Coming off their best win of the season on Saturday, the Hillsdale College women's basketball team proved it was no fluke in a come-from-behind win over Malone at home, 71-61.
The Chargers trailed for most of the game but stunned the Pioneers at the buzzer in regulation to force overtime, then dominated the extra period to down Malone and avenge an earlier loss to the Pioneers a month prior.
Hillsdale had the ball trailing 57-55 with 10 seconds to go in the fourth quarter after Malone was 2 for 4 from the foul line to break a 55-all tie in the final 30 seconds. Those misses, along with a turnover on an inbounds coming out of a timeout, left the door open for the Chargers, and Hillsdale got a 3-point attempt from Caitlin Splain with seven seconds to go and a chance to take the lead. Splain missed, but teammate Kendall McCormick corralled the long rebound and threw a pass to junior Lauren McDonald in the lane. McDonald grabbed the ball and got a turnaround jump shot off just before the clock hit zero, burying the game-tying basket with no time left on the clock to keep Hillsdale's hopes alive.
Charged up by that electric buzzer-beater, Hillsdale dominated the overtime period. Splain completed an old-fashioned 3-point play, hitting a layup and drawing a foul to give Hillsdale a 60-57 lead on the Chargers' first overtime possession, and Hillsdale continued to pour it on, opening the extra period with an 11-0 run that all but put the game away. Malone scored on back-to-back possessions with under a minute to play to cut Hillsdale's lead to eight, but McDonald calmly drained two free throws at the other end to put to rest any hopes of a Pioneers comeback.
McDonald was sensational all night, tying her career high with 22 points on 8 of 13 shooting from the floor and chipping in five rebounds and two assists. Hillsdale also got a huge lift from senior Sydney Mills in her first game back from injury after missing the last month of action, as Mills scored 16 points and chipped in five rebounds off the bench as well. Mills was especially critical in the fourth quarter and overtime, scoring nine of her 16 points in the final 15 minutes of the game to help Hillsdale battle back from multiple late deficits and pull out the victory.
Splain chipped in 11 points and three assists as well for Hillsdale, and Ashley Konkle also had a huge night, with nine points, 12 rebounds and three assists. McCormick chipped in six points, four rebounds and four assists and senior Dani Hohlbein added five points as well.
In a tight game, Hillsdale won the turnover battle with 15 to Malone's 20, and got a big lift from its bench, outscoring the Pioneers 21-6 in bench points. Hillsdale also scored 44 points in the paint and created 22 second-chance points despite being out-rebounded on the night, converting as many of those extra offensive opportunities as possible to make up the difference.
The Chargers are now 8-8 overall, 4-4 in the G-MAC, and with the win move into the eighth spot in the standings. Hillsdale has now won two games in a row against top five teams in the G-MAC standings, and has an opportunity to get a third win on Saturday when the Chargers play host to 5-2 Kentucky Wesleyan at 1 p.m.
Photo by Austin Thomason