Schedule
Ohio Dominican (2-2, 0-0 G-MAC) vs Hillsdale (3-3, 0-0 G-MAC) | 1 p.m. ET Saturday, Dec. 2 | Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena | Hillsdale, MI
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Additional Info
Hillsdale Roster | Ohio Dominican Roster | 2023-24 Hillsdale Stats | 2023-24 Ohio Dominican Stats | G-MAC Standings
Projected Starters
Hillsdale: #3 Lauren McDonald, Jr., G, Chicago, IL/St. Ignatius/Air Force (12.3 ppg, 7.1 rpg. 3.9 apg, 2 spg); #5 Sydney Mills, Sr., F, DeWitt, MI/DeWitt (13.8 ppg, 9.5 rpg); #15 Kendall McCormick, Jr., G, Hinckley, OH/Highland (9 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 2.6 spg); #30 Caitlin Splain, So., G, Powell, OH/Olentangy Liberty (12.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1 spg); #31 Ashley Konkle, Sr., C, Aurora, IL/Benet Academy/Western Michigan (3.7 ppg, 5.7 rpg)
ODU: #2 Jenna Shackleford, F, Fr., Newark, OH/Newark (6.8 ppg, 5 rpg, 1spg); #3 Brynn Mullet, Jr., G, Berlin, Ohio/Hiland (8 ppg, 3 rpg); #15 La'Sonja Hill, Fr., G, Cincinnati, OH/Princeton (12.5 ppg, 2.5 apg, 1.5 spg); #22 Gabby Stare, Sr., G, Newark, OH/Newark (18.8 ppg, 4 rpg, 2.8 apg); #25 Macy Chapman, So, G, Hilliard, OH/Bradley (5.5 ppg, 2.3 spg)
Scouting the Opposition
ODU: The Panthers are looking for a big breakthrough in 2023-24 after returning several players from a young squad that struggled last season but showed promise at points.
Ohio Dominican is built around star guard Gabby Stare, a fourth-year starter, three time All-G-MAC honoree and walking triple-double threat who powers the Panthers offense.
ODU seems like it's found capable running mates for Stare in talented freshman La'Sonja Hill and junior guard Brynn Mullet, while two more freshmen, post players Jenna Shackleford and Jazmyn Wheeler, are making importatn contributions to the Panthers on the low block.
The Panthers have improved depth thanks to the play of several returning sophomores who cut their teeth as freshmen in major roles last season, including Madelyn Fearon, Logan Pride and Macy Chapman. ODU is off to a 2-2 start but has been competitive in all four contests.
ODU is coached by a legend in Melanie Balcomb, now entering her second season in charge of the program. Balcomb guided a strong SEC program at Vanderbilt for 14 seasons, with a 310-149 record, including four Sweet Sixteen appearances. She also took Xavier to the Elite Eight in 2000-01, and has spent time on staffs at South Carolina, Texas Tech and Purdue.
Scouting Hillsdale
Hillsdale enters G-MAC play with a 3-4 record after a non-conference slate filled with both ups and downs but some encouraging signs as well. Despite dealing with serious injury trouble, the Chargers racked up three wins and are playing solid defensively, holding opponents to just 63.1 points per game.
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.
Other Notes
- The Chargers were picked to finish 8th in the 2023-24 G-MAC Preseason Coaches Poll in line with their 7th place finish in 2022-23. Defending NCAA DII national champion Ashland was picked to repeat as conference title-winners, while Kentucky Wesleyan was picked second and Trevecca Nazarene third.
- The series between Hillsdale and Ohio Dominican has been highly competitive since it began in 2011 and currently stands at 12-11 with the Chargers holding a narrow edge overall. Hillsdale split with the Panthers last year, winning the most recent meeting on its home floor 78-57, and has won three of the last four meetings to take the series lead.
- A three-time second-team All-G-MAC honoree, senior Sydney Mills became just the third player in Hillsdale College history and the second in G-MAC history to reach 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in her career after grabbing her 1,000th rebound against Quincy in a 31 point, 15 rebound performance that led to the Chargers' first win last Friday. She's 109 rebounds away from breaking the Hillsdale College program record set by Sandy Skaisgir in 1991. Mills also ranks in the top 10 all-time at Hillsdale in blocked shots (7th with 68) and 3-pointers made (8th with 158), while her 1,221 points rank 13th all-time in Hillsdale College history.
- Junior Caitlin Splain is on an impressive trajectory from beyond the arc – with 140 made 3-pointers through a little over two seasons, the Powell, Ohio native is on track to challenge Chelsea Harrison's program record of 237 made 3-pointers set in 2012. Hillsdale has several impressive marksmen on the squad, as Mills is also in the top 10 all-time at Hillsdale for made 3-pointers with 158, and junior Carly Callahan is climbing the list rapidly with 77 treys in two seasons as well.
- It's early in 2023-24, but Hillsdale is currently on track to make a massive leap defensively this season. The Chargers are giving up just 63.1 points per game so far, five less than the 68.2 points they conceded in 2022-23, and more than seven points less than the 70.2 points they gave up in 2021-22. Emblematic of Hillsdale's success defensively is a stellar opponent field goal percentage – the Chargers are allowing opponents to shoot just 38.1% from the field against them, the second-best mark in the G-MAC.