The Hillsdale College women's basketball team used a hot start and clutch foul shooting late to beat visiting Davenport, 66-61, and snap a two-game losing streak in its final official game of 2023.
The Chargers were 6 of 8 from the line in the final quarter of the contest and had three huge makes with under 20 seconds to play to put a thriller out of reach and best the Panthers for good.
Hillsdale seized control of the contest early, outscoring Davenport 24-10 in the first quarter and shooting 75% from the floor and going 5 for 8 from deep. Junior guard Caitlin Splain led the Chargers with a red-hot first half, going 6 of 7 from the floor and hitting all four 3-pointers she attempted to put up 16 points and give Hillsdale a 43-27 edge at the break.
The Chargers' hot shooting cooled off in the second half and Davenport made a big push, cutting the lead to eight at the end of the third quarter and going on a 9-0 run with under four minutes to play to cut Hillsdale's lead to 63-61 with 1:19 to go. But Hillsdale locked in defensively to protect the lead, getting stops on four consecutive possessions and converting at the foul line to finish off the victory.
Splain led Hillsdale with 18 points, nine rebounds and three assists, just missing her first career double-double. The Chargers also got a huge lift off the bench from senior center Olivia Patch, who had a career night. Patch played a career-high 19 minutes and posted career highs in points (11), rebounds (6), and assists (2) to play a key role in Hillsdale's victory.
Junior guard Kendall McCormick chipped in 10 points, five rebounds and three steals for the Chargers, Lauren McDonald added eight points and four rebounds, and freshman Annalise Pietrzyk chipped in seven points and four rebounds off the bench as well. Senior Dani Hohlbein scored her first points since returning from injury for Hillsdale, finishing with three points and two assists.
Hillsdale improves to 5-6 overall with the victory, and will have one more big test on Saturday with an exhibition showdown against Division I Toledo, the defending MAC champion, before returning to G-MAC play on Jan. 4 with a home contest against conference newcomer Thomas More.
Photo by Isabella Sheehan