The Hillsdale College women's basketball team was competitive over the final three quarters with Illinois-Springfield on Saturday, but couldn't overcome a 31-point first quarter by the Prairie Stars in an 82-58 defeat.
The contest was hosted at Purdue Northwest University in Hammond, Indiana as part of the opening week Midwest Regional Crossover.
Hillsdale trailed 31-17 after an offensive explosion in the first 10 minutes by Illinois-Springfield, who shot 68.4% from 3-point range with 13 makes in the contest. The Chargers outscored the Prairie Stars in the second quarter and were close after halftime, but could never dig meaningfully into that early deficit to get back into the game.
Lauren McDonald scored 14 points to lead three Chargers in double figures in the contest, and Caitlin Splain chipped in 13 points as well. Junior Kendall McCormick had a strong game for Hillsdale, finishing with 12 points, seven assists and three steals, and Sydney Mills chipped in six points.
Hillsdale is currently 0-2 and will look to bounce back and get its first win this coming weekend when it travels to Quincy for another in-region crossover event. The Chargers will play the host Hawks on Friday, Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. CT, with a Saturday contest against McKendree on Saturday.
Photo by Charles Miller