Schedule
Ursuline (9-6, 5-2 G-MAC) at Hillsdale (10-7, 3-4 G-MAC) | 5:30 p.m. ET Thursday, Jan. 12 | Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena | Hillsdale, Michigan
Ohio Dominican (5-9, 2-5 G-MAC) at Hillsdale (10-7, 3-4 G-MAC) | 1 p.m. ET Saturday, Jan. 14 | Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena | Hillsdale, Michigan
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Additional Info
Hillsdale Roster | Ursuline Roster | ODU Roster | Hillsdale Stats | Ursuline Stats | ODU Stats
Projected Starters
Hillsdale: #4 Peighton Nelson, Fr., G, Cottage Grove, WI/Monona Grove (5 ppg, 2.8 apg, 1.2 spg); #5 Sydney Mills, Jr., F, DeWitt, MI/DeWitt (10.9 ppg, 10.5 rpg); #10 Carly Callahan, So., G/F, Columbus, OH/Hilliard Bradley (9.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg);#22 Grace Touchette, Sr., G, Northfield, MN/Northfield (15 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 3.3 apg); #32 Arianna Sysum, Jr., F, Eaton Rapids, MI/Eaton Rapids (7 ppg, 3.7 rpg)
Ursuline: #5 Madison Cloonan, Jr., G, Kirtland, OH/Cornerstone Christian (8.7 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 2.3 apg); #12 Riley Stopp, So., G, Mentor, OH/Cornerstone Christian (5.9 ppg, 3 rpg); #20 Michaela Cloonan, Jr., G, Kirtland, OH/Cornerstone Christian (11.4 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 2.2 apg, 3 spg); #24 Madyson Stottsberry, So., G, Newark, OH/Newark (5 ppg, 2.7 rpg); #32 Alyssa Evans, G, Sr., Amanda, OH/Amanda-Clearcreek (18.4 ppg, 2.7 apg, 1.2 spg)
ODU: #5 Madelyn Fearon, Fr., G, Greenville, OH/Arcanum (6.6 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 2.2 apg); #10 Trinity Ramos, Fr., G, Reynoldsburg, OH/Reynoldsburg (10.8 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.5 apg); #12 Logan Pride, Fr., F, Twinsburg, OH/Twinsburg (5.1 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 1.4 spg); #22 Gabby Stare, Jr., G, Newark, OH/Newark (22.5 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 2.6 apg, 2.3 spg); #25 Macy Chapman, Fr., G, Hilliard, OH/Bradley (9.9 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 1.4 spg)
Scouting the Opposition
Ursuline: It's been five seasons since the Ursuline women's basketball team has made the G-MAC Tournament, but so far it looks like that drought is going to end in 2022-23.
With better health this season, Ursuline has been one of the top teams in the conference so far, currently sitting in a tie for third place at 5-2. Sisters Michaela and Madison Cloonan are an extremely effective and high-scoring duo that lead the way for the Arrows, and senior Alyssa Evans has stepped up in a huge way, averaging 18.4 points per game, currently third in the G-MAC.
One season after fielding six healthy players for most of its games, the Arrows have rebuilt their bench and it's paying dividends. Lexi Petit, Chelsea Huffman and Emma Randall are all playing good minutes so far.
While the Arrows do have scorers, it's a G-MAC-leading defense that is carrying the load for Ursuline, as the Arrows give up just 60.1 points per game to date.
Leading Ursuline is head coach Shannon Sword, now entering her 12th season with the Arrows. During her time at Ursuline, Sword has guided the Arrows to two G-MAC regular season titles, two NCAA tournament appearances and a then-G-MAC record of 22 consecutive conference wins. She was also the G-MAC Coach of the Year in 2015 and 2016.
ODU: After a brutal 2021-22 season, the Panthers have rebooted their squad this year, bringing in a massive freshman class and getting those new faces on the court early to try and build a new nucleus for the program.
The lone holdover in the lineup for the Panthers is gifted junior guard Gabby Stare, a 20-plus points per game scorer who's made back-to-back All-G-MAC teams. Surrounding Stare are four freshman starters, led by the promising guard trio of Trinity Ramos, Macy Chapman and Madelyn Fearon.
The youth movement has gotten off to a bumpy ride so far, as ODU's 5-9 record indicates, but there's been encouraging signs from the Panthers as well, including wins over 7-6 West Liberty and 10-4 Maryville in the nonconference, and a home defeat of Hillsdale on Dec. 10.
The Panthers' offense has been steadily improving this season, now ranked ninth in the G-MAC at 67.5 points per game, but ODU will have to turn around its defense for the stretch run, as the Panthers give up 72.9 points per game to opponents so far.
ODU is coached by Melanie Balcomb, who is in her first season leading the Panthers but has a long and storied history on the sidelines, including leading NCAA Division I Vanderbilt to 12 NCAA Tournament appearances and four Sweet 16 appearances in 14 seasons while becoming the program's all-time winningest coach.
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 currently sit in a tie for sixth place in the G-MAC through five games, along with Walsh, and two games back from fifth place Trevecca Nazareme. Defending G-MAC Champion Ashland, the consensus top-ranked team in the country at the NCAA DII level, is currently atop the standings at 8-0, with Kentucky Wesleyan a game behind in second place at 6-1. See the full standings here.
- Hillsdale and Ursuline have gone back and forth since meeting for the first time in 2018, splitting 10 games evenly at 5 apiece. The Chargers won the most recent meeting, 89-79, on Dec. 31, 2021 to even up the series. Ohio Dominican is also tied with the Chargers in 22 meetings since 2011, with the series at 11-11, after the Panthers won a prior meeting this season on Dec. 10, 74-61, in Columbus.
- 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 in December into seventh on Hillsdale's all-time scoring list and now has 1,465 points. Touchette is also fifth all-time at Hillsdale in career assists with 337, fourth in career 3-pointers made with 200, and seventh in career field goals made with 519.
- 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 six double-doubles and eight 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 fifth all-time in career rebounds with 850 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 989 points for her career as well, Mills needs just 11 to become the 20th player in program history to reach 1,000 points for her career, and should do so at home this weekend.
- 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 is second on the team in assists, while Carly Callahan and Caitlin Splain are averaging a combined 21.4 points per game between them through 17 contests. The fourth sophomore of the group, Kendall McCormick, scored a career high in points against Madonna on Dec. 30 and is a part of the rotation. All four players will be crucial to Hillsdale's success moving forward.
- Both Splain and Callahan are on an impressive trajectory from beyond the arc – with 46 made 3-pointers through 17 games, Splain has a shot of challenging the single-season record of 89 set by Brittany Gray in 2018-19, while Callahan's 38 has her not far behind her teammate. Splain is on pace to make a run at another record -- the sophomore has 94 made 3-pointers so far in 43 games for the Chargers, giving her a shot at challenging the career 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 3.27, 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 0.6 blocks per game but 10 different players who have contributed at least one block this year.
Photo by Charles Miller