As 2022 turns to 2023, the Hillsdale College women's basketball team enters the new year on a tear.
The Chargers rolled past visiting Madonna 90-39 on Friday night for their fourth win in their last five contests, with only a competitive exhibition loss at NCAA Division I Eastern Michigan keeping them from a perfect mark in the final three weeks of December.
Against the Crusaders, Hillsdale jumped out to a big lead early and never looked back. The Chargers outscored Madonna 8-0 in the first minute of the game, turning three Crusader turnovers into six fast-break points, forcing an early timeout and setting the tone for a 31-point quarter that gave Hillsdale a 21-point advantage after the first.
Hillsdale continued to build from there, taking a 27-point lead into halftime and holding the Crusaders to just six third quarter points to end any hope of a Madonna rally. With a big lead early, the Chargers were able to go deep into their bench for extended minutes, with 12 of Hillsdale's 13 dressed players playing at least 10 minutes in the contest and 12 different Chargers scoring at least one basket.
Sophomore Carly Callahan led Hillsdale with an explosive offensive night, scoring 18 points in just 15 minutes of action, including going 4 of 8 on 3-pointers. Callahan also chipped in four rebounds, three assists and two steals while setting a new career high for points in the victory.
Two bench players each scored in double-figures as well for the Chargers. In just her third official game in a Hillsdale uniform, sophomore Lauren McDonald chipped in 15 points and seven rebounds off the bench, while fellow sophomore Kendall McCormick scored a career high 10 points on four of six shooting and added three rebounds.
Senior Maverick Delp chipped in seven points and seven rebounds for the Chargers, Arianna Sysum added six points and five rebounds, and senior Macy Berglund chipped in a career high six points off the bench as well.
Playing 24 minutes off the bench, junior Dani Salenbien filled up the stat sheet with five points, seven rebounds and a team-high five assists, while junior Olivia Patch also chipped in a career-high four points off the bench.
Hillsdale is now 8-6 overall and has one more non-conference contest over the holiday break, against Roosevelt at 5:30 p.m. on Monday at home, before returning to G-MAC play against Northwood on Thursday, Jan. 5.
Photo by Isabella Sheehan