A red-hot Hillsdale College women's basketball team stayed that way on Thursday evening, putting together one of the Chargers' best offensive performances of the season to beat visiting Cedarville 86-62 for Hillsdale's fifth-straight victory.
The Chargers didn't trail again past the seven minute mark of the first quarter and blew the game open in the second period, outscoring Cedarville 27-13 to take a 21 point halftime lead. Cedarville never threatened again, unable to keep pace with a scorching Chargers offense that shot 53.8% from the floor and recorded their second highest point total of the season.
Hillsdale's advantage inside against the undermanned Yellow Jackets was decisive, as the Chargers scored 60 of their 86 points in the paint and outrebounded Cedarville 53-25 in a one-sided battle in the post. That close-range scoring allowed Hillsdale to be highly efficient offensively, with five different players in double figures led by junior Lauren McDonald, who finished with a 16 point, 13 rebound double-double as well as three steals.
Senior Sydney Mills played in just the first half for the Chargers but had 10 points and eight rebounds in 14 minutes of action, while senior Olivia Patch tied her career high with 11 points and sophomore Payton Adkins set a new personal best with 10 points, four rebounds and four assists in 21 minutes.
Caitlin Splain chipped in 11 points and six rebounds, Sydney Pnacek added eight points and six rebounds, and freshman Maddy Greene chipped in a career high four points, four rebounds and four assists as well. All 11 players who saw the floor for the Chargers scored in the contest, and Hillsdale got 42 points from its bench in the victory.
The Chargers improve to 14-9 overall, 10-5 in G-MAC play, and have now won five straight and eight of their last nine entering what will be the toughest test of the season on Saturday, as Hillsdale hosts defending national champion and the No. 1 team in the nation, Ashland, in a contest at 1 p.m. Hillsdale has a tall task to try and upset the Eagles, but are playing like one of the most dangerous teams in the G-MAC right now, and will have the added incentive of taking on Ashland on Senior Day, trying to get another win on home floor for Mills, Patch and Dani Hohlbein as their careers draw to a close.
Photo by Isabella Sheehan