Schedule
Findlay (14-12, 10-8 G-MAC) at Hillsdale (15-11, 11-7 G-MAC) | 5:30 p.m. ET Thursday, Feb. 29 | Dawn Tibbetts Arena | Hillsdale, MI
Ursuline (17-9, 10-8 G-MAC) at Hillsdale (15-11, 11-7 G-MAC) | 1 p.m. ET Saturday, March 2 | Dawn Tibbetts Arena | Hillsdale, MI
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Additional Info
Hillsdale Roster | Findlay Roster | Ursuline Roster | 2023-24 Hillsdale Stats | 2023-24 Findlay Stats | 2023-24 Ursuline Stats | G-MAC Standings
Projected Starters
Hillsdale: #3 Lauren McDonald, Jr., G, Chicago, IL/St. Ignatius/Air Force (12.8 ppg, 6.3 rpg. 3.2 apg, 1.8 spg); #5 Sydney Mills, Sr., F, DeWitt, MI/DeWitt (13.6 ppg, 9.2 rpg); #15 Kendall McCormick, Jr., G, Hinckley, OH/Highland (8 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.1 spg); #30 Caitlin Splain, So., G, Powell, OH/Olentangy Liberty (12.3 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.2 spg); #31 Ashley Konkle, Sr., C, Aurora, IL/Benet Academy/Western Michigan (4.8 ppg, 5.2 rpg)
Findlay: #4 Lauren Hapgood, G, Sr., Oakwood, OH/Oakwood/SW Oklahoma St. (5.9 ppg); #5 McKenna Stephens, Jr., G, Willard, OH/Willard (3.8 ppg, 2.6 rpg); #13 Janae Hoying, Jr., G, Minster, OH/Minster (8.2 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.9 apg, 1.1 spg); #15 Kate Ellis, Sr., G, Perrysburg, OH/Toledo Central Catholic (14.2 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1 spg); #44/40 Alyssa Ziehler, So, F, Clinton, OH/Green (12.2 ppg, 7.2 rpg)
Ursuline: #3 Madison Cloonan, F, Sr., Kirtland, OH/Cornerstone Christian (9.8 ppg, 8 rpg, 4.3 apg); #12 Riley Stopp, Jr., F, Mentor, OH/Cornerstone Christian (11.3 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 2 apg); #20 Michaela Cloonan, Sr., G, Kirtland, OH/Cornerstone Christian (13.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 3 apg, 2.2 spg); #24 Madyson Stottsberry, Jr, G, Newark, OH/Newark (7.7 ppg, 4.1 rpg); #25 Alexis Frazee, Fr., G, Sugar Grove, OH/Berne Union (9.7 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1 spg)
Scouting the Opposition
Findlay: The Oilers are surging after a challenging start, with wins in eight of their last 11 games to move themselves into a position to challenge for a spot in the G-MAC Tournament. A win over Hillsdale has them right on the cusp of a berth, and another victory tonight would go a long way to getting them in the field.
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 Findlay averaging 65.3 points per game to the Chargers' 64.9, and Hillsdale giving up 62.6 points per game to Findlay's 62.7 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 while also serving as Assistant Athletic Director.
Ursuline: Ursuline is attempting to hold on after a 2-7 recent stretch has undermined a 15-2 start and left the Arrows in danger of missing the G-MAC Tournament.
The Arrows got off to an excellent start thanks to the Cloonan twins, Madison and Michaela, who are in their fourth years as starters and who've been playing at an All-G-MAC level for most of that time. Those two multi-talented players give Ursuline a strong core, and are complemented by two experienced juniors in Riley Stopp and Madyson Stottsberry.
Along with experience, the addition of impact freshmen has helped Ursuline this season. Center Sophia Kline is a force in the post in her first collegiate season and her absence has been felt in the couple of games she's missed recently, while guard Alexis Frazee gives the Arrows scoring punch off the bench, along with an outside shooting threat.
Ursuline has been an excellent defensive team, giving up just 59.9 points per game, but the offense has cooled off considerably, and the Arrows must break out of that funk if they want to finish strong this weekend,
Ursuline has one of the G-MAC's coaching deans in Shannon Sword, who's been coaching the Arrows since they joined the conference and has led Ursuline to two G-MAC titles and NCAA Tournament berths, and has twice been named the G-MAC Coach of the Year.
Scouting Hillsdale
Hillsdale is still in a strong position to make the G-MAC Tournament but must win one of their two games this week to ensure their spot in the tourney for the second straight season. Hillsdale already has its highest conference win total since the 2018-19 campaign and has locked up a second-straight winning season as well in 2023-24
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.
- Hillsdale is currently in a three-way tie in the standings for the G-MAC entering the final week of the regular season, tied with Malone and Thomas More, and a game ahead of Findlay and Ursuline. One victory should guarantee Hillsdale a spot in the 2024 G-MAC Tournament, and the Chargers can finish as high as fourth depending on how scenarios play out. If the Chargers lose both games, the final tournament spot will likely come down to a tiebreaker using the G-MAC's Point Rating System.
- Findlay has a narrow 29-27 edge in the all-time series with the Chargers, having added a game of separation with a 61-57 win at Findlay this past Saturday. The two teams play each other back-to-back with the return trip at Hillsdale taking place this Thursday. The Chargers are 8-5 all-time against Ursuline and have won four straight, including a 61-50 victory at Ursuline on Feb. 3.
- 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.
- Sydney Mills made history on Saturday, grabbing 10 rebounds to surpass previous record-holder Sandy Skaisgir's total of 1,146 and become Hillsdale's all-time leading rebounder. 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. Mills now ranks in the top 10 all-time at Hillsdale in points (8th with 1,396), blocked shots (6th with 80), field goals made (10th with 484) and 3-pointers made (8th with 176).
- Junior Caitlin Splain is on an impressive trajectory from beyond the arc – with 177 made 3-pointers through two and a half seasons, the Powell, Ohio native is seventh 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 176.
- 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 10th in rebounds per game, eighth in assists, tied for eighth in steals, and 11th 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 2.1 steals per game, good for fifth in the G-MAC, with 14 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 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 third-best mark in the G-MAC behind only Ursuline and G-MAC Champion Ashland.
Photo by Reva Ludwig