The Hillsdale College Women’s basketball team played two conference games this week, losing at home against the Ashland University Eagles and grabbing a win over the Tiffin University Dragons.
The Hillsdale women’s basketball team has dropped to fourth in the G-Mac standings, losing to the Ashland Eagles 80-55.
“I think that obviously they’re coming from the GLIAC and they’ve just come off of having super good teams in the past,” senior guard Grace Touchette said. “They have the experience over us and there was just a discrepancy between knowing the college game and playing that game really well.”
Touchette led the Chargers with a total of 12 points for the game. She was closely followed by freshman guard Dani Salenbien with 10, and freshman forward Carly Callahan with nine.
Others found the loss to be less about experience, and more accurately attributed to Ashland’s gameplay.
“I would say that for most of the game we had a lot of energy and were fighting back, but some of their punches hit a little too hard and we let the game slip away from us,” freshman guard Caitlin Splain said.
Players found that, despite the loss, the Chargers were still able to improve as a team, referencing the team’s prior loss to the Walsh Cavaliers.
“As a whole team there was a difference between the Ashland and the Walsh games,” Touchette said. “When someone came in who was talented and very physical, we fought back and didn’t give up on the effort side. That was a big step forward for all of us.”
The team bounced back with a 72-63 win against the Tiffin Dragons, who made it to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 last season.
“I think we battled the entire game,” Splain said. “When they went on runs, we didn’t let that affect us. We stayed focused throughout our free throws and we kept it tough even in that ending battle. We kept our effort up the entire time.”
The win came despite sudden scheduling issues.
“The location actually moved at the last minute, but it didn’t affect us because we were ready,” Touchette said.
Touchette led the team in points again, scoring a game-high 18. Both junior forward Sydney Mills and sophomore forward Arianna Sysum trailed her closely with 16 and 17 points respectively.
“You have got to look at Ari, right off the bat,” Head Coach Charlie Averkamp said. “She’s coming into her own, she can guard anyone on the court and offensively she’s been growing so much, which is fun to see.”
The Chargers game against Trevecca Nazarene on Thursday, Jan. 20 was postponed due to health and safety protocols from Trevecca. This game will be played at a later time.
“It’s exciting to get a chance to compete with this team on our home court,” Averkamp said. “Every game is important, so we want to go out and just play our best game.”
