The Hillsdale College women’s basketball team was challenged to protect their home court this weekend against Northwood University and Lake Superior State University, two teams who came to Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena with one thing in mind: revenge.
Unfortunately for the Timberwolves and Lakers, the Chargers, too, came to fight and to win. Hillsdale racked up its second season win over the Timberwolves in a 67-60 victory on Thursday night, and its second win over the Lakers 60-57 on Saturday afternoon.
Saturday’s win was the Chargers fifth in a row. It improved the women’s record to 15-6 overall and 11-6 in the GLIAC. This weekend, the Chargers will play with hopes of setting their longest winning streak in five years.
In Thursday’s matchup, the Timberwolves played an aggressive first half and entered halftime with a 30-27 lead. In the early stages of the second half, sophomore guard Morgan Blair embarked on a solo 9-0 run to put Hillsdale in a dominant position.
“Morgan Blair has really been stepping up for the team, she’s a very consistent player on both offense and defense,” said freshman Allie Dittmer.
The Timberwolves battled back to a 50-50 tie with 8:00 left on the clock. The Chargers went on their second 9-0 run of the game, this time it was a combined effort of multiple players. Senior Kadie Lowery, Madison Berry, Dittmer and Blair all put shots in for the Chargers to secure a nine-point lead.
The Chargers battled for the remainder of the game and finished with a seven-point win over the Timberwolves.
The unfortunate passing of head coach Claudette Charney’s mother, Lisa Charney, who passed away early Saturday morning, left the entire Charger family to play with heavy hearts on that afternoon against the Lake Superior State University Lakers.
“We did a really good job handling the emotional day,” assistant coach Jon Mauck said. “Everyone got to see a little bit of deep down how they feel about Coach [Charney] and kind of how much they have her back in the way we were able to fight and pull it together down the end.”
The Lakers led the game for more than 37 minutes, fighting harder every time Hillsdale tried to close the gap. They entered halftime with a 38-30 lead, but the Chargers came out reenergized and motivated in the second half.
Over the last 4:23 of the game, the Chargers turned up their defensive game and did not let the Lakers score a single point. With 2:17 left on the clock, the Chargers finally took a one-point lead when Blair grabbed a backcourt steal and converted it to a layup. Blair led the game with 13 points.
The Chargers lengthened their lead when Berry sunk two free throws, which secured the final three-point margin of victory.
Dittmer and senior Megan Fogt both played memorable games. Dittmer recorded her first double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds, and Fogt set another school record when she blocked her 139th shot. Fogt now stands in first place with the number of blocked shots in a single career.
“The record is pretty neat, mostly because Katie Cezat was so dominant in so many areas in her time here. It’s an honor to have my name up next to hers,” Fogt said. “Much more importantly, the record I’m concerned with is our team’s record. I’m so proud of how we’ve played this season.”
Tonight, the Chargers will play at Michigan Technological University against the eleventh-ranked Huskies.
“It’s just another step in our maturing process, we’re in the best spot we’ve been in mentality, and in a good spot physically compared to a lot of teams,” said Coach Mauck. “We’re ready.”
