In five seasons playing for the Hillsdale College women's basketball team, senior Sydney Mills has created more than her fair share of memorable moments.
It's safe to say the moment she made in tonight's road victory over Walsh will rank near the top of the list.
Tied 49-49 with the Cavaliers, and a road overtime looming, Mills hit a layup with under one second remaining to put the Chargers over the top in a 51-49 victory on Thursday night.
It's Hillsdale's end-of-regulation second buzzer-beater of the season along with Lauren McDonald's midrange jumper to force overtime in Hillsdale's home victory over Malone on Jan. 17, and the second of Mills' career at Hillsdale, along with a game-winning shot against Purdue Northwest last season.
Hillsdale had the ball with 12 seconds to play after Walsh tied the game on a layup at the other end. Junior Kendall McCormick made a hard-charging drive to the basket with seven seconds to go for the Chargers, forcing Mills' defender to slide over to stop her short.
Cut off, McCormick found Mills in the lane on a picture-perfect bounce pass, beating the help defender to the spot and setting up the senior for a wide-open layup to win the game.
The buzzer-beater capped a night where Hillsdale had the lead almost the entire way on the host Cavaliers, but struggled to get separation in a hard-fought, defensive slugfest between the two teams. The Chargers shot just 35.6% from the floor and 13.6% from 3-point range, but held the Cavaliers to 32.3% from the floor and just 5 for 27 from beyond the arc.
Hillsdale looked like it had seized control for good with a 10-2 run in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter, fueled by six points from Mills, who led all scorers in the contest. Walsh, however, fought back, cutting Hillsdale's lead to 48-47 with 51 seconds to play. The Chargers split a pair of free throws at the line on the ensuing possession to make it 49-47, but the Cavaliers answered back on a Sami Kim layup with 12 seconds to go, setting the stage for Mills' game winner.
Mills finished with 16 points, eight rebounds and three assists to lead Hillsdale on the night, and redshirt freshman Sydney Pnacek added nine points and seven rebounds. Freshman Annalise Pietrzyk played an important role for Hillsdale in the first half with nine points to help the Chargers take a lead into the break, and Lauren McDonald added six points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals.
The victory is Hillsdale's third straight, and sixth in seven games. There's no secret to what's propelling the Chargers on this run, as Hillsdale has boasted one of the G-MAC's best defenses during this stretch. Since the start of 2024, Hillsdale has conceded 70 or more points just twice, and held opponents below 60 points five times.
Hillsdale (12-9, 8-5 G-MAC) will look to continue its recent hot streak and further its climb up the standings on Saturday when the Chargers travel to Lake Erie for a 3 p.m. contest.
Photo by Reva Ludwig