The Hillsdale College women's basketball team looked more than ready for the start of conference play on Saturday.
The Chargers dominated their G-MAC opener against visiting Ohio Dominican, jumping out to a 12 point lead five minutes in and never looking back in a 88-52 victory over the Panthers to improve to 4-4 overall and 1-0 in G-MAC play.
Hillsdale led by as many as 26 points in the first half, shooting 57 percent from the floor and knocking down seven 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes to build an insurmountable lead. The Chargers barely cooled off after the break, ending the game shooting 60.3% from the floor and 45.5% from deep in a comprehensive victory.
Five players finished in double figures for the Chargers, led by junior Lauren McDonald, who dominated play with 19 points, seven rebounds, three assists and five steals. On a day where she was honored for surpassing 1,000 career rebounds, senior Sydney Mills also was excellent for Hillsdale, scoring 14 points and adding five rebounds, four steals and two blocks. Junior Kendall McCormick chipped in 13 points and a team-high five assists, and junior Caitlin Splain added 13 points, three assists and three steals as well.
Freshman Annalise Pietrzyk had the best game of her career of the bench, scoring 11 points and adding five rebounds and three assists as well, while Sydney Pnacek chipped in seven points.
Hillsdale shared the ball well, finishing with a season-high 24 assists in the contest, and played extremely well defensively, forcing the Panthers into 22 turnovers while recording 19 steals and five blocks. The Chargers also won the rebounding battle 37-29 and finished with 24 points off turnovers in the victory.
The win gives Hillsdale momentum heading into a big road game next weekend against in-state rival Northwood, who is 1-1 in the G-MAC early in the season. Tipoff in that contest is 1 p.m.
Photo by Austin Thomason