Women’s basketball falls at home court

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Women’s basketball falls at home court
The women’s basketball team practices and prepares for its upcoming season.

The Hillsdale College women’s basketball team fell to Malone University on Thursday, 78-64, and Ohio Dominican University on Monday, 87-69. 

Head coach Charlie Averkamp said he thought the Chargers put their best foot forward in the second half of the game against Malone despite losing their lead right before halftime.

“We came ready to play right away and lead throughout that first quarter,” Averkamp said. “I was really proud of the team for coming out with that aggressiveness.”

In regards to the game against Ohio Dominican, senior guard Jaycie Burger said it was a good test for the team.

“They’re a well-coached, athletic, aggressive team,” Burger said. “We played well for three quarters but had a huge lapse in the second quarter. I was proud of us for coming together in the second half and getting back on track. From here we have to keep the ball rolling and stay confident, and continue to play together.”

Freshman guard Dani Salenbien said she thought the team battled hard in the game against Ohio Dominican.

“It was definitely a tough one,” Salenbien said. “I think it was a growing and learning experience for our team. We did our best to play out the game plan but we weren’t hitting shots and we should’ve come out stronger.”

Averkamp said the team has been working on defensive strategies in practice to prepare for upcoming games.

“We really focused on transition defense and working on getting the ball inside for us,” Averkamp said. “We need to work on getting a couple more easy baskets to really help us score and open up our shooters from the outside.”

Apart from watching game films to look for areas of improvement, Salenbien said the team has been doing rehab. 

“We’re just making sure our bodies are healthy by stretching and taking care of ourselves in the training room.”

Averkamp said the team is looking forward to the rest of the season.

“We’re excited to be able to play and compete together and take advantage of every opportunity we have,” Averkamp said. “We only have so many days left with this team and we want to make the best of it.”

Salenbien said she also is looking forward to the chance to keep playing.

“We really hope to make the postseason, so we’re taking it one practice and game at a time, doing our best and focusing on that,” Salenbien said.

The Chargers will take on the Ursuline College Arrows on the road tonight, with tip-off at 5:30 p.m. Then the team will have the challenge of back-to-back games against Ohio Valley University, first on Saturday, Feb. 20 in the George Roche Sports Complex, and then on Feb. 23 at Ohio Valley University at 1 p.m.