The Hillsdale College women's basketball team put together a furious rally to attempt to overturn an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter of Saturday's road contest at Northwood, but came up just short in an 80-72 loss to the Timberwolves.
Trailing 67-56 with 5:14 to play, Hillsdale refused to go quietly, putting together an 9-0 run that included 3-pointers by Carly Callahan and Lauren McDonald to cut Northwood's lead to one possession, 67-65. THe Chargers couldn't tie up the game or take the lead as Northwood hit a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession to stretch the lead back out, but Callahan gave the Chargers another chance with a second 3-pointer with 1:01 to play to bring Hillsdale within three points again.
Once again, however, the Chargers just couldn't find the stop they needed to get the chance to tie the game, as Northwood got a layup and a foul at the other end, converting the 3-point play to effectively put the game out reach. Hillsdale fouled to extend the contest, but Northwood went 5 of 6 from the line in the final 30 seconds to close the door.
Ultimately, Hillsdale couldn't overcome another untimely cold spell in the fourth quarter on the road. The Chargers trailed just 58-56 entering the fourth quarter, but went five minutes to start the period without scoring, giving Northwood a chance to stretch the lead from two points to double-digits.
Hillsdale got off to a hot shooting start to open the game, leading by as many as nine points in the first quarter. Senior Grace Touchette scored 15 of her 22 points in the first half as Hillsdale led for much of the opening two periods, but a late run by Northwood tied the game up at the half, and from there it was a tight game throughout the third quarter.
Touchette went 8 of 13 from the floor and 4 of 7 from deep to lead the Chargers, chipping in five rebounds and three assists, while Callahan also had a huge night, scoring a career-high 19 points for Hillsdale in the high-scoring contest.
Lauren McDonald added eight points, four rebounds, two steals and two assists for the Chargers off the bench, and Dani Salenbien chipped in seven points and three assists as well.
Hillsdale (13-10, 6-7 G-MAC) faces a huge week coming off the road defeat as it looks to hold on to its place in the G-MAC Tournament field over the final month of the season. The Chargers welcome the consensus top team in the nation, undefeated Ashland, to Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. looking to pull the upset, and then travel to Ursuline on Saturday for a game with huge G-MAC seeding implications.
Photo by Charles Miller