Basketball teams fall in NCAA tournament: Fritsche wins G-MAC title in first season

Home Charger Women's Basketball Basketball teams fall in NCAA tournament: Fritsche wins G-MAC title in first season
Basketball teams fall in NCAA tournament: Fritsche wins G-MAC title in first season
Sophomore center Julia Wacker shoots in a game earlier this season. (Photo: Gabe Prieur | Courtesy)

In a classic matchup of David vs. Goliath in the NCAA Division II women’s basketball regional quarterfinal, the Hillsdale College Chargers fell to No. 1 Ashland University on Friday, 104-82.

Hillsdale put forth a gallant effort in the loss, outscoring the Eagles in the second half, 48-45, but wasn’t able to overcome a shaky start to the game and never held the lead. With the defeat, The G-MAC champion Chargers finish their season 19-11.

The contest came on the campus of Ashland University, giving the undefeated Eagles a home-court advantage. In a hostile environment, the Chargers fell behind 33-16 by the end of the first quarter. Instead of caving in to an Ashland team that has routinely dominated opponents this season, Hillsdale persisted and played a much more competitive three quarters of basketball.

Head coach Matt Fritsche took the blame for the slow start, pointing to the chances his team took on defense as the primary reason for Ashland’s run to begin the game.

“If I could do it over again, we’d guard differently from the get-go,” Fritsche said. “But those are the chances we took all year, and it just didn’t work out that time.”

Ashland bolted out of the gates, raining down three-pointer after three-pointer in the first quarter, something Hillsdale wasn’t particularly prepared for. By the time the Chargers made the necessary adjustments defensively, it proved to be too little, too late. 

“We had took some gambles on some things defensively that were my fault and it got us into a big hole early in the game,” Fritsche said. “The disappointment is in myself. I’m proud of our kids’ sustained effort throughout the game. We did some good stuff. I’m disappointed in myself and proud of our kids.”

With the victory, the undefeated Eagles extended their winning streak to 69 games, and subsequent victories in the semifinals and finals of the Midwest Regional pushed that mark past 70 games.

Fritsche finishes his first season at the helm for Hillsdale with the program’s first appearance in the NCAA Division II national tournament since 2009. After the game, he had nothing but praise for his team and its efforts all season long. His players reciprocated the adulation.

“When you’re able to win that [G-MAC] Championship in your first season as head coach, that just proves how much we’d improved this season,” senior center Allie Dittmer said.

“Just the way he goes about coaching and how he adapts his coaching and treats his players, honestly, he’s probably one of the best coaches I’ve ever had, and that’s just from the experience of one season with him,” junior forward Brittany Gray added.

After turning the ball over 14 times in the first half, the Chargers found success in breaking Ashland’s full-court pressure in the second half, and it showed as Hillsdale committed just five turnovers in the final two quarters.

“We focused on trying to bypass their initial front pressure because they did heavy traps,” Gray said. “We figured if we could move the ball fast enough to get around that trap, then it would be wide open, and we got countless layups with them not being in the backcourt.”

The primary beneficiary of the Chargers’ press break was Dittmer, who scored a career-high 31 points in her final game in a Hillsdale uniform. She added a team-leading nine rebounds in an all-around stellar performance.

“She looked like a senior that didn’t want to be done,” Fritsche said. “She’s the kind of kid we knew she was and we’re proud of her.”

Dittmer finishes the season first in the conference in offensive rebounding and second in field goal percentage. Her 31 points raised her points per game average to 14, and her efficient 13-for-17 shooting rate put her shooting percentage over 60 percent on the season.

“I’d never broken 30 in college; I’d always gotten 29,” Dittmer said. “On a personal level, it was something I wanted to do.”

Fritsche said Dittmer’s valiant effort was a microcosm of the entire team’s heart and hustle in a quick-paced game that saw no shortage of energy from both sides.

Back-to-back three pointers early in the fourth quarter from redshirt freshman forward Amaka Chikwe and junior forward Makenna Ott brought Hillsdale within 14, the closest the game had been since the first quarter.

“We are a fourth quarter team; that’s where we score the most points statistically,” Gray said. “That fourth quarter run was just us realizing that we still had a chance and were still in the game.”

The momentum, however, quickly swung back in the Eagles’ favor, who responded with a run of their own to put the game out of reach.

For the Chargers, Ott finished with 14 points and matched Ashland’s torrid shooting by making four of six three-pointers.

Gray played a solid game with 10 points, eight rebounds, and five assists. Sophomore guard Bree Porter led the team with six assists.

Hillsdale graduates four seniors this year in Dittmer, guards Maddy Reed and Michelle Boykin, and forward Jess De Gree. De Gree came off the bench to score eight points in some big minutes down the stretch.

“With the seniors, the leadership was great,” Gray said. “It’s probably the best leadership this team has seen in years. It’s going to be some difficult shoes to fill. Hopefully next year we can make as big of an impact as our seniors did for us this year.”

Despite losing some impact players, the program is in good hands with Fritsche running the show. Next season, it returns this year’s leading scorer in Ott and leading three-point shooter in Gray. Junior guard Allie Dewire, who facilitated Hillsdale’s successful press break against Ashland, also returns for her senior year.

“I’m looking forward to every time we get this team together,” Fritsche said. “They’re really good kids and they do a really good job for us. I’m looking forward to every time I see them from here on out.”

On the court, the players never once showed any signs of intimidation against the nation’s top team. In fact, they’re already looking forward to a rematch.

“We want to play them again,” Gray said. “Next year we’re going to get even better, so I’m ready for that rematch.”