The Hillsdale College women's basketball team used a massive fourth quarter outburst to down Ursuline on Saturday, outscoring the Arrows 24-10 in the final period for a road victory in G-MAC play.
Hillsdale shot 61.5% from the floor in the final period, building off a strong third quarter offensively, and shut down Ursuline defensively late, holding the Arrows to just 25% from the floor and 1 of 6 from 3-point range down the stretch to put the game away.
The Chargers succeeded offensively by dominating in the restricted area, outscoring Ursuline 44-26 in points in the paint and outrebounding the Arrows 46-30 in a one-sided performance, especially late.
Hillsdale got great support from a variety of sources in the final quarter to pull away. Senior
Lauren McDonald scored seven of her 12 points in the final period, and
Emma Ruhlman added five of her season-high seven points off the bench, including a critical and-one, as well. Senior
Caitlin Splain also hit a critical three pointer for the Chargers early in the period.
Kendall McCormick was the leading scorer for Hillsdale with a 15 point, seven rebound, two assist, two steal performance and played a critical role in helping Hillsdale build an early lead with a 14-4 first quarter start, and stay ahead as Ursuline made a push in the second and third quarters.
Sophomore
Savannah Smith added 14 points and three blocks for the Chargers, McDonald chipped in seven rebounds, five assists and three steals to go with her 12 points, and freshman
Sarah Aleknavicius added a career-high eight points as well.
Splain chipped in six points, seven rebounds, three assists and four steals for the Chargers, while Ruhlman had four rebounds to go with her seven points.
Hillsdale improves to 4-5 overall and 2-1 in G-MAC play with the important road victory. The Chargers will play on Wednesday at 6 p.m. for the final time in 2024, dipping out of conference play for the final time to take on a tough challenge by hosting a nationally ranked Ferris State team that's the defending Midwest Regional Champions in a home contest at Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena.
