Schedule
Hillsdale (7-6, 2-3 G-MAC) at Eastern Michigan (7-3, 0-0 MAC) * | 7 p.m. ET Wednesday, Dec. 28 | George Gervin GameAbove Center | Ypsilanti, Michigan
Madonna (1-12, 0-9 WHAC) at Hillsdale (7-6, 2-3 G-MAC) | 5 p.m. ET Friday, Dec. 30 | Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena | Hillsdale, Michigan
Roosevelt (5-6, 4-4 CCAC) at Hillsdale (7-6, 2-3 G-MAC) | 5:30 p.m. ET Monday, Jan. 2 | Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena | Hillsdale, Michigan
*Exhibition
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Additional Info
Hillsdale Roster | EMU Roster | Madonna Roster | Roosevelt Roster | Hillsdale Stats | EMU Stats | Madonna Stats | Roosevelt Stats
Projected Starters
Hillsdale: #4 Peighton Nelson, So., G, Cottage Grove, WI/Monona Grove (5.6 ppg, 3.1 apg, 1.3 spg); #5 Sydney Mills, Sr., F, DeWitt, MI/DeWitt (11.4 ppg, 10.8 rpg); #10 Carly Callahan, So., G/F, Columbus, OH/Hilliard Bradley (9.2 ppg, 2.6 rpg); #22 Grace Touchette, Sr., G, Northfield, MN/Northfield (15.4 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3 apg); #32 Arianna Sysum, Sr., F, Eaton Rapids, MI/Eaton Rapids (6.1 ppg, 3 rpg)
Eastern Michigan: #3 Irekpitan Ozzy-Momodu, Sr., C, London, England/City of London Academy/Robert Morris (9.7 ppg, 5.8 rpg); #10 ZaNiya Nelson, So., G, Oklahoma City, OK/Putnam City West (8.9 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 1.5 spg); #11 Lachelle Austin, So., G, Redford, MI/Wayne Memorial (12.9 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 3.1 apg, 2.3 spg); #14 Natalia Pineda, Sr., G, Miami, FL/John A. Ferguson (8.1 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.9 apg); #21 Ce'Nara Skanes, Jr., F, Oklahoma City, OK/Putnam City West/Florida International (12.4 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 1.6 spg)
Madonna: #0 JaC'ana Anderson, Fr., F, Perry, OH/Perry (5.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg); #10 Paige Humerickhouse, Fr., G, Essexville, MI/Bay City Western (7.5 ppg, 2.6 rpg); #15 Sophie Ruggles, Jr., F, Mt. Pleasant, MI/Sacred Heart (1.8 ppg, 4.2 rpg); #21 Marcela Rodriguez, Fr., G, Perry, OH/Perry (4.8 ppg, 3.7 rpg); #23 Ashley Hill, Fr., G, Dearborn, MI/Divine Child (5.6 ppg, 3.4 rpg)
Roosevelt: #1 Gabby Beggs, Jr., G, Justice, IL/Argo (9.1 ppg, 2.5 apg, 1.6 spg); #3 Kencia Levasseur, Fr., F, Washington, IN/Washington (10.4 ppg, 5.2 rpg); #4 Amelia McNutt, Sr., G, East Lansing, MI/East Lansing/Rochester (13.6 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1 spg); #14 Meghan Urbanski, Sr., G, South Bend, IN/Rockhurst University (13.2 ppg, 3.7 rpg); #24 Chyna Scott, Sr., F, Oswego, IL/East/Robert Morris (5.2 ppg, 5.4 rpg)
Scouting the Opposition
Eastern Michigan: With an experienced roster, the Eagles are off to an impressive start in 2022-23, equaling last year's win total of seven just 10 games into the new campaign, including a 51-44 win over Big East squad Xavier.
EMU keeps a tight rotation of eight trusted players, led by sophomore guards Lachelle Austin and ZaNiya Nelson, who've blossomed into one of the MAC's top guard tandems in their second seasons in Ypsilanti, and multi-year starter Natalia Pineda, who's become a critical offensive piece in her final season as well.
Down low, junior Ce'Nara Skanes is a multi-year starter and double-double machine, while the center rotation of Irekpitan Ozzy-Momodu and Tayra Eke has been effective so far.
Freshman Olivia Smith is the first guard off the bench for EMU, and Elena Cabello also gets 10 minutes a game as well for the Eagles.
The Eagles are coached by Fred Castro, now in his seventh season at the helm, and has EMU off to one of its best starts of his tenure. Prior to his time in Ypsilanti, Castro had several stops as an assistant coach at the NCAA DI level, including three years at the University of Washington where he was part of a Final Four run by the Huskies.
Madonna: The Crusaders started from scratch after an 8-22 season in 2021-22, returning just three players who saw the court for last year's squad and bringing in nine true freshmen, including five of their top six minutes-getters so far this season.
With such a young squad, it's been a rough transition, as Madonna opened the year 0-12. But the quad may be turning the corner -- the Crusaders have gotten steadily more competitive as the year has gone on and picked up their first victory of the season over Judson University, 51-43, on Dec. 13.
Second-year head coach Jaresha Obey plays a deep bench, with 10 players averaging 10 or more minutes a game, and nine averaging between 7.5 and 4.6 points a game.
Freshman guard Paige Humerickhouse leads the Crusaders in scoring, while 6-3 center Caprice Augustine has also made a big impact, as have freshmen Delani Robinson and Ashley Hill.
High school teammates JaC'ana Anderson and Marcela Rodriguez are the starting back-court tandem for Madonna, with Anderson currently leading the Crusaders in assists.
Obey took the Madonna job after a year as an assistant at Wayne State, and also had stops at the University of the District of Columbia, Delaware State, and Rochester University. A veteran of the United States Air Force, Obey currently serves in the D.C. Air National Guard.
Roosevelt: The Lakers enter Monday's contest at around .500 but competitive against NAIA competition, and looking for their first winning season in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference since 2018-19.
Three transfers and a freshman are powering the Roosevelt offense right now, as grad transfers Amelia McNutt and Meghan Urbanski give the team a formidable guard tandem, and post player Kencia Levasseur is averaging double figures as a freshman as well. Perhaps the Lakers' most dynamic player has come off the bench in half the games this season, as the team's current points per game leader, Jayla Turchin, is averaging 15.9 in eight contests.
The Lakers have a solid offense, averaging 71.5 points per game, but have struggled defensively, conceding 78.3 points per game and giving up 78 or more points in seven of their 10 contests.
Roosevelt is coached by Deon Thomas, in his first year with the program. Prior to taking the head job at Roosevelt, Thomas was an assistant coach at NCAA Division I St. Louis and an interim head coach at Ottawa (AZ). Thomas also spent time as an assistant at Roosevelt in 2019, and two years coaching under current Hillsdale head coach Charlie Averkamp at Benedictine (IL) as an assistant in 2017 and 2018.
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 Arianna 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.
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 played two previous exhibition contests against Eastern Michigan, falling 73-56 on Nov. 25, 2014 and 94-77 on Nov. 25, 2015. This is the first-ever time the Chargers will meet both Madonna and Roosevelt in regular-season contests. Hillsdale is a former NAIA member that made the switch to NCAA DII in 1990, and will be playing a NAIA program in a regular season contest for the first time since a Dec. 1 game against West Virginia Tech in 2007.
- A first-team All-G-MAC player last season, senior Grace Touchette is making her way onto several all-time lists in Hillsdale College women's basketball history. Touchette moved past Charger legend Dawn Murphy earlier this month into eighth on Hillsdale's all-time scoring list and now has 1,425 points. Touchette is also seventh all-time at Hillsdale in career assists with 325, fifth in career 3-pointers made with 195, and eighth in career field goals made with 504.
- 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 five double-doubles and seven double-digit rebound games to start the 2022-23 season, including a 27 point, 15 rebound performance at Lake Superior State on Nov. 22. Mills is currently sixth all-time in career rebounds with 822 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. At 963 points for her career as well, Mills needs just 37 to become the 20th player in program history to reach 1,000 points for her career.
- 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 team in assists, while Carly Callahan and Caitlin Splain are averaging a combined 21.7 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.
- Splain's 37 3-point field goals this season are tops in the G-MAC by six over the next closest competitor. The sophomore has 85 made 3-pointers so far in 39 games for the Chargers, giving her a shot at challenging the program record of 237 held by Chelsea Harrison if she stays healthy during her time at Hillsdale and continues to produce.
- The Chargers currently lead the G-MAC in blocked shots per game with 2.70, an impressive showing for a program with only one player over six feet that regularly plays. Rim protection is a team effort for the Chargers, who have no player averaging over 0.8 blocks per game but 10 different players who have contributed at least one block this year.