There's a new face at the helm for the Hillsdale College women's basketball team, but the goal remains the same -- to continue a rise up the standings that's seen the Chargers increase their win total in each of the past two seasons, and get back to title contention in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference.
You can help cheer the Chargers on in their quest throughout the 2023-24 campaign, as single game tickets are on sale for all 13 Hillsdale women's basketball home contests at hillsdalechargers.com -- just click the ticket tab at the top of the website to access.
Hillsdale enters the 2023-24 campaign fresh off a 17-win season that saw the Chargers earn their first winning record in five seasons, and their first berth in the G-MAC Tournament in that span. First-year head coach Brianna Brennan will look to continue Hillsdale's steady climb after helping the Chargers lay the foundation during two years as an assistant with the program.
The Chargers must replace three starters from 2022-23 but have a strong core returning from a team that played a deep bench last season. Three-time All-G-MAC honoree Sydney Mills has averaged a double-double in each of the past three seasons and is on track to become the program's all-time leading rebounder in her final season at Hillsdale, while junior Carly Callahan will look to build off a season where she shot over 37 percent from 3-point range and flashed greatly improved playmaking ability.
Hillsdale has several players who look primed for increased roles in 2023-24. Air Force transfer Lauren McDonald is a key piece who just scratched the surface of her potential in a half-season with the Chargers in 2022-23, and could be one of the breakout players in the conference in 2023-24. Now juniors, both Caitlin Splain and Kendall McCormick have grown considerably over two seasons at Hillsdale and could be ready for big leaps of their own as upperclassmen with increased roles on the floor. Hillsdale also can look to senior Dani Hohlbein, a gritty veteran contributor who fills up the stat sheet when she's on the floor, and Ashley Konkle and Olivia Patch, two-way post presences who will compete for bigger roles in 2023-24, to play important minutes as well.
Talented players in the Chargers' sophomore and freshmen classes will push the upperclassmen as they look to carve out their own roles and make contributions to the squad's efforts in 2023-24. Sydney Pnacek, Payton Adkins and Emma Ruhlman now have a year under their belts in the program and a foundation to build on, while Hillsdale's talented three-player freshman group will aim to make an instant impact.
The road ahead will be tough for Hillsdale in G-MAC play, as the conference put four teams in the NCAA Tournament last season, including defending DII National Champion Ashland, and only gets tougher with the addition of 2021-22 NAIA National Champion Thomas More to the conference. While there will be plenty of tough games ahead for the Chargers in 2023-24, Hillsdale was able to beat two of those four NCAA Tournament qualifying teams, Trevecca Nazarene and Malone, last season, and took a third, Kentucky Wesleyan, to overtime in the G-MAC Tournament, proving that Hillsdale is capable of playing on the same level as those squads. Now the goal is to be on that level consistently as the Chargers look to make their own run. You can find the full 2023-24 schedule here.