The Hillsdale College women's basketball team couldn't keep pace with the top-ranked team in the land despite a massive night from senior Grace Touchette in a 94-60 loss to visiting Ashland on Thursday night.
On a night when she was honored before the game before scoring her 1,500th point of her career in January, Touchette put her game on full display, torching the best defense in the G-MAC for 29 points on 10 of 17 shooting from the floor and 6 of 6 from the free throw line.
Touchette, who also finished with four rebounds, scored 20 first half points, but not even that explosive offensive performance was enough to keep pace with the red-hot Eagles, who showed why they're the No. 1 ranked Division II team in the country with by knocking down 11 first-half 3-pointers and shooting over 60% from the floor and 50% from deep to take a 55-30 lead into halftime.
Despite the huge deficit, the Chargers continued to battle deep into the second half, battling Ashland to a virtual standstill in the third quarter and preventing the Eagles from growing the lead further until a late run by Ashland in the final two minutes of the game against the Chargers' bench.
Caitlin Splain added eight points and four rebounds for the Chargers off the bench, Dani Salenbien chipped in six points and Sydney Mills added three points and nine rebounds for Hillsdale, which did score 17 points off 10 Eagles turnovers but couldn't sustain a run to cut into Ashland's lead.
Hillsdale (13-11, 6-8 G-MAC) is now in a tight race to claim one of the final three spots in the G-MAC tournament with six games to play, and has an important opportunity to create separation for the eighth and final spot on the road this weekend as the Chargers travel to play Ursuline. Hillsdale won an earlier meeting with the Arrows 76-63 on Jan. 12 at home, but are still looking for their first win on the road this season.
Photo by Charles Miller