The Hillsdale College women's basketball showed just how far it's come in a little over a month with a big home victory over visiting Ohio Dominican on Saturday.
On Dec. 10, the Chargers suffered a tough 74-61 road loss at the Panthers for their fifth loss in six games, falling to 1-3 in G-MAC play. Since that defeat, however, Hillsdale has been getting hotter and hotter, with wins in seven of their last eight games heading into Saturday's contest against ODU.
And in Saturday's home matchup, the Chargers looked like a completely different team than the one that took the floor on Dec. 10, stifling the Panthers defensively to roll to a 78-57 victory that moved them back above .500 in G-MAC play for the season.
Defense was the key for the Chargers in the victory, as Hillsdale held ODU to just 57 points and 35.7 percent shooting from the floor while keeping the G-MAC's leading scorer, ODU junior Gabby Stare, nearly 10 points below her season average on 4 of 16 shooting for the game.
Hillsdale seized control early, using a 9-0 run just three minutes into the game to take an 11-3 edge, leading 22-13 after a quarter and by 14 at the half. The Chargers put the game away in the third quarter, holding ODU to just six points while scoring 17 to lead by as many as 27 points. Only a late run by ODU against the Chargers' bench in the closing minutes of the game kept Hillsdale from building on that edge even further.
Not only did the Chargers keep Stare in check, Hillsdale also forced 21 ODU turnovers in the victory, leading to 21 points off turnovers that gave Hillsdale its margin of victory in the contest. The Chargers finished with 11 steals, including sophomore Peighton Nelson with three, and six blocks, led by Sydney Mills' two in the contest.
Offensively, Hillsdale got contributions up and down the lineup, with 13 different players scoring and eight different players scoring at least six points. Sophomore Lauren McDonald led the Chargers with 12 points and four assists off the bench, while Mills chipped in eight points, seven rebounds and two blocks, and Ashley Konkle and Caitlin Splain each chipped in eight points as well.
Senior Grace Tourchette added seven points, three rebounds and three assists for the Chargers, Nelson chipped in seven points, and Carly Callahan and Maverick Delp each added six as well.
The victory over ODU concludes a strong homestand that saw the Chargers win five of six games in a three week span in Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena. Now 12-7 overall, 5-4 in the G-MAC, Hillsdale hits the road to take on the current second-place team in the G-MAC, Kentucky Wesleyan, on Thursday with a chance to continue its climb in the G-MAC standings.
Photo by Charles Miller