Sydney Mills drives to the basket against the Roosevelt University Lakers. Courtesy | Hillsdale College Athletic Department
The Hillsdale women’s basketball team dug deep over break, emerging 5-4 in the G-MAC and 12-7 overall with personal milestones along the way.
According to assistant coach Brianna Brennan, the team gained confidence and progressed defensively over the break.
“We’re finally seeing how good we can be when all five players work together on the defensive end, so that’s been really fun to watch,” Brennan said. “Having each other’s backs and taking more pride defensively has really stepped up our game. When we’re feeling confident defensively, then it just allows us to continue to play free offensively and play aggressive. I think that’s been the biggest change and step forward for us — getting defensive stops consistently.”
Senior Sydney Mills also hit a personal milestone over the break. For her performance against Ursuline and Ohio Dominican, Mills was named G-MAC women’s basketball player of the week for Jan. 9-16. In addition to becoming only the 20th player in Hillsdale women’s basketball to surpass 1000 career points, Mills has 869 rebounds for her career and averages 10.9 ppg and 10.4 rpg. With one more year of eligibility, she has a chance to become only the third Hillsdale women’s basketball player to hit 1000 career rebounds.
“She’s someone who consistently has been a player for four years in the program,” Averkamp said. “I couldn’t be more proud of her and the leadership role she’s taking. She just keeps improving every year on different facets of her game.”
Mills expressed gratitude for her coaches and teammates.
“I’m just very fortunate to have really great teammates around me and coaches who push me every day and support me in ways way more than basketball,” Mills said. “I wouldn’t be able to get points like that if I didn’t have great teammates and great coaches.”
The Chargers started December with a disappointing 89-83 loss on the road against the Cedarville University Yellow Jackets, but quickly bounced back with a 70-55 victory against the Trevecca Nazarene University Trojans at home. The following week, the Chargers fell on the road 68-63 to the Tiffin University Dragons and 74-61 in overtime to the Ohio Dominican Panthers.
The Chargers came away with a 62-57 win against G-MAC rival Findlay Dec. 13, thanks to some impressive shooting by Touchette and Splain, who hit 22 and 11 points respectively.
Dec. 15 and 16, the Chargers traveled to Puerto Rico for two exhibition games and returned undefeated. According to Averkamp, the trip was a great team-building experience for the girls on and off of the court.
“I thought the team got to really gel and spend time together,” Averkamp said. “Those trips are great to compete, but they’re also great for team building. I think the closer we get off the court, the better we’re going to keep getting on the court.”
Back from a week off for Christmas, the Chargers faced Division I Eastern Michigan in an exhibition game on Dec. 28, for a competitive 61-76 loss.
“We played with them tight for about three and a half quarters,” Averkamp said. “It’s a different ballgame, but I think it really allowed us to gain some confidence and really trust that what we’re doing can be successful at a high level.”
The Chargers then began a three-game win streak, defeating Madonna University, Roosevelt University, and Northwood University at home.
Mills said the team’s 79-76 victory against G-MAC newcomer Northwood was one of the most significant for the Chargers over break.
“They just came into the conference this year,” Mills said. “Our conference is really competitive, and you have to be able to play your best basketball on any given night to win. I think it was a very important game just to kind of show them what the GMAC is all about.”
After a 72-60 loss against the Malone University Pioneers Jan. 7, the Chargers reclaimed their court with a 63-76 win against the Ursuline Lions.
Mills sank a 3-pointer with 7:24 to play in the third quarter against Ursuline to hit her 1000 career point milestone. She also scored a total of 14 points and 12 rebounds for her seventh double-double of the season.
Hillsdale stepped up defensively in its second game against Ohio Dominican Jan. 14, holding the Panthers at 35.7% shooting for a 78-57 victory. According to Averkamp, this win showcased the team’s progress over the break.
“I think we’ve learned a lot about ourselves in that first game against ODU,” Averkamp said. “And the second time out, we really were focused and fired up to play, and we were ready to compete. I’m really proud of them for that.”
The Chargers are on the road again this week and will face G-MAC second place team Kentucky Wesleyan tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. before playing Trevecca Nazarene again Jan. 21 at 2 p.m.
“We’ve got a huge week this week back on the road,” Averkamp said. “I think it’s gonna really define a lot about our team, and I’m excited to go compete with this group. And that’s the big thing is that we have such a good group, and it’s fun to go out there and compete when you have kids who buy into what you’re doing.”
