Fifth-year senior Grace Touchette has the fifth-most career points in program history. Courtesy | James Gensterblum

Since sixth grade, Grace Touchette knew she wanted to play collegiate basketball. 

“I started playing in fifth grade, and then by sixth grade I was like, ‘I want to play in college or play in the WNBA and go all the way,’” Touchette said. “Slowly that dream adjusted but I still wanted to play.”

At the close of her final season, fifth-year senior guard Touchette has marked the Hillsdale women’s basketball program, helping bring the team back to the G-MAC tournament for the first time in four years. 

Touchette earned first-team All-G-MAC honors for the second straight year and is fifth in Hillsdale history in career points, with 1,666 points. She is the all-time leader in games played and ranks in the top 10 all-time for the Chargers in multiple categories. 

What has culminated in remarkable awards and achievements began years ago in her driveway. 

“Most of my earliest memories are in my driveway shooting around, just me and my dad and sometimes my younger brother,” Touchette said. “I would play one-on-one with my brother and I was always begging my parents to come rebound for me or help me out.”

Touchette began looking at schools outside of her hometown in Minnesota and discovered Hillsdale through one of her program directors. 

“My program director knew the coach at the time that was here,” Touchette said. “I took a visit out here and I loved it, the team and the people. Almost every one of my classmates went to school within probably two hours of home. I wanted to try something different.”

From her first moments with the team, Touchette loved the dynamic and energy, she said. 

“My first memories and most distinct ones are from my first day of classes,” Touchette said. “We had a morning lift and we got out 15 minutes before my 8 a.m. class. I had to run and rush and get to class. It was late August so it was still warm out. I just remember sweating so bad all throughout my first class and not being able to focus.”

Since her freshman year, Touchette has seen the program change and develop for the better. 

“The culture has definitely changed. I think we are more deliberate about coming together as a team from the freshmen to the seniors,” Touchette said. “I think that was definitely a point that we wanted to change. We wanted to hang out as a team outside of basketball and get to know everyone and get that trusting and tight environment.”

Not only did Touchette want to see the team dynamic grow, she also wanted to be challenged more than ever before on the court, she said. 

“On the court, we’re getting pushed a lot harder. We’re getting pushed to our fullest potential instead of worrying about if we’re hurting, which is a good thing,” Touchette said. “If we want to do better, we need to obviously put in a lot more work and get pushed harder.”

Senior Sydney Mills emphasized Touchette’s dedication to encouraging the team and competing. 

“What stands out about Grace is that her competitive nature is like no other,” Mills said. “She had goals from her first day here to turn Hillsdale into a team that competes and is ready to play anyone. Throughout her time here she has done just that.”

Touchette said she wanted to increase her own competitive spark. 

“I just wanted to feel like I was succeeding,” Touchette said. “One of the goals, especially when Coach A took over, was just getting that feeling for competitive basketball back. That was one of the goals I had was to just try to help this program come back from such a low.” 

Head basketball coach Charlie Averkamp said Grace is one of the fiercest competitors he has ever coached. 

“She is a winner and I think that’s how she will always be remembered here, as someone who cared more about winning than anything else,” Averkamp said. “We have a very similar personality, so once we got on the same page I think we saw Grace have two of the best seasons individually that Hillsdale women’s basketball has seen in a decade.”

When Touchette broke the 1500-point mark against Trevecca Nazarene, she had no idea it happened until back in the locker room, she said. 

“It was wild because I remember not scoring the whole first half and just being pretty frustrated with myself. I got two fouls and was just a mess,” Touchette said. “Then I scored the first basket on the second possession in the second half. All my teammates were cheering really loudly and I was so confused, like ‘Was I really playing that bad before?’ Then after the game they had a sign for me and everything and I still had no idea until the locker room.”

Among her personal records, Touchette also helped bring the team back to the G-MAC for the first time since 2019. The team lost by one point in the last two minutes of overtime against Kentucky Wesleyan. 

“Before the game, I didn’t think we were gonna lose,” Touchette said. “It was in my head that we were winning, it let me relax a little bit. Then as the game was going on, I didn’t let misses affect me as much. I knew that if I did I would regret that.”

In overtime, the game started to slip away from the team, Touchette said. 

“I thought this might be it,” Touchette said. “After the game I was still in shock, it didn’t hit me until people were saying ‘Great career’ and ‘Great job.’ Everything has to come to an end, even good things.”

Mills said that Touchette has given so much to the team and the program and has changed it for the better. 

“She is just one of those players that gives so much to the team that other players also feel like they have to give their all or they aren’t doing enough,” Mills said. “Through her dedication she has shown all the younger players what it truly means to be a Charger basketball player.”

Mills, who will return for a fifth year, said she is grateful for Touchette and that she will have lasting effects on the program. 

“She’s someone who comes in everyday ready to compete, constantly holds others to their highest standard, and is willing to do anything for a teammate in a heartbeat,” Mills said. “This mentality that she started is something that took our team to the next level this year and will continue to drive us in the future.”

Averkamp said that he will miss coaching Touchette, but that he is excited for what is to come. 

“She has made me a better coach and I hope that I have helped her become a better player,” Averkamp said. “I will miss coaching her of course but more so will miss joking around with her on a daily basis. I know she will accomplish big things in her next chapter.”

Touchette said she cannot wait to keep up with the team, live-streaming games and coming back to watch in person whenever she can. 

“I’m grateful to have been here and thankful for my teammates, especially for making my last year really good,” Touchette said. “ Coach Averkamp, Coach Brennan, and Coach Bailey, they’re amazing people and I really couldn’t have done any of the things I did without them.”