With six minutes to go in Tuesday's road contest at Northwood, it looked like all hope of victory was lost for the Hillsdale College women's basketball team.

Trailing by 13 points and scrambling to recover from a back-breaking run by the host Timberwolves to open the fourth quarter, perhaps the only people who still believed Hillsdale had a chance at victory were the Chargers themselves.

But despite the dire circumstances, Hillsdale played with a calm and lethal confidence over the final six minutes, showing exactly why this squad should never be counted out. The Chargers staged a furious rally, erasing the deficit in just two minutes, then outdueled Northwood down the stretch for a stunning 86-83 road victory.

Looking for answers to a 9-2 run that seemed to put the game out of reach, Hillsdale coach Brianna Brennan put on a diamond press, and the results were immediate. The Chargers sped up the Tmberwolves, forcing Northwood into a series of errant shots, and capitalized in a big way at the other end. The Chargers knocked down 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions, including back-to-back treys by senior Caitlin Splain, to turn a 72-59 deficit into a tie ballgame with 4:06 to play. 

Over the next three and a half minutes, both teams traded baskets, with Northwood pulling ahead and Hillsdale answering at the other end. Sophomore Annalise Pietrzyk appeared to give Hillsdale a major edge with a deep 3-pointer with 1:18 to play that gave the Chargers an 80-77 lead that was their first since early in the third quarter, but Northwood responded with a tying 3-pointer at the other end.

That left the game in the hands of Hillsdale senior Lauren McDonald, who's shown a knack throughout her career for coming through in pressure situations. McDonald sliced into the lane on a drive and hit a difficult layup over top of the defense with 31 seconds to play that put the Chargers up for good, 82-80. The Chargers got stops defensively on the next two possessions, and a 6 of 8 performance from the line down the stretch was enough to put the game out of reach, even with another late 3-pointer by the Timberwolves.

Hillsdale got the victory in no small part to the play of senior Kendall McCormick, who carved up the Northwood defense with a career-high 27 points on 10 of 14 shooting, including three made 3-pointers, as well as six rebounds and two assists. It's McCormick's second straight game with 20-plus points and the second of her career overall for the senior who's been on a tear offensively lately.

McDonald chipped in 18 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals, along with the go-ahead bucket, Pietrzyk added 17 points off the bench and Splain finished with 11 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals in a balanced night for the Chargers. Freshman Ellie Bruce also had nine points and six rebounds off the bench for Hillsdale.

The win is the Chargers' seventh straight, improving Hillsdale to 10-5 overall and 7-1 in the G-MAC. That allows Hillsdale to keep pace with fellow front runners Malone, Findlay and Ashland near the top of the league standings. The Chargers now return home for a Thursday night contest against a dangerous Walsh team, looking for their eighth straight victory.

Photo by Reva Ludwig