If there's a sign of how far the Hillsdale College women's basketball team has come in a short time, it's this: Last year, the Chargers needed the entire season to reach four wins. In 2021-22? Just eight games.
Hillsdale matched its 2020-21 win total and evened its record at 4-4 with an impressive win over an Ohio Dominican team that made the G-MAC Tournament last season, 78-63, on Thursday.
The Chargers blew open a close game in the second quarter, taking its first double-digit lead on two free throws by sophomore Dani Salenbien with 6:41 to play in the half, and largely keeping the Panthers at bay from there.
ODU briefly cut Hillsdale's lead to five at the start of the third quarter, but the Chargers went on a 10-2 run midway through the period and put up 26 points in the quarter to pull away for good.
Impressive balance once again played a huge role in Hillsdale's success. Junior Sydney Mills led the way with her fourth double-double of the season for the Chargers, shooting 5 of 9 from 3-point range to finish 21 points and 11 rebounds, and junior Arianna Sysum chipped in a double-double as well, finishing with 17 points and 12 rebounds, including seven offensive boards.
Senior Grace Touchette had another huge game for the Chargers, finishing with 19 points and dishing out seven assists, and freshman Peighton Nelson chipped in 10 points and impressive defense as well. Fellow freshman Caitlin Splain was the only Charger to score off the bench, hitting two 3-pointers, and sophomore Dani Salenbien added five points and three rebounds as well.
Hillsdale had control at both ends of the floor, shooting 46.2 percent and holding ODU to just 33.8 percent from the floor. The Chargers made effective use of turnovers, outscoring ODU 16-8 in points off turnovers and 16-6 in fast break points.
The Chargers improve to 4-4 overall and 2-1 in the G-MAC, and have a critical road contest coming up this Saturday against Cedarville, also 2-1 in the G-MAC. A victory could prove important down the road in what is expected to be a tight race for a berth in the G-MAC Tournament, but it won't come easy against the defending regular season champion Yellow Jackets, who earned an impressive 77-63 win over Findlay on Thursday night.
Photo by Isabella Sheehan