The Hillsdale College women's basketball team built off of offensive success in Alaska last weekend with another impressive showing on Sunday, downing visiting Lake Superior State 89-55 for its second consecutive win of the season.
Five players scored in double figures for the Chargers, who went on a 16-0 run with the game tied at two early in the first quarter to take an 18-0 lead and never allowed the Lakers to cut the lead to single digits again in the contest.
Leading the way for the Chargers was an impressive performance by junior forward Sydney Mills, who hit three 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 16 points and six rebounds in just 17 minutes of action.
Freshman guard Peighton Nelson also broke out offensively for the Chargers with the first double-digit scoring game of her career, repeatedly slicing through the defense for layups and finishing with 14 points on 7 of 10 shooting, five rebounds and three steals. Senior guard Grace Touchette also continued her strong early start with her fifth-straight double-figure scoring game to open the season, chipping in 13 points, six assists, three rebounds and three blocks in an all-around solid performance.
Two sharpshooters off the bench also made big offensive contributions for Hillsdale in the victory. Senior guard Lauren Daffenberg was 3 of 4 from 3-point range and finished with 11 points while also chipping in four rebounds and three steals for the Chargers, and freshman guard Caitlin Splain chipped in 11 points on three made 3-pointers as well.
Sophomore guard Dani Salenbien added eight points, nine rebounds and three assists to just miss her second double-double of the season for Hillsdale, and junior Maverick Delp chipped in five points, five rebounds and two steals off the bench.
All told, the Chargers made 13 3-pointers and shot 40 percent from beyond the arc in the victory, compared to Lake Superior St.'s three made 3-pointers and 16.7% shooting percentage, and committed just eight turnovers to the Lakers' 15. That turnover disparity gave Hillsdale a massive 22-9 edge in points off of turnovers, and an equally huge 14-4 edge in fast-break points, both important factors in Hillsdale running away with the game.
The Chargers are now 2-3 overall with two victories and an near-upset of the top ranked team in the NCAA Division II D2SIDA poll, Alaska Anchorage, in their last three games. That should give Hillsdale confidence heading into one of the Chargers' biggest tests to date, a road contest on Thursday night against a Kentucky Wesleyan team that's annually a G-MAC title contender and earlier this season pulled off a 76-75 upset of defending NCAA DII runner-up Drury. Hillsdale will finish the long road trip with a contest at Trevecca Nazarene on Saturday, Dec. 4.
Photo by Gwen Buchhop
