Since first appearing as a freshman for the Hillsdale College women's basketball team in the 2018-19 season, it's been a roller-coaster ride for Grace Touchette and the Charger program.
But as a senior in 2021-22, Touchette has come full circle, leading the Chargers to their best start since that 2018-19 campaign and making personal history in the process.
On Sunday, Hillsdale rolled past host Lake Erie, 78-66, for their sixth straight victory, while Touchette poured in a game-high 23 points and became just the 19th player in Hillsdale College women's basketball history to surpass 1,000 points for her career. The senior guard is the first to accomplish the feat since the 2018-19 season, when three players -- Allie DeWire, Makenna Ott and Brittany Gray -- all joined the club.
The Chargers started slow on the road against the Storm, trailing for large portions of the first quarter and hitting just 14 points in the period. But Hillsdale found its rhythm offensively in the second quarter, outscoring Lake Erie 19-5 to break a 20-20 deadlock early in the period and head into halftime with a 14-point lead.
The Storm briefly cut Hillsdale's lead to eight early in the third quarter, but never got closer than that as the Chargers cruised to victory in the second half. Along with Touchette's milestone day, junior Sydney Mills also had another huge performance for the Chargers, recording her sixth double-double of the season by halftime and finishing with 17 points, 17 rebounds and four assists.
Freshman Carly Callahan scored a career-high 10 points off the bench as well for Hillsdale, with eight of those 10 points helping the Chargers to stay afloat in a first quarter where Hillsdale was struggling to get going offensively.
Freshman Peighton Nelson chipped in eight points and four assists for Hillsdale, Dani Salenbien added six points and four assists, and Caitlin Splain and Lauren Daffenberg each chipped in five points off the bench.
Bench play proved to be critical for the Chargers in the victory. Hillsdale's reserves contributed 20 points to just five for the Storm, a huge advantage in a game decided by 12 points.
The Chargers improve to 8-4 overall and 5-1 in the G-MAC, tied with Kentucky Wesleyan for second place in the G-MAC standings currently, a game behind league-leader Ashland.
Hillsdale will put its win streak to the test at home this weekend, as the Chargers host G-MAC preseason favorite Walsh in a huge clash at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, and then host another G-MAC contender in Malone on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Photo by Mark Pierce