Schedule
Hillsdale (14-10, 10-6 G-MAC) at Ohio Dominican (7-18, 4-13 G-MAC) | 5:30 p.m. ET Thursday, Feb. 22 | Alumni Hall | Columbus, OH
Hillsdale (14-10, 10-6 G-MAC) at Findlay (12-12, 8-8 G-MAC) | 1 p.m. ET Saturday, Feb. 24 | Niekamp Arena | Findlay, OH
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Additional Info
Hillsdale Roster | ODU Roster | Findlay Roster | 2023-24 Hillsdale Stats | 2023-24 ODU Stats | 2023-24 Findlay Stats | G-MAC Standings
Projected Starters
Hillsdale: #3 Lauren McDonald, Jr., G, Chicago, IL/St. Ignatius/Air Force (12.8 ppg, 6.6 rpg. 3.1 apg, 1.7 spg); #5 Sydney Mills, Sr., F, DeWitt, MI/DeWitt (14.1 ppg, 8.6 rpg); #15 Kendall McCormick, Jr., G, Hinckley, OH/Highland (8.4 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.3 apg, 2.2 spg); #23 Annalise Pietrzyk, Fr., G, Lockport, IL/Providence Catholic (4.9 ppg, 2.5 rpg); #31 Ashley Konkle, Sr., C, Aurora, IL/Benet Academy/Western Michigan (4.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg)
ODU: #2 Jenna Shackleford, F, Fr., Newark, OH/Newark (8.2 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 1.1 spg); #3 Brynn Mullet, Jr., G, Berlin, Ohio/Hiland (7.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 2.5 apg); #5 Madelyn Fearon, So, G, Greenville, OH/Arcanum (2.5 ppg); #15 La'Sonja Hill, Fr., G, Cincinnati, OH/Princeton (11.7 ppg, 2.7 apg, 2.4 spg); #22 Gabby Stare, Sr., G, Newark, OH/Newark (17.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.6 spg)
Findlay: #4 Lauren Hapgood, G, Sr., Oakwood, OH/Oakwood/SW Oklahoma St. (5.7 ppg, 3.2 rpg); #5 McKenna Stephens, Jr., G, Willard, OH/Willard (3.9 ppg, 2.6 rpg); #13 Janae Hoying, Jr., G, Minster, OH/Minster (8.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 3 apg, 1.1 spg); #15 Kate Ellis, Sr., G, Perrysburg, OH/Toledo Central Catholic (14.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1 spg); #44/40 Alyssa Ziehler, So, F, Clinton, OH/Green (12.2 ppg, 7.1 rpg)
Scouting the Opposition
ODU: It's been a tough season in 2023-24 for the Panthers, who have been unable to find their way in the G-MAC with a young roster so far.
Ohio Dominican is built around star guard Gabby Stare, a fourth-year starter, three time All-G-MAC honoree and walking triple-double threat who powers the Panthers offense.
ODU is attempting to develop capable running mates for Stare in talented freshman La'Sonja Hill and junior guard Brynn Mullet, while two more freshmen, post players Jenna Shackleford and Jazmyn Wheeler, are making important contributions to the Panthers on the low block.
The Panthers have improved depth thanks to the play of several returning sophomores who cut their teeth as freshmen in major roles last season, including Madelyn Fearon, Logan Pride and Macy Chapman. It hasn't been enough however as ODU has struggled with consistency offensively, and with getting stops at the defensive end, as the Panthers are conceding 71.9 points per game, good for 12th in the G-MAC so far.
ODU is coached by a legend in Melanie Balcomb, now entering her second season in charge of the program. Balcomb guided a strong SEC program at Vanderbilt for 14 seasons, with a 310-149 record, including four Sweet Sixteen appearances. She also took Xavier to the Elite Eight in 2000-01, and has spent time on staffs at South Carolina, Texas Tech and Purdue.
Findlay: The Oilers are surging after a challenging start, with wins in six of their last nine games to move themselves into a position to challenge for a spot in the G-MAC Tournament. With back-to-back games against Hillsdale, one of the teams just ahead of them in the standings, Findlay is well-positioned to make a move.
Findlay has made a leap after a challenging 2022-23, with five of seven players back from last season led by dynamic senior guard Kate Ellis and talented post player Alyssa Ziehler. Those two players provide the bulk of the scoring on most nights for the Oilers, with support from point guard Lauren Hapgood and veteran wings Janae Hoying and Chloe Callahan, the twin sister of Hillsdale College junior Carly Callahan. Freshman Mackenzie Schulz also plays an important role in the post off the bench for the Oilers.
In many ways, Findlay is a near mirror-image of the Chargers, with both teams averaging 65.3 points per game and Hillsdale giving up 62.6 points per game to Findlay's 63 points.
Findlay is coached by Michele Durand, now in her second season in charge of the program. Durand came to the Oilers after a long and successful tenure at Ohio Northern, where she went 333-185 in 19 seasons and won five OAC titles, two OAC Tourney titles, and qualified for four NCAA DIII Tournaments.
Scouting Hillsdale
The Chargers are in a good spot with four games to play, sitting at 10-6 and having matched their conference win total from each of the last two seasons already. Hillsdale will look to solidify its spot in the G-MAC Tournament over the final two weeks and challenge for the right to host a quarterfinal – while currently in seventh place, the Chargers are just two games back from second.
The Chargers entered the season having to replace three starters from 2022-23 but had a strong core returning from a team that played a deep bench in the previous season. Three-time All-G-MAC honoree Sydney Mills has averaged a double-double in each of the past three seasons and is on track to become the program's all-time leading rebounder in her final season at Hillsdale.
In addition to Mills, Hillsdale has several players who are in the midst of breakout seasons in 2023-24. Air Force transfer Lauren McDonald is a key piece who just scratched the surface of her potential in a half-season with the Chargers in 2022-23, and has been an all-around stat-stuffer. Now juniors, both Caitlin Splain and Kendall McCormick have grown considerably over two seasons at Hillsdale and have also made big leaps as upperclassmen with increased roles on the floor. Hillsdale also can look to senior Dani Hohlbein, a gritty veteran contributor who fills up the stat sheet when she's on the floor, as well as Ashley Konkle and Olivia Patch, two-way post presences who have carved out bigger roles in 2023-24.
Talented players in the Chargers' sophomore and freshmen classes have carved out their own roles and made important contributions to the squad's efforts in 2023-24. Sydney Pnacek, Annalise Pietrzyk, Savannah Smith and Emma Ruhlman all have played important minutes for the Chargers over the course of the season.
The road ahead will be tough for Hillsdale in G-MAC play, as the conference put four teams in the NCAA Tournament last season, including defending DII National Champion Ashland, and only gets tougher with the addition of 2021-22 NAIA National Champion Thomas More to the conference. While there will be plenty of tough games ahead for the Chargers in 2023-24, Hillsdale was able to beat two of those four NCAA Tournament qualifying teams, Trevecca Nazarene and Malone, last season, and took a third, Kentucky Wesleyan, to overtime in the G-MAC Tournament, proving that Hillsdale is capable of playing on the same level as those squads.
Other Notes
- The Chargers were picked to finish 8th in the 2023-24 G-MAC Preseason Coaches Poll in line with their 7th place finish in 2022-23. Defending NCAA DII national champion Ashland was picked to repeat as conference title-winners, while Kentucky Wesleyan was picked second and Trevecca Nazarene third.
- The series between Hillsdale and Ohio Dominican has been highly competitive since it began in 2011 and currently stands at 13-11 with the Chargers holding a narrow edge overall. Hillsdale split with the Panthers last year, won the most recent meeting on its home floor this season 88-52, and has won four of the last five meetings to take the series lead. Findlay, meanwhile, has a narrow 28-27 edge on the all-time series with the Chargers, but Hillsdale swept both meetings last season to snap a five-game losing streak to the Oilers, and can retake the series lead with wins in the two games between the teams this Saturday and next Thursday.
- Last Saturday, Hillsdale celebrated three graduating seniors in a pregame ceremony – Dani Hohlbein, Sydney Mills and Olivia Patch. All three players have spent four or more years with the Chargers and are on track to graduate having led Hillsdale to back-to-back winning seasons, while playing a key role for the squad across multiple campaigns.
- The Chargers are happy to have senior Sydney Mills back on the floor after missing six games due to injury. Earlier in the season, Mills became just the third player in Hillsdale College history and the second in G-MAC history to reach 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in her career after grabbing her 1,000th rebound against Quincy in a 31 point, 15 rebound performance that led to the Chargers' first win in November. She's 19 rebounds away from breaking the Hillsdale College program record set by Sandy Skaisgir in 1991. Mills also ranks in the top 10 all-time at Hillsdale in points (8th with 1,377), blocked shots (7th with 77) and 3-pointers made (7th with 175).
- Junior Caitlin Splain is on an impressive trajectory from beyond the arc – with 173 made 3-pointers through two and a half seasons, the Powell, Ohio native is eighth in program history, and on track to challenge Chelsea Harrison's program record of 237 made 3-pointers set in 2012. Hillsdale has several impressive marksmen on the squad, as Mills is also in the top 10 all-time at Hillsdale for made 3-pointers with 175.
- Junior Lauren McDonald has been filling up the stat sheet for the Chargers, as the guard has helped Hillsdale to a decent start. She currently ranks ninth in rebounds per game, tied for sixth in assists, tied for 10th in steals, and 10th in points. Her buzzer-beating mid-range shot forced overtime and was key to Hillsdale's 71-61 home win over Malone on Wednesday, Jan. 17. McDonald was a mid-year transfer from Air Force last season who showed flashes in the back-half of 2022-23, but appears to be making the leap to stardom with a full offseason with the team under her belt in 2023-24.
- Junior Kendall McCormick is starting for the Chargers for the first time in her career, and showing her bonafides as a defensive stopper. McCormick is averaging 2.2 steals per game, good for fifth in the G-MAC, with 13 multi-steal games so far and a career-high six steals in Hillsdale's 69-60 victory over Thomas More on Jan. 13. The junior is putting up career-highs across the board, including averaging 8.4 points per game after averaging 2.1 in 2022-23.
- Well into 2023-24 now, Hillsdale has made a massive leap defensively this season. The Chargers are giving up just 62.6 points per game so far, nearly six full points less than the 68.2 points they conceded in 2022-23, and more than seven points less than the 70.2 points they gave up in 2021-22. Emblematic of Hillsdale's success defensively is a stellar opponent field goal percentage – the Chargers are allowing opponents to shoot just 38.5% from the field against them, the second-best mark in the G-MAC behind only Ursuline.