The Hillsdale College women's basketball team hoped to ride the momentum of an eight-game winning streak to an upset win over #11/12 Ashland on Thursday night, but in the end the Chargers couldn't break through a tough Eagles defense in a 70-59 loss.

The Chargers refused to go down easily on the road, outscoring Ashland in the second half and cutting the Eagles' lead to six in the third quarter and hanging within 10 late in the most competitive game between the two teams since Hillsdale's last victory in the series in 2014.

Ultimately, however, too many empty trips cost Hillsdale a chance to really threaten Ashland down the stretch. The Chargers committed 13 turnovers that the Eagles turned into 16 points, especially in a first half stretch that allowed the Eagles to build a 14-point lead at the break. Ashland's height advantage in the contest also allowed them to outrebound Hillsdale 44-30, including 15 offensive rebounds that led to 15 big second-chance points for the Eagles. That proved to be too much for the Chargers to overcome despite a spirited second half. 

Senior Lauren McDonald had a brilliant night for Hillsdale, going toe-to-toe with the best defense in the G-MAC and finishing with 23 points on 8 of 10 shooting from the floor and a perfect 3 for 3 from 3-point range, along with seven rebounds and three steals. Sophomore Annalise Pietrzyk added 13 points off the bench for the Chargers, Savannah Smith chipped in six points, and Caitlin Splain added five points, four rebounds and three steals as well.

The Chargers did a solid job defensively against one of the G-MAC's more dangerous offensive teams, forcing 18 turnovers and holding Ashland below its season scoring average. Those 18 turnovers led to 21 points for Hillsdale, allowing the Chargers to stay in the game into the fourth quarter.

The loss drops Hillsdale to 11-6 overall, 8-2 in the G-MAC, and sets up a critical game for the Chargers at home on Saturday against Findlay, who also has two losses and sits in third in the G-MAC standings a half-game ahead of Hillsdale. The Chargers must defend home court to gain a crucial edge over Findlay in the conference race and keep pace with Malone and Ashland atop the conference in what will be one of the biggest games of the year for both squads.

Photo by Reva Ludwig