as Hillsdale travels to Ohio Dominican for an important G-MAC contest with Christmas break approaching.
Photo by Isabella Sheehan