The Hillsdale College women's basketball team rallied from a double-digit deficit in the second half to take a late lead, but came up short in a 62-58 road loss at Purdue Northwest on Friday night.
The Chargers trailed 55-43 with 7:07 to play but went on a furious 15-2 rally to take a 58-57 lead with 3:10 to go, knocking in three 3-pointers and going 5 of 6 from the floor during that stretch to change the game completely and give themselves a chance at a road victory. Sydney Mills scored seven points and Caitlin Splain and Lauren McDonald each knocked in a 3-pointer as well.
But Hillsdale couldn't quite close out the game, going scoreless over the final 3:10 to fall by a razor-thin margin. The Chargers had four possessions up one but couldn't convert, and couldn't find an answer when Purdue Northwest took the lead with 1:29 to play.
Mills had a huge game for the Chargers to lead the cause, putting up a 20 point, 13 rebound double-double that leaves her just six rebounds shy of 1,000 for her career. Redshirt freshman Sydney Pnacek was also invaluable for the Chargers in her first-ever appearance in a Chargers uniform, scoring 14 points off the bench, with 12 of those coming in the first half to help Hillsdale build a 27-22 halftime lead heading into the break.
Junior Caitlin Splain played every minute of the game for the Chargers and added 14 points, five rebounds and three assists in a marathon performance, and Lauren McDonald chipped in seven points, seven rebounds, three assists and four steals as well for Hillsdale.
The Chargers fall to 0-1 on the season, and will look to bounce back tomorrow in Hammond, Indiana with a neutral-site contest against Illinois-Springfield at 2 p.m. ET. The Prairie Stars enter the game 1-0, having knocked off Tiffin 65-62 in the game prior to Hillsdale's contest tonight.
Photo by Charles Miller