Schedule
Northwood (9-6, 5-3 G-MAC) at Hillsdale (9-8, 5-4 G-MAC) | 5:30 p.m. ET Thursday, Jan. 25 | Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena | Hillsdale, MI
Hillsdale (9-8, 5-4 G-MAC) at Cedarville (5-10, 3-5 G-MAC) | 2 p.m. ET Saturday, Jan. 27 | Callan Athletic Center | Cedarville, OH
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Additional Info
Hillsdale Roster | Northwood Roster | Cedarville Roster | 2023-24 Hillsdale Stats | 2023-24 Northwood Stats | 2023-24 Cedarville Stats | G-MAC Standings
Projected Starters
Hillsdale: #3 Lauren McDonald, Jr., G, Chicago, IL/St. Ignatius/Air Force (12.5 ppg, 6.6 rpg. 3.4 apg, 2 spg); #5 Sydney Mills, Sr., F, DeWitt, MI/DeWitt (13.8 ppg, 8.6 rpg); #15 Kendall McCormick, Jr., G, Hinckley, OH/Highland (9.8 ppg, 4 rpg, 2.6 spg); #30 Caitlin Splain, So., G, Powell, OH/Olentangy Liberty (13.2 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.2 spg); #31 Ashley Konkle, Sr., C, Aurora, IL/Benet Academy/Western Michigan (4.5 ppg, 5.7 rpg)
Northwood: #3 Makenzie Todd, G, Sr., Grand Ledge, MI/Grand Ledge (11.7 ppg); #4 Alli Keyser, Sr., G, Spring Lake, MI/Grand Haven (9.1 ppg, 2.9 rpg); #21 Maizie Taylor, Sr., G, Midland, MI/Dow (5.8 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 5.3 apg); #25 Maddie Voelker, Jr., F, Goodrich, MI/Goodrich (13.1 ppg, 4.7 rpg); #44 Jayla Strickland, Sr, C, Big Rapids, MI/Big Rapids (11.3 ppg, 6.4 rpg)
Cedarville: #0 Brianna Zajicek, So., G, Pittsburgh, PA/Norwin (3.1 ppg, 3.7 rpg); #12 Nyla Hale, Fr., G, Kansas City, KS/Blue Valley North (7 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 1.4 spg); #13 Makenna Fee, Sr., F, Seymour, IN/Seymour (8.2 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.1 spg); #22 KaCee Kyle, Jr, G, Greenwood Village, CO/Cherry Creek (9.3 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 3 apg, 1.3 spg); #23 Lydia Sweeney, Sr, G, Grand Island, NY/Grand Island (20.2 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 3.7 apg, 2.5 spg)
Scouting the Opposition
Northwood: As we near the halfway point of the G-MAC season, Northwood sits where many expected, right in the thick of the race for a top four seed in the G-MAC Tournament.
The Timberwolves hope solid returners and improved health will give Northwood a shot at just the third NCAA Tournament appearance in program history and its first since 2020-21. Northwood returns two key players in imposing post presence Jayla Strickland and high-scoring guard Alli Keyser that combined to play just three games last season due to injuries.
Those two players average 20.4 points per game for the Timberwolves now that they are healthy and are joined by dynamic guard Makenzie Todd, a 2022-23 All-G-MAC honoree, as well as posts Ava DiMilia and Maddie Voelker and steady point guard Maizie Taylor.
With five senior starters and several experienced backups, the Timberwolves are a battle-tested squad who already have collected several notable wins against a tough early schedule. With more road tests to come, this Thursday's game at Hillsdale is a critical one for Northwood's hopes.
Northwood is coached by Autumn Haggadone, now in her third season as the head coach of the Timberwolves. A former player and assistant coach at Albion, Haggadone spent several seasons as the Timberwolves' associate head coach before taking over the program in 2021-22.
Cedarville: Cedarville is looking for a bounce-back season after their first losing campaign in over two decades in 2022-23, but things largely haven't gone the Yellow Jackets' way so far in 2023-24, and two losses this past weekend have Cedarville looking desperate for a win entering this week's slate.
The Yellow Jackets lean heavily on senior guard Lydia Sweeney, a three-year starter and returning All-G-MAC player who currently leads the G-MAC in points per game average, and one of just two players on the team who were a part of Cedarville's last NCAA DII Tournament appearance along with Anne Wheeler.
Around Sweeney, the Yellow Jackets have a variety of young players looking to make their mark, led by Texas-Rio Grande Valley transfer KaCee Kyle and junior Kat Weakley, the team's top player off the bench.
Senior Makenna Fee mans the post for the Yellow Jackets, while freshman Nyla Hale has also made a meaningful impact in her first season on campus.
Cedarville has a decent offense, but has struggled defensively, conceding 71.9 points per game, the second-worst mark in the G-MAC so far. That's something they'll have to clean up down the stretch.
The Yellowjackets are coached by Addy Miller, in her first season in charge at Cedarville. A Drury graduate and former star player, Miller came to Cedarville after a three-year stint as an assistant at her alma mater, a NCAA DII power, and also spent time at Pittsburg State as an assistant.
Scouting Hillsdale
Hillsdale is one of the hottest teams in the G-MAC right now, entering this weekend with three straight victories over teams that all sit ahead of them in the conference standings. If Hillsdale can keep this run going, they could solidify a spot in the G-MAC Tournament over the next three weeks.
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.
In addition to Mills, Hillsdale has several players who look primed for breakout seasons 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.
- Northwood has a 36-25 lead in a competitive series with the Chargers dating back to the two programs' days in the GLIAC in the early 80s. The Timberwolves got an early advantage with wins in the first 12 meetings between the two teams, but since then Hillsdale has had a slight edge, with the two squads splitting two meetings last season and each team picking up a home victory. Northwood won the first meeting this season on Dec. 9, 76-62. Cedarville also leads the all-time series with Hillsdale 8-4 but the two teams have split the last two seasons, including alternating home victories in 2022-23.
- 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 79 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 72) and 3-pointers made (t-8th with 164), while her 1,267 points rank 12th all-time in Hillsdale College history.
- Junior Caitlin Splain is on an impressive trajectory from beyond the arc – with 164 made 3-pointers through two and a half seasons, the Powell, Ohio native is tied for eighth in program history, and 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 164, 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 points per game, eighth in rebounds per game, sixth in assists and seventh in steals, all while averaging double-digit points. Her buzzer-beating mid-range shot forced overtime and was key to Hillsdale's 71-61 home win over Malone on Wednesday, Jan. 17. 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 2.6 steals per game, good for second in the G-MAC, with 11 multi-steal games so far and a career-high six steals in Hillsdale's 69-60 victory over Thomas More on Jan. 13. The junior is putting up career-highs across the board, including averaging 9.8 points per game after averaging 2.1 in 2022-23.
- Midway through 2023-24, Hillsdale is currently on track to make a massive leap defensively this season. The Chargers are giving up just 63.3 points per game so far, almost five 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 39.5% from the field against them, the third-best mark in the G-MAC behind the current first and second place teams, Ashland and Ursuline.