The Hillsdale College women’s basketball team finished last week with a win against the Ohio Dominican University Panthers and a loss to the Cedarville University Yellow Jackets, keeping a half a game lead over the Yellow Jackets in the G-MAC.
The Chargers hold the fourth spot in the G-MAC, moving to an 11-8 overall and a 8-5 in the conference, only one game behind Kentucky Wesleyan College at 9-4 in G-MAC play.
The Chargers beat the Panthers 64-42. Despite the game being away, some Chargers felt at home on the Columbus court.
“We have two freshmen from Columbus, both were very excited to play at home,” Head Coach Charlie Averkamp said. “Carly Callahan and Caitlin Splain both played up to their potential there. Both them and Lauren Daffenberg made great shots in the first half.”
Freshman forward Carly Callahan came off the bench to score 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting for the Chargers. She was followed closely by fellow freshman guard Caitlin Splain with 12 including a game-high four made threes.
“Carly and Caitlin came into the game ready to go,” senior guard Lauren Daffenburg said. “They made some great threes, had some drives. They showed that anybody on any day can just step up and take it.”
Senior guard Grace Touchette led the starters in points with 17, and junior forward Sydney Mills collected a season high of 18 rebounds.
“That game was just a total battle,” Touchette said. “We didn’t come out as strong as we normally do, but our bench came in and our freshman gave us a lot of help in the first half. That was a really good team win.”
Other players helped secure the win in ways the box scores cannot reflect, including freshman guard Peighton Nelson and junior forward Maverick Delp.
“Peighton is always guarding the other team’s best players, which takes a lot of hustle and energy,” Touchette said. “Mav came in and gave a ton of energy by getting offensive rebounds. She always has that spark for us.”
Two days later, the Chargers lost a tough game to the Yellow Jackets, 71-65.
After going down as many as nine points in the first half, the Chargers battled back to tie the game in the third quarter. The rest of the game was tense, resulting in 16 lead changes by the time it was over.
Grace Touchette led the Chargers with 21 points and seven rebounds, 16 of her points came in the second half, with eight in each of the final frames.
“Grace did a really nice job of really leading us back into it,” Averkamp said. “She showed that she’s the type of kid who wants the ball at the end of games.”
Touchette’s final layup brought the Chargers score to 63, tieing the game with less than a minute to go.
In the last 50 seconds, Cedarville hit a three and shot five of six from the foul line to grab the win.
“Our starts haven’t been as strong as we would wish, and when we don’t start as strong, we play the rest of the game a little in our heads,” Daffenburg said. “We’re focusing on getting right into the game and working the people on the bench. This one was just kind of a story of constantly coming back but never really beating that hump.”
Other players agreed that the start of the game is what threw the Chargers, despite their fight in the ending minutes.
“We came out a little flat again,” Touchette said. “I think that Cedarville’s girls hit a couple of shots that they don’t normally hit. That rattled us a little bit. We all have those days. Cedarville had a lot of energy and hustle, they were on the floor every play the ball was loose.”
While the Chargers offensive strength showed toward the game’s closing, the defensive players did their best to keep the Yellow Jackets best players in at bay for most of the game.
“Everyone just gives so much in games like that,” Touchette said. “Even though it might not show up on the box score, Arianna and Peighton were always guarding their best players. That takes a lot of communication and hustle on their part.”
Despite the loss, the Chargers still hold footing over the Yellow Jackets in the G-MAC rankings.
“Credit to them, they made some shots when we didn’t,” Averkamp said. “Ultimately, basketball can just be a really hit or miss game.”
The Chargers’ game against Findlay University scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 2 was postponed due to the winter storm. The Chargers will travel to Findlay on Saturday, Feb. 5.
