The Hillsdale College women's basketball team couldn't rally from an early deficit in a 74-61 road defeat at the hands of Ohio Dominican on Saturday.
The Chargers scored the first basket of the game to take a 2-0 lead 20 seconds in, but Ohio Dominican used transition baskets off of full court pressure to seize control and never look back. The Panthers led 20-9 at the end of the first quarter, and while Hillsdale cut the lead to 33-27 at the half, a hot-shooting start to the third quarter allowed ODU to lead by as many as 19. While the Chargers continued to battle, ODU never let them closer than nine points the rest of the way, as Hillsdale simply couldn't string together enough made shots and stops to make a meaningful dent into the Panthers lead.
A tough shooting night on the road made it hard for Hillsdale to keep pace, as the Chargers shot 38.2% from the floor and were just 6 for 30 from 3-point range in the contest, compared to 59.6% from the floor for ODU and 42.1% from 3-point range.
Senior Grace Touchette did what she could to keep Hillsdale in the game, scoring 17 points and adding four assists and three steals to lead the Chargers in all three categories. Sydney Mills added nine points and nine rebounds for Hillsdale, Caitlin Splain added eight points and Carly Callahan chipped in seven points.
Sophomore Kendall McCormick played one of the better games of her career off the bench for the Chargers, playing a career-high 17 minutes and chipping in five points and two steals to Hillsdale's effort.
Hillsdale is now 4-6 overall, 1-3 in the G-MAC, and returns home to face another tough G-MAC foe in Findlay on Tuesday. The Chargers are 0-6 on the road but undefeated at home so far this season, making Tuesday's game a big opportunity for Hillsdale to get back on track before the Chargers head south to Puerto Rico for two games later in the week.
Photo by Isabella Sheehan