A scrappy effort by the Hillsdale College women's basketball team on the road was undone by a cold shooting night in a 70-57 loss to a strong Kentucky Wesleyan team on Thursday night.
The Chargers were shorthanded from the start, missing a starter and two rotation players, and quickly fell into an 11-0 hole, but battled back to a 34-30 halftime deficit with strong passing and paint scoring.
That first half set the tone for the night, as Hillsdale refused to roll over for the talented Wildcats, responding with a run to stay in the game every time KWC threatened to pull away for good.
But ultimately, Hillsdale's inability to find a rhythm offensively kept the Chargers from truly putting pressure on the Wildcats late and threatening to take the lead. Hillsdale shot just 35.5% from the floor and were 5 of 24 from 3-point range. Those shooting struggles meant that, despite nearly matching the Wildcats blow-for-blow in both points off turnovers (18-16 in favor of KWC) and second-chance points (13-12 in favor of KWC), Hillsdale was forced to play with a deficit all night long.
After trailing by as many as 17 points in the second half, Hillsdale cut the deficit to nine, 66-57, with 1:19 to play, and had multiple shots to bring the game even closer, but KWC blocked one attempt and a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession came up short to allow the Wildcats to put the game away.
Senior Grace Touchette and sophomore Caitlin Splain each chipped in with nine points to combine for the lead in scoring for Hillsdale, and the Chargers also got strong nights from their post players -- Sydney Mills finished with eight points and nine rebounds for Hillsdale, Arianna Sysum chipped in eight points and seven rebounds, and Maverick Delp added seven points and four rebounds off the bench.
Lauren McDonald chipped in six points, five rebounds and four assists for the Chargers, Peighton Nelson added five points and four assists, and Dani Salenbien chipped in five points and three assists as well for Hillsdale.
The Chargers fall to 12-8 overall, 5-5 in the G-MAC with the loss, and face another tough road test on Saturday at Trevecca Nazarene, with tip-off at 2 p.m. The Trojans are right behind the Wildcats in the G-MAC standings in third place, and will be looking to avenge a loss to the Chargers in Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena on Dec. 3.
Photo by Charles Miller