The Hillsdale College women's basketball team bounced back quickly from a heartbreaking loss in its season opener on Friday night with a dominant performance on Saturday, rolling past Illinois-Springfield for a 76-52 victory in neutral site action in Hammond, Indiana.

Hillsdale led for almost the entire contest and held a 10-point lead at halftime, but blew the game open with a dominant third quarter, outscoring the Prairie Stars 24-8 and shooting 62.5% from the floor in that period to UIS' 25%.

The Chargers dominated the offensive glass, with 12 points off 12 offensive rebounds, and won the turnover battle 11 to 17 to help get the edge on UIS. Hillsdale also shared the ball extremely effectively, with 20 assists on 32 made shots and 10 different players recording assists in the victory.

Senior Lauren McDonald continued a phenomenal start with a team-leading 19 points in the victory, shooting 75% from the floor and 50% from deep and also chipping in five rebounds, five assists and three steals. Sophomore Sydney Pnacek added 12 points and five rebounds off the bench for Hillsdale, while fellow sophomore Savannah Smih chipped in 10 points and two blocks as well.

Senior Caitlin Splain added eight points and five rebounds and freshman Sarah Aleknavicius pitched in eight points as well for the Chargers, while seniors Kendall McCormick and Ashley Konkle each added three assists apiece.

Hillsdale improves to 1-1 with the victory, and will open its home slate on Wednesday, with a 5:30 p.m. contest against Lake Superior State in Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena.

Photo by Reva Ludwig