Schedule
Walsh (9-13, 7-8 G-MAC) at Hillsdale (14-11, 7-8 G-MAC) | 5:30 p.m. ET Thursday, Feb. 9 | Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena | Hillsdale, MI
Lake Erie (8-13, 4-11 G-MAC) at Hillsdale (14-11, 7-8 G-MAC) | 1 p.m. ET Saturday, Feb. 11 | Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena | Hillsdale, MI
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Additional Info
Hillsdale Roster | Walsh Roster | Lake Erie Roster | Hillsdale Stats | Walsh Stats | Lake Erie Stats
Projected Starters
Hillsdale: #4 Peighton Nelson, So., G, Cottage Grove, WI/Monona Grove (5 ppg, 2.4 apg, 1.4 spg); #5 Sydney Mills, Sr., F, DeWitt, MI/DeWitt (10.2 ppg, 10 rpg); #10 Carly Callahan, So., G/F, Columbus, OH/Hilliard Bradley (10 ppg, 2.6 rpg);#22 Grace Touchette, Sr., G, Northfield, MN/Northfield (14.4 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 3 apg); #32 Arianna Sysum, Sr., F, Eaton Rapids, MI/Eaton Rapids (6.6 ppg, 3.5 rpg)
Walsh: #4 Emma Dretke, G, Fr., Massillon, OH/Jackson (7.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg); #12 Abby Hickey, Jr., G, Toledo, Ohio/Whitmer (10 ppg, 4 rpg); #15 Lexie Scarton, Sr., G, Middleburg Heights, OH/Berea Midpark (10.2 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 3.9 apg, 1.4 spg); #21 Morgan McMillen, Sr., G, New Philadelphia, OH/Berlin Hiland (19.2 ppg, 5 rpg, 2.4 apg, 1.2 spg); #25 Lauren Galaska, So, G, Olmsted Falls, OH/Olmsted Falls (3.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg)
Lake Erie: #1 Taylor Thomas, So., G, Marshallville, OH/Chippewa (6.6 ppg, 3.6 rpg); #5 Aislyn Hurst, So., G, Painesville, OH/Cornerstone Christian (7.4 ppg, 4.3 rpg); #12 Abby Matalavage, Sr., G/F, Westlake, OH/Westlake (19 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 1 spg); #13 Sydney Wyngarden, Sr., G, Hilliard, OH/Darby (14.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.8 spg); #31 Angela Fink, Sr., G, Brunswick, OH/Brunswick (8.5 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 5.3 apg, 1.5 spg)
Scouting the Opposition
Walsh: The Cavaliers entered the 2022-23 season with big question marks and huge holes to fill on the roster, but have remained competitive thanks to what they brought back from the previous season.
Walsh graduated two former G-MAC Players of the Year in Sha Carter and Mayci Sales, but returned two more All-G-MAC players who've had huge seasons so far in fifth-year senior Lexie Scarton and Bowling Green transfer Morgan McMillen.
McMillen in particular has been a force this season for the Cavaliers, averaging nearly 20 points a game and turning into a legitimate Player of the Year contender herself.
Other players have stepped up around McMillen and Scarton. Junior Abby Hickey has become an important player for the Cavaliers after serving in a supporting role in 2021-22, and freshmen guards Emma Dretke and Kiley Dyrlund have emerged as key pieces in their first seasons as well.
The Cavaliers have weapons but have struggled at times for consistency offensively, ranking 10th in the G-MAC in scoring at 63.6 ppg. Improvement there will be key as Walsh looks to make a late-season push.
Walsh is coached by Mark Schwitzgable, in his first season in charge of the program. Prior to Walsh, Schwitzgable was an assistant coach at NCAA DI Valparaiso University for three seasons.
Lake Erie: After back-to-back seasons at or near the bottom of the G-MAC standings, Lake Erie has taken a step forward in competitiveness under new coach Todd Perdas in 2022-23.
The Storm already have an impressive upset win over the third-place team in the G-MAC, Trevecca Nazarene, and are looking for a strong finish to the season behind an impressive senior tandem.
Guard Sydney Wyngarden was one of the Storm's most consistent scorers two years ago before missing most of last season with an injury, and has continued to be a key focal point for Lake Erie's offense this season. Post Abby Matlavage has been more of a surprise and a pleasant one for Lake Erie, as she's stepped forward to become one of the G-MAC's most consistent scoring threats and a night-to-night force.
Senior Angela Fink is an experienced conductor of Lake Erie's offense, while sophomore guards Aislin Hurst, Taylor Thomas and Anna Ibos also play major roles in the team's lineup.
Lake Erie is a solid offensive team, but the Storm have struggled at times to get stops defensively -- their 74.4 points conceded per game is next-to-last in the G-MAC.
Perdas comes to Lake Erie from Fairland High School in Proctorville, Ohio, where he helped lead the team to a 25-3 record and a district title. He's also had stints as an assistant coach at Alderson Broaddus, Holy Cross College, Kansas Wesleyan and Shawnee State.
Scouting Hillsdale
Saturday's win at Ursuline puts Hillsdale in an excellent position to lock up their first G-MAC Tournament berth since 2019 – and with a chance to all but do just that this week.
Hillsdale holds a two and a half game lead over Cedarville, currently the last team out of the tournament in the G-MAC standings. Wins this week over Walsh and Lake Erie at home, combined with likely losses elsewhere, could clinch a bid for the Chargers – though neither win will come easily against two solid opponents.
The Chargers could realistically still climb as high as fifth in the standings with a strong finish in the last five games of the regular season.
This season, all five starters returned from the 2021-22 team for Hillsdale, 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 has enviable depth, with a rotation that also includes senior forward Maverick Delp and gifted transfers Lauren McDonald and Ashley Konkle, giving the Chargers a variety of schematic options and weapons to throw at opponents.
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
- Hillsdale honors six seniors this week who will play their final regular season home game on Saturday. Grace Touchette, Arianna Sysum, Maverick Delp, Macy Berglund, Courtney Krol and Kennedy Pratt have helped the program bounce back from back-to-back single digit win seasons in 2019-20 and 2020-21, laying the foundation for a team on the rise that looks poised to reach the G-MAC Tournament and finish with a winning record for the first time since the 2018-19 season.
- The Chargers currently sit in a tie for sixth place in the G-MAC through 15 games, level with Walsh and a half-game ahead of Northwood in eighth place. Defending G-MAC Champion Ashland, the consensus top-ranked team in the country at the NCAA DII level, is currently atop the standings at 15-0, with Kentucky Wesleyan two games behind in second place at 13-2. See the full standings here.
- Hillsdale will be looking to snap an eight game losing streak to Walsh dating back to 2017 on Thursday, including two losses last season. Walsh leads the all-time series 12-7. The Chargers, meanwhile, have a 15-6 edge over Lake Erie all-time, including sweeping the season series with the Storm last year.
- Senior Grace Touchette added a special accomplishment in a star-studded career at Hillsdale on Jan. 21, becoming just the sixth Charger women's basketball player to surpass 1,500 points for her career against Trevecca Nazarene. At 1,571 for her career entering this weekend, Touchette has passed Charger legend Chelsea Harrison for fifth all-time in career scoring at Hillsdale. Touchette is also fifth all-time at Hillsdale in career assists with 356, third in career 3-pointers made with 214, and fifth in career field goals made with 558.
- Senior Sydney Mills became just the 20th player in Chargers women's basketball history to reach an important career milestone two weeks ago, surpassing 1,000 points in Hillsdale's win over Ursuline. Mills is closing in on another milestone as well with 923 career rebounds, within striking distance of becoming just the third player in Chargers history to surpass 1,000 rebounds for her career as well. A two-time second-team All-G-MAC honoree, Mills averaged a double-double for each of the past two seasons and has nine double-doubles so far in 2022-23.
- 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 19.3 points per game between them through 23 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 61 made 3-pointers through 23 games, Splain has the seventh-most 3-pointers by a Charger in a single season, and Callahan's 48 has her not far behind her teammate and likely to crack the top 10. Splain is on pace to make a run at another record -- the sophomore has 109 made 3-pointers so far in 51 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 have made a dramatic turnaround in taking care of the basketball under head coach Charlie Averkamp. In his third season, Hillsdale is posting the fourth-best assist-to-turnover ratio in the G-MAC (1.01) and has the fourth best turnover margin (1.30) of any team in the G-MAC.
- The Chargers currently lead the G-MAC in blocked shots per game with 3.22, 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.