Leading by just three at the half, the Hillsdale College women's basketball team used a big third quarter to pull away and held on late for a critical road victory at Tiffin on Saturday, 72-63.
Up 37-34 entering the third, the Chargers used an early 9-0 run in the quarter to get separation and outscored the Dragons 24-14 in the period, leading by as many as 15. That gave Hillsdale enough separation to hold off a spirited Dragon rally in the fourth and secure the victory. Tiffin cut the lead to 67-60 with 1:16 to play, but the Chargers made five late free throws, two each by Grace Touchette and Dani Salenbien, and got defensive stops on four of the Dragons' final five possessions, to hold on.
Touchette had a huge second half after a quiet first two quarters, scoring 14 of her 18 points after the break, including 11 in the third quarter to help fuel the run that put the Chargers ahead for good. The senior guard also added six rebounds, four assists and two steals.
While Touchette was clutch in the second half, junior posts Arianna Sysum and Sydney Mills were critical throughout for Hillsdale. Sysum shot 75 percent from the floor and finished with 17 points and nine rebounds in one of her best offensive performances of the season to date, while Mills knocked down four 3-pointers and put up 16 points and 13 rebounds to finish with her ninth double-double of the season.
Freshman Peighton Nelson also had a huge game for the Chargers, getting to the rim early in the game to jump-start the Hillsdale offense and finishing with 12 points and four assists in the victory. Salenbien chipped in six points and five rebounds for the Chargers, and freshman Carly Callahan chipped in three points and six rebounds as well.
Hillsdale outrebounded Tiffin 50-41 in the victory and outshot the Dragons 39.3% to 31.4% from the floor to create separation in an otherwise relatively even game statistically.
The Chargers improve to 10-6 overall and 7-3 in the G-MAC, keeping sole possession of fourth place in the conference with the victory as we hit the half-way point in the G-MAC season. Hillsdale returns home next week to take on Trevecca Nazarene on Thursday, Jan. 20, tipping off at 5:30 p.m. against the Trojans.
Photo by Isabella Sheehan