The Hillsdale College women’s basketball team ended its season on Wednesday, March 5 to Wayne State University.
Wayne State, the number one seed in the GLIAC tournament, defeated the Chargers 75-60.
The game was close in the beginning, with Hillsdale ahead 16-15 with 11 minutes left in the first half, but then Wayne State gained momentum and scored 28 points to the Chargers’ 10 in the last 10 minutes of the half, to take the lead 43-26.
Wayne State continued its strong lead, ahead by 28 points at one point, and the Chargers were only able to narrow the lead to 15 points by the end of the game.
“We’re the underdogs,” sophomore Sarah Theut said of Hillsdale’s eighth place ranking in the tournament.
Junior Megan Fogt ended her season with 25 points and 14 rebounds in the game.
Fogt, with six Player of the Week awards this season, is a contender for GLIAC Player of the Year.
She had even better numbers in Hillsdale’s last home game of the season against Findlay University, with 29 points and 21 rebounds. She made her last 14 shots in a row, a new school record, and only missed her first shot, shooting 14-15 for the night.
Despite Fogt’s performance, Hillsdale lost the game 78-66.
The Chargers struggled with 24 turnovers, which sophomore Kelsey Cromer said contributed to the loss.
Cromer explained that every game will have turnovers where the other team gets to bring the ball in from out-of-bounds, but Hillsdale was giving the ball away to Findlay.
“Here’s the ball; go score a layup,” Cromer said.
Theut said Hillsdale lacked energy. She said Findlay freshman Karli Bonar was able to hit five 3-pointers, but Hillsdale could only respond with 2-point shots.
“We allowed Findlay to do what they wanted,” head coach Claudette Charney said, “and they dictated the flow of the game.”
Hillsdale was able to come back from a 41-32 deficit at halftime to be down 53-52 with 8:28 left in the game, but Charney said Findlay was able to regain the momentum and keep their lead.
Despite the last two losses, the Chargers improved tremendously from last year, when they did not even qualify for the tournament.
“We have done so much better since last year,” Cromer said.
She explained that the team’s roster was essentially the same as last season’s. Having only lost one senior, the improvement was easy to see.
Theut said with injuries, different players on the team had the opportunity to play more than they might have.
“I’m really proud of our team for sticking through a long season,” Cromer said.
