In a close contest at home on Wednesday night, the Hillsdale College women's basketball team had its best all-around quarter last, outplaying visiting Lake Superior State down the stretch to take a 61-53 victory and improve to 2-1 on the season.

Hillsdale trailed 44-43 entering the fourth quarter, but took the lead with 8:43 to play on a layup by Caitlin Splain and never trailed again. Lake Superior State hung tough for several more minutes, trailing just 54-51 with 2:20 to play, but Splain closed out the Lakers with six points in the final two minutes, including four at the free throw line, and Hillsdale conceded just two points defensively in that stretch to pull away.

Both teams got off to a hot shooting start and Hillsdale led early, but an 8-0 run by Lake Superior State to end the first quarter gave the Lakers a 22-19 lead. The game bogged down in the second and third quarters as both teams cooled off offensively and the defensive intensity ramped up. LSSU led by as many as eight early in the second quarter but went scoreless for the final 4:46 before the half to allow Hillsdale to surge back into the lead at halftime. 

A slow start coming out of the break for Hillsdale saw the Lakers go back in front in the third, but Hillsdale managed to keep it a one-possession game to set up a strong fourth quarter.

Splain, a senior, led the Chargers throughout the contest, scoring a game-high 17 points on 50% shooting from the floor and adding six rebounds. Lauren McDonald chipped in 11 points, four rebounds and three steals for Hillsdale, while Annalise Pietrzyk added nine points and three rebounds off the bench. Kendall McCormick keyed the Chargers' defense with four steals and also chipped in six points, nine rebounds and thee assists, and Ellie Bruce added five points and three steals off the bench as well.

Both teams struggled with turnovers, as Hillsdale had 18 in the contest, but just one down the stretch in the fourth quarter, while LSSU's 22, including four late, proved critical to the outcome. The Chargers scored 27 points off turnovers on the night, a huge portion of their offensive output.

Hillsdale is now 2-1 overall and hits the road for an even bigger challenge on Friday night, as the Chargers take on a solid Saginaw Valley State team at 5:30 p.m.

Photo by Kenneth Gaudet