The Hillsdale College women's basketball team couldn't hang on to a double-digit halftime lead as Malone used a furious second-half rally to take a 71-62 victory over the Chargers on Thursday night.
Hillsdale used an 11-0 second quarter run to break a 21-all tie with 6:29 left in the second quarter, and led by as many as 17, 44-27, with 7:33 left in the third period. But the Pioneers outscored the Chargers 44-18 from that point on as Hillsdale struggled to find its shooting touch after a hot start to the game.
The Chargers stayed in the game late despite their second half shooting woes thanks to a strong performance at the line, going 14 of 15 on free throws to generate some late offense. But the Chargers couldn't get the stops they needed late to keep Malone from pulling away in the closing minutes.
Freshman guard Peighton Nelson had a career-high 16 points to lead the Chargers on the road, shooting 50% from the floor and going 8 of 8 at the foul line, and added four rebounds, five assists and two steals. Senior Grace Touchette chipped in 15 points for Hillsdale, and junior Sydney Mills finished with her ninth double-double of the season, with 12 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks.
Junior Arianna Sysum added nine points, five rebounds and two blocks for the Chargers, and Caitlin Splain and Lauren Daffenberg each finished with five points as well.
Turnovers were a significant problem throughout the night for Hillsdale, as the Chargers committed 20 of them in the loss, leading to 17 Malone points.
Hillsdale is now 11-11 overall, 8-8 in the G-MAC, and faces another tough test this Saturday with a road contest at Walsh, currently 15-2 in the G-MAC and in second place in the conference standings.
Photo by Anthony Lupi