Junior Lauren McDonald broke ankles in the final minutes on Feb. 22 to secure a 64-63 road win against Ohio Dominican University in overtime. Two days later, senior Sydney Mills became the women’s basketball all-time leading rebounder in a 61-57 loss to the University of Findlay on the road.

Hillsdale fell to 15-11 overall and 11-7 in G-MAC play after the weekend and sits at sixth place in the conference with two games remaining in the regular season.  

Mills grabbed 27 rebounds in the two games and now totals of 1,155 rebounds in her career, moving past Sandy Skaisgir’s previous record of 1,146 set from 1987-1991.

“My parents have instilled in me that rebounding is always something you can control in basketball,” Mills said, “so huge shout out to them for instilling the mentality in me to always put in my best effort.”

Trailing Ohio Dominican by two with under a minute to play in regulation, Mills tied it up 55-55 with a put-back rebound. Both teams missed game-winning opportunities to send the contest into overtime. 

“I was kind of joking with the girls, we had a chance to win it in regulation, but why not make it more exciting,” Brennan said.

Hillsdale and Ohio Dominican traded the lead back-and-forth in overtime. The Panthers added two points from the free throw line to get a 63-62 edge with just 29 seconds on the clock. 

One of the assistant coaches had noticed the defender guarding Lauren was not capable of defending her on the perimeter, according to Brennan.When McDonald got the ball with just under 20 seconds remaining in overtime, she crossed over her defender, sending her to the floor, and sank a game-winning shot in the paint. 

“We knew that Lauren could take her one-on-one,” Brennan said. “We brought everyone down to the baseline and then when the time hit, we just let her go to work.”

Brennan said the team struggled with turnovers against Ohio Dominican, totaling 21 for the night.

“ODU is very good at turning people over,” Brennan said. “They’re very bought in defensively to what they’re trying to do and they’re not afraid to pressure anyone.”

McDonald led the team with 20 points and also added five rebounds, three assists, and three steals in the contest. Mills led in rebounds with a 15 point, 17 rebound double-double. Konkle scored eight points and six rebounds, junior Caitlin Splain chipped in seven points, four rebounds and three steals, and freshman Savannah Smith added six points and four rebounds. 

Hillsdale made a push in the fourth quarter but was unable to keep up with the Oilers in an off-shooting night on Saturday. 

The Chargers rallied in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Oilers 13-8, but it wasn’t enough to regain the lead. Splain hit a 3-pointer with 29 seconds to make it 58-57 and give Hillsdale a chance, but the Chargers were unable to tie it up as the Oilers went 3-for-3 from the free throw line down the stretch.

With 35% shooting percentage from the floor, Brennan said the team struggled with shot selection. 

“We think we can do a much better job taking higher percentage shots against them,” Brennan said.

Brennan also said the team struggled on the boards as Findlay outrebounded Hillsdale 41-31.

Konkle contributed a game-high 12 points for the Chargers, in addition to three rebounds, in only 12 minutes of play. Smith and Splain both added 11 points, and McDonald finished with eight points, four assists, and two steals. 

Mills added four points and 10 rebounds in her record-breaking performance. 

Becoming the all-time leading rebounder is testament to the work Mills has put into the program, Brennan said. 

“Rebounding is a skill, but it’s really heart and effort and hustle. You have to make the choice to rebound every single minute of every single game even when you’re tired and that’s what she does,” Brennan said. “It’s a record that I don’t think will be touched for a very, very long time.”

Hillsdale heads into the last two games of the regular season at home, facing Findlay Feb. 29 and Ursuline University March 2. 

Konkle said the team is ready for a rematch against Findlay.

“I think we have a much better idea of what type of offense they will run and how they will guard us,” Konkle said. “We’re ready for their pressure and ready to defend all their ball screens better. We got out-rebounded the first game, which isn’t like us, so there will be more focus on grabbing rebounds too.”