The Hillsdale women’s basketball team defeated Ursuline College 74-60 at the Dawn Tibbitts Potter Arena Saturday Feb. 22 and the University of Findlay 68-57 Thursday Feb. 20.

The Chargers celebrated senior night during the game against Ursuline, presenting each of the team’s six graduating seniors with flowers and a framed jersey.

“It was very surreal,” senior Caitlin Splain said. “I’ve been here so long, and I’ve watched everyone else in front of me go through their senior days, and finally, mine was here.”

Head coach Brianna Brennan called the night bittersweet, but said the team’s season is far from over as it continues to compete in the conference tournament. 

“The seniors especially just show what kind of teammates we want to be toward each other so that when times do get tough, we’re able to be resilient and just have each other’s back through it all,” Brennan said.

Splain said the Chargers expected to win against Ursuline.

“They were a really scrappy team and put up a good fight,” Splain said.

Sophomore Annalise Pietrzyk opened the game strong for the Chargers, hitting four 3-pointers early on. 

The Chargers never lost the lead and finished with 23 points to Ursuline’s 15 in the final quarter.

Pietrzyk and Splain led the team with 17 points each. Pietrzyk also had four assists and Splain added six rebounds. 

Senior Marilyn Popplewell scored 12 points and grabbed six rebounds, and senior Lauren McDonald added 11 points, five rebounds, eight assists, and two steals. 

The Chargers also defeated their long-standing rival, the University of Findlay, on the road.

“Playing at Findlay is really hard because it was their senior night and they had a lot of people there,” Splain said.

Findlay took command of the game early, according to Splain, and it felt like they did not miss a single shot in the first quarter.

“We had to make a lot of defensive adjustments to guard against that,” Splain said.

In the first quarter, Findlay doubled the Chargers, taking a 24-12 lead.

“Unfortunately, that has been a common theme for us — getting down and having to climb our way back out of the hole, but we managed to flip it in the second quarter,” Brennan said.

Entering the final quarter down 50-47, the Chargers finished with a 68-57 win that Brennan attributed largely to an outstanding defensive performance. 

Hillsdale beat Findlay on the boards 14-4 in the final quarter and 39-32 overall. 

Splain led the team offensively and scored a game high of 25 points. 

“In all reality, Caitlin [Splain] really took over for us offensively,” Brennan said. “It was pretty cool to watch her do that. She’s an elite shooter, but she was finishing up at the rim really, really well and just making good plays for us.”

Splain had 16 points in the final quarter. She went on a 12-point run, which included two 3-pointers, with 6:41 left in the game. Splain made one more layup and two free throws in the final minutes to seal the game for the Chargers.

“Splain kept us in the game,” McDonald said. “She killed it in the second half.”

McDonald also contributed to the Charger’s victory with 11 points, seven rebounds, two steals, and five assists. Senior Kendall McCormick and junior Emma Ruhlman both had seven points and five rebounds, and freshman Ellie Bruce added seven points as well. Popplewell scored six points and nine rebounds. 

With the two wins, Hillsdale now sits at second place in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference holding onto a 15-4 conference record, and 18-8 overall. 

The team’s last regular season game will be against the Malone University Pioneers March 1. If the Chargers beat the Pioneers, they will secure their best regular season finish since the 2008-2009 season.

“They beat us once earlier this season,” Brennan said. “But it’s been a while since we’ve played them. I’m sure they’ve improved a lot, just as we have.”

Malone is ranked directly behind the Chargers in third place in the G-MAC, so the game could affect Hillsdale’s G-MAC standing.

With the wins this week, the Chargers are now guaranteed to host one of the G-MAC Tournament quarterfinal games March 4.