The Hillsdale College women’s basketball team has kept their G-MAC lead over the Findlay University Oilers, despite losing two games to them this week.
The first of the two rivalry games, 81-67, was played in Findlay, but one Charger was met by a familiar face on the court.
“We were hype, obviously, it was a rivalry game,” junior forward Maverick Delp said. “Our freshman Carly’s twin plays for Findlay which is a really cool element going into the rivalry.”
This was Charger forward Carly Callahan’s first time playing against her twin sister, Chloe Callahan, at the collegiate level.
The team’s start was shaky, causing a lead which the Chargers never quite caught up to. The score was 21-6 by the end of the first quarter, with the Charger’s only points being scored by senior guard Grace Touchette.
“Unfortunately, we started pretty slow,” Delp said. “We didn’t really have bad movement, we just weren’t hitting shots. We ended up winning the second, third, and fourth quarter, but that first one just couldn’t be beat.”
The game did heat up after the first quarter. The Chargers were led by senior guard Lauren Daffenberg, who had season highs of 20 points and six rebounds, including 12 points in the second quarter.
“Lauren is always ready to play and did an unbelievable job of making huge shots to keep us in the game early,” Head Coach Charlie Averkamp said. “We’re all super happy for her with how she’s playing in the last month of her college career.”
Junior forward Sydney Mills played an intense game as well. After suffering a fall which knocked out her two front teeth in the fourth quarter, she came back onto the court ready to play. She finished the game with 15 points and seven rebounds.
“My teeth got knocked out, I looked up, and a player on the Findlay team was yelling ‘Her tooth is on the floor! Her tooth is on the floor!’” Mills said. “I went out for a little bit but subbed back in with two missing teeth. At that moment I really just wanted to do whatever I could to help the team. I think getting back in the game was my top priority.”
Mills said both teeth have been filled since the game and is playing through recovery.
“It shows the type of player that she is,” Averkamp said. “She’s one of the hardest competitors I’ve ever been around. She’s a tough kid, and that was pretty crazy, but for Syd Mills it’s kind of just up her alley.”
The Chargers played the Oilers again on the following Monday, this time at home, which ended 55-53 after a tough battle from the Chargers.
“We were looking for revenge, we had a sour taste in our mouths after that first game,” Mills said. “We wanted to play them a little tougher, and I think we did just that. We cut it down to the wire and really came back at them.”
The team had worked over the weekend to build defensive plans against Findlay’s strong offensive players.
“I think we gave them a really great game,” Mills said. “We had a slower start offensively, but it was probably the best defensive game we’ve had all year. Findlay is really big in size and we don’t match up there, so keeping them down to 55 was great.”
The Chargers defense held strong through the game, with sophomore forward Arianna Sysum blocking Findlay’s tallest player, sophomore Sydney Kin, three times, and forcing her to shoot 1-of-9 from the field.
“It was one of the best battles I’ve seen from Ari,” Delp said.
In the second half, the Chargers were led by their offensive skills, outscoring the Oilers in both the third and fourth quarters.
“I have to give credit to Grace,” Mills said. “In the first half she was struggling, but in the second half she really battled us back into the game. She hit a ton of huge shots for us down the stretch.”
After starting 2-of-9 from the field in the first half, Grace Touchette finished the game with 20 points, half of which came in the fourth quarter, as well as four assists and four rebounds. Second to Touchette in scoring was Mills, who collected 13 points and 12 rebounds, notching her eighth double-double of the season.
“Sydney had a double-double again,” Delp said. “That’s become so normal and regular for her that it’s easy to forget how amazing that is.”
Despite the efforts made by the team in the second half, the Oilers led by two with four seconds left, though the Chargers had the ball. After missing a three in the final seconds of the game that would have given Hillsdale the lead as time expired, the buzzer sounded.
“Obviously that last shot didn’t go in for us, but there’s no one I’d rather have taking that shot for us than Grace,” Averkamp said.
“I think our fight that we showed was really something to admire,” Mills said. “We’re ready to go this Thursday against Malone.”
