The Hillsdale College women's basketball team used a 25 point second quarter to seize control of a road contest in Chicago, Illinois against host Roosevelt on Saturday, turning that edge into a 63-52 victory to get back to .500 on the season.
The Chargers hit all five of their first-half 3-pointers in the second quarter to spark the run, outscoring the Lakers 25-13 to turn a tie game into a 12 point lead at the half.
Although Hillsdale struggled in the second half offensively, shooting just 26.1% from the floor, the Chargers dug in defensively, holding Roosevelt to just 27.9% shooting for the game and 20.7% from 3-point range to stay ahead. Hillsdale also converted from the free throw line when it counted, going a perfect 12 for 12 from the charity stripe in the second half to maintain its lead.
Playing in her home town, junior Lauren McDonald had a solid all-around game for Hillsdale, scoring 15 points to lead all players and chipping in eight rebounds and three assists. Fellow junior Kendall McCormick also chipped in 13 point and wreaked havoc defensively for the Chargers with an impressive five steals and two blocks against the Lakers. Caitlin Splain chipped in 10 points, four rebounds and three assists, and redshirt freshman Sydney Pnacek added 10 points off the bench.
Senior Sydney Mills just missed her third double-double of the season with an eight point, nine rebound performance, while another Illinois native, freshman Annalise Pietrzyk, chipped in a career-high five points off the bench in her sixth collegiate game.
Hillsdale is now 3-3 overall and is 3-1 in its last four games after an 0-2 start. The Chargers will get one more tough test before conference play starts in a short turnaround on Tuesday for a home contest against a solid Saginaw Valley State squad at 5:30 p.m.
Photo by Olivia Kindt