Schedule
Thomas More (8-5, 4-2 G-MAC) at Hillsdale (5-6, 1-2 G-MAC) | 5:30 p.m. ET Thursday, Jan. 4 | Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena | Hillsdale, MI
Tiffin (4-8, 2-2 G-MAC) at Hillsdale (5-6, 1-2 G-MAC) | 1 p.m. ET Saturday, Jan. 6 | Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena | Hillsdale, MI
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Additional Info
Hillsdale Roster | Thomas More Roster | Tiffin Roster | 2023-24 Hillsdale Stats | 2023-24 Thomas More Stats | 2023-24 Tiffin Stats | G-MAC Standings
Projected Starters
Hillsdale: #3 Lauren McDonald, Jr., G, Chicago, IL/St. Ignatius/Air Force (11.1 ppg, 6.3 rpg. 3.5 apg, 2.1 spg); #5 Sydney Mills, Sr., F, DeWitt, MI/DeWitt (14.1 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 1 spg); #15 Kendall McCormick, Jr., G, Hinckley, OH/Highland (9.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 2.8 spg); #30 Caitlin Splain, So., G, Powell, OH/Olentangy Liberty (13.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.3 spg); #31 Ashley Konkle, Sr., C, Aurora, IL/Benet Academy/Western Michigan (3.7 ppg, 5 rpg)
Thomas More: #1 Rylee Turner, So., G/F, Newport, KY/Newport Central Catholic (5.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.2 spg); #2 Alex Smith, Sr., G/F, Cincinnati, OH/Mercy McAuley (11.8 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 1.6 spg); #3 Kelly Brenner, Sr., G, Cincinnati, OH/Roger Bacon (8.8 ppg); #15 Maggie Jones, Sr., G, Piner, KY/Simon Kenton (9.5 ppg); #32 Rachel Martin, Sr, G, Cincinnati, OH/Summit Country Day (7.8 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 2.8 apg, 2.8 spg)
Tiffin: #2 Catara Dejarnette, So., G, Cleveland, OH/Kenston (6.9 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.4 apg, 1.8 spg); #14 Kaitlyn Moeller, Jr., G, Toledo, OH/Central Catholic (1.5 ppg); #24 Kirsten Williams, Sr., G, Beavercreek, OH/Beavercreek (9.8 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 1.3 spg); #32 Ellie Gable, So., G, New Knoxville, OH/New Knoxville (4.2 ppg); #35 Presley Feltner, Jr, F, Willard, OH/Willard (7.8 ppg, 5.2 rpg)
Scouting the Opposition
Thomas More: After a successful run at the NAIA level that included three finals appearances and a 2021- 22 national championship, the Saints have shaken up the G-MAC title race in their first season as an NCAA DII member.
The Saints have a solid, balanced roster that includes one of the better defenses in the conference, conceding just 62.2 points per game. Only one player, senior wing Alex Smith, averages double-figure points for Thomas More, but the Saints get scoring contributions up and down the roster, including 9.2 points per game off the bench from freshman Rylee Leonard. A strong second unit that gets significant minutes is a sign of the Saints' depth.
With a roster equipped with several 5-11 and 6-foot players, the Saints can cause matchup problems at both ends of the floor for their opponents, and their length and athleticism is evident in the team's 3.62 blocks per game, the second most in the G-MAC.
Thomas More is coached by Jeff Hans, now in his 13th season at the helm. The all-time winningest coach in program history, Hans has led the Saints to two NCAA DIII national titles and a NAIA national title, and is looking to add to Thomas More's trophy haul as he guides the Saints through another transition to NCAA Division II.
Tiffin: The Dragons are looking to rise after two sub-par seasons and get back to the levels of 2020-21, when Tiffin reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. A slow start has complicated that effort, but two G-MAC wins before break have given a boost to the Dragons entering 2024.
Tiffin leans heavily on multi-year starters Savanah Richards and Kirsten Williams, guards who have been key players for the Dragons throughout their careers. Richards has missed the last two games for Tiffin and her availability could make a big difference in the outcome of this week's contests. In her absence, the Dragons have leaned on Catara DeJarnette and Presley Feltner, two emerging players in the lineup, and a bench led by freshmen Tomi Hinkle and Grace Craig.
Tiffin has struggled offensively -- averaging just 54.3 points per game so far -- but a solid defense and strong rebounding have kept the Dragons afloat, and will be what Tiffin leans on for the stretch run.
Tiffin is coached by Josh Mason, now in his second season after an 8-20 mark last year. A former Tiffin assistant who played a part in that historic 2020-21 run for the Dragons, Mason also has spent time as the head coach at Hoover High School in North Canton and Cedarville High School in Ohio.
Scouting Hillsdale
Hillsdale is 1-2 in the G-MAC after three contests, beating Ohio Dominican at home and falling to Northwood and Malone on the road. Despite dealing with serious injury trouble, the Chargers have racked up five wins and are playing solid defensively, holding opponents to just 62.6 points per game.
The Chargers must replace three starters from 2022-23 but have a strong core returning from a team that played a deep bench last season. Three-time All-G-MAC honoree Sydney Mills has averaged a double-double in each of the past three seasons and is on track to become the program's all-time leading rebounder in her final season at Hillsdale, while junior Carly Callahan has missed time with an injury, but when she returns will look to build off a 2022-23 season where she shot over 37 percent from 3-point range and flashed greatly improved playmaking ability.
Hillsdale has several players who look primed for increased roles in 2023-24. Air Force transfer Lauren McDonald is a key piece who just scratched the surface of her potential in a half-season with the Chargers in 2022-23, and could be one of the breakout players in the conference in 2023-24. Now juniors, both Caitlin Splain and Kendall McCormick have grown considerably over two seasons at Hillsdale and could be ready for big leaps of their own as upperclassmen with increased roles on the floor. Hillsdale also can look to senior Dani Hohlbein, a gritty veteran contributor who fills up the stat sheet when she's on the floor, and Ashley Konkle and Olivia Patch, two-way post presences who will compete for bigger roles in 2023-24, to play important minutes as well.
Talented players in the Chargers' sophomore and freshmen classes will push the upperclassmen as they look to carve out their own roles and make contributions to the squad's efforts in 2023-24. Sydney Pnacek, Payton Adkins and Emma Ruhlman now have a year under their belts in the program and a foundation to build on, while Hillsdale's talented three-player freshman group will aim to make an instant impact.
The road ahead will be tough for Hillsdale in G-MAC play, as the conference put four teams in the NCAA Tournament last season, including defending DII National Champion Ashland, and only gets tougher with the addition of 2021-22 NAIA National Champion Thomas More to the conference. While there will be plenty of tough games ahead for the Chargers in 2023-24, Hillsdale was able to beat two of those four NCAA Tournament qualifying teams, Trevecca Nazarene and Malone, last season, and took a third, Kentucky Wesleyan, to overtime in the G-MAC Tournament, proving that Hillsdale is capable of playing on the same level as those squads.
Other Notes
- The Chargers were picked to finish 8th in the 2023-24 G-MAC Preseason Coaches Poll in line with their 7th place finish in 2022-23. Defending NCAA DII national champion Ashland was picked to repeat as conference title-winners, while Kentucky Wesleyan was picked second and Trevecca Nazarene third.
- This is the first-ever meeting between Hillsdale and Thomas More, as the Saints are playing their first season at the NCAA DII level but were a NAIA powerhouse prior to making the switch, reaching the national championship game three consecutive seasons and winning the 2021-22 title. Hillsdale has a 20-12 all-time series lead over Tiffin, but the Dragons have dominated the series recently with wins in five of the last six games, including a 68-63 home victory over the Chargers on Dec. 8, 2022. Hillsdale's last win over Tiffin was a 72-63 win on Jan. 15, 2022.
- A three-time second-team All-G-MAC honoree, senior Sydney Mills became just the third player in Hillsdale College history and the second in G-MAC history to reach 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in her career after grabbing her 1,000th rebound against Quincy in a 31 point, 15 rebound performance that led to the Chargers' first win in November. She's 91 rebounds away from breaking the Hillsdale College program record set by Sandy Skaisgir in 1991. Mills also ranks in the top 10 all-time at Hillsdale in blocked shots (7th with 71) and 3-pointers made (8th with 161), while her 1,251 points rank 12th all-time in Hillsdale College history.
- Junior Caitlin Splain is on an impressive trajectory from beyond the arc – with 151 made 3-pointers through a little over two seasons, the Powell, Ohio native is on track to challenge Chelsea Harrison's program record of 237 made 3-pointers set in 2012. Hillsdale has several impressive marksmen on the squad, as Mills is also in the top 10 all-time at Hillsdale for made 3-pointers with 161, and junior Carly Callahan is climbing the list rapidly with 77 treys in two seasons as well.
- Junior Lauren McDonald has been filling up the stat sheet for the Chargers, as the guard has helped Hillsdale to a decent start. She currently ranks 14th in the G-MAC in rebounds per game, and in the top 10 in assists (4th), and steals (6th). McDonald was a mid-year transfer from Air Force last season who showed flashes in the back-half of 2022-23, but appears to be making the leap to stardom with a full offseason with the team under her belt in 2023-24.
- Junior Kendall McCormick is starting for the Chargers for the first time in her career, and showing her bonafides as a defensive stopper. McCormick is averaging 2.8 steals per game, good for second in the G-MAC, with nine multi-steal games so far and twice tying her career high of five against both Roosevelt on Nov. 25 and Northwood on Dec. 9. The junior is putting up career-highs across the board, including 9.5 points per game after averaging 2.1 in 2022-23.
- It's early in 2023-24, but Hillsdale is currently on track to make a massive leap defensively this season. The Chargers are giving up just 62.6 points per game so far, almost six full points less than the 68.2 points they conceded in 2022-23, and more than seven points less than the 70.2 points they gave up in 2021-22. Emblematic of Hillsdale's success defensively is a stellar opponent field goal percentage – the Chargers are allowing opponents to shoot just 37.7% from the field against them, the second-best mark in the G-MAC.