For the second time in three days, an impressive late rally came up just short for the Hillsdale College women's basketball team agains the Findlay Oilers.
The Chargers trailed throughout the contest, by as many as 13 points, and were down 55-50 with 44 seconds to play. Senior Grace Touchette gave Hillsdale life with a deep 3-pointer with 37 seconds to go, and Hillsdale got the defensive stop at the other end to get the ball back with seven seconds to play.
With a chance to win the game, the Chargers drew up another good look from 3-point range for Touchette, but the guard couldn't make lightning strike twice as the shot at the buzzer didn't fall in a 55-53 Hillsdale defeat.
Touchette had a gritty performance in a physical game, overcoming a rough shooting first half to finish with a game-high 20 points and will the Chargers back into contention late. The guard from Northfield, Minnesota added four rebounds and four assists, and junior Sydney Mills also had a strong performance, recording her eighth double-double of the season with 13 points and 12 rebounds as well to help keep the Chargers in the game.
Freshman Peighton Nelson chipped in eight points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals for the Chargers, junior Arianna Sysum added six points, four rebounds and three blocks, and junior Maverick Delp chipped in five points and four rebounds off the bench.
The Chargers trailed by nine at the half and shot just 26.3 percent from the floor, but stayed in the game with an excellent defensive effort, including forcing 16 turnovers and a strong performance at the foul line, making 18 of 25 attempts.
Hillsdale couldn't overcome, however, a 20-12 edge to Findlay in points in the paint and a 12-6 edge in fastbreak points, both of which helped swing the game in the Oilers' favor.
With the defeat, Hillsdale drops to 11-10 overall on the year and 8-7 in G-MAC play. The Chargers are now in fifth place in the G-MAC and will look to retake the fourth spot and snap a three game losing streak with a critical game at Malone on Thursday, beginning at 5:30 p.m.
Photo by Isabella Sheehan