Schedule
Cedarville (8-10, 4-6 G-MAC) at Hillsdale (12-6, 9-2 G-MAC) | 6 p.m. ET Thursday, Jan. 30 | Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena | Hillsdale, MI
Kentucky Wesleyan (9-7, 5-6 G-MAC) at Hillsdale (12-6, 9-2 G-MAC) | 1 p.m. ET Saturday, Feb. 1 | Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena | Hillsdale, MI
 
Follow/Watch
Live Stats, Webcast, Ticket Links
 
 
Additional Info
Hillsdale Roster | Cedarville Roster | KWC Roster | Hillsdale Stats | Cedarville Stats | KWC Stats | G-MAC Standings | G-MAC Stats
 
 
Projected Starters
 
Hillsdale: #3 Lauren McDonald, Sr., G, Chicago, IL/St. Ignatius/Air Force (14.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg. 3 apg, 2.1 spg); #15 Kendall McCormick, Sr., G, Hinckley, OH/Highland (9.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 1.2 spg); #21 Savannah Smith, So., F, Liberty Twp., OH/Lakota East (9.7 ppg, 3.1 rpg); #30 Caitlin Splain, Sr., G, Powell, OH/Olentangy Liberty (11.6 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.4 spg); #40 Emma Ruhlman, Jr., G, Warren, PA/Warren (3.6 ppg, 2.2 rpg)
 
Cedarville: #0 Brianna Zajicek, Jr., G, Pittsburgh, PA/Norwin (10.3 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 1.9 spg); #10 Chloe Downing, Fr., F, Springboro, OH/Springboro (5.9 ppg, 3.4 rpg); #11 Ella Sellars, Fr., G, Ashland, KY/Paul G. Blazer (11.2 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.3 spg); #21 Regan Hubert, So., G, Cincinnati, OH/Homeschooled (7.9 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.8 spg); #22 KaCee Kyle, Sr., G, Greenwood Village, CO/Cherry Creek (9.9 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 2.8 apg, 1.3 spg)
 
Kentucky Wesleyan: #3 Sydnee Richetto, G, Sr., Mount Juliet, TN/Wofford (12.1 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1 spg);  #5 Arielle Dabu, Sr., G, Arlington Heights, IL/Florida Southern (10.6 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 1.4 spg); #10 Riley Neal, Jr., G, Prospect, KY/Miami  (OH) (9.1 ppg, 4.6 rpg); #13 Volborg Jonsdottir, Jr, G, Njardvik, Iceland/Minot St. (5.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.1 apg); #23 Myah Montgomery, Jr., F, Holland, IN/Southridge (11.4 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 1.3 spg)
 
 
Scouting the Opposition   
 
Cedarville: Cedarville enters Thursday's contest in desperation mode, as a four-game losing streak has pushed the Yellow Jackets closer to the G-MAC Tournament bubble.

Like many in the G-MAC, the Yellow Jackets have turned to a promising freshman class for the 2024-25 season, as nine of Cedarville's 14 players are freshmen or redshirt freshmen, including several key players for second-year head coach Addy Miller.

Athletic freshman guard Ella Sellars leads Cedarville in scoring and has earned a spot in the starting lineup with her play, while fellow freshman Chloe Downing mans the post for the Yellow Jackets and Ka'Miah Pryor and Mya Bourget play important roles off the bench.

That freshman core has blended nicely with a trio of returning guards – Brianna Zajicek, KaCee Kyle and Regan Hubert – who all played major roles for Cedarville in 2023-24 and have seen their usage increase this season. Elyssa Kincaid and Emma Neff round out the rotation for the Yellow Jackets on most nights.

Cedarville started the season with some encouraging performances, but has had a rough road recently, thanks in part to a difficult schedule. The Yellow Jackets must stop the losing streak quickly to stay on track for a return to the G-MAC Tournament
 
Kentucky Wesleyan: Kentucky Wesleyan enters Saturday's contest needing a victory, both to keep hopes of a top four G-MAC finish alive and to avoid dropping onto the G-MAC Tourney bubble.

It's been an up-and-down season for the Panthers, who suffered heavy graduation losses from last year's squad that have resulted in essentially a brand new starting lineup this season. KWC hit the transfer portal hard to try and reload quickly, bringing in four transfers who have all started at least five games for the Panthers so far.

KWC's two leading scorers are both returners -- guard Sydnee Richetto, a Wofford transfer in her second season, and post Myah Montgomery. Arielle Dabu from Florida Southern, Riley Neal from Miami (OH) and Vilborg Jonsdottir from Minot State round out a retooled starting lineup, while freshmen Emma Bruwer, Asia Sawyers, Lena Stinebricker and Carson Sisk all play significant minutes off the bench.

An X-factor is guard Shiya Hoosier, who started for KWC last year and is now coming off the bench while continuing to rehab from an injury. If she can get back to the player she was, it could be transformative for the Panthers, who are looking to get back above .500 in G-MAC play.

 
Scouting Hillsdale
Coming off the best regular-season conference finish in over a decade, and with a significant chunk of talent returning, hopes are high that the rise can continue for the Hillsdale College women's basketball program in 2024-25.
 
A huge win over rival Findlay on Saturday solidifies Hillsdale's spot in the top four in the G-MAC standings and keeps the Chargers in play for the title with nine games left on the conference schedule. Now, Hillsdale faces an important home weekend before hitting the road for three contests.

Seven of Hillsdale's top eight minutes-getters return from a squad that went 17-12 and had Hillsdale's first top four conference finish since 2008-09 last season, including six players who started six or more games.

Leading the way is senior combo guard Lauren McDonald, who exploded with a stellar all-around season in 2023-24 that saw her receive second-team All-G-MAC honors. McDonald can play and defend multiple positions and is an elite three-level scorer as well as an above-average rebounder for her height.

The Chargers can surround McDonald with a veteran supporting cast, including defensive pest Kendall McCormick and proven sharpshooter Caitlin Splain on the wings.

Hillsdale has one huge hole to fill in the starting lineup with the graduation of forward Sydney Mills, the program's all-time leading rebounder. Replacing her production will be a team effort – starting with larger roles for a variety of second year players who impressed in 2023-24.

Wings Sydney Pnacek and Annalise Pietrzyk both spent time in the starting lineup for Hillsdale in their first season on the floor for the Chargers, with both becoming important parts of the rotation and making critical offensive contributions down the stretch. Along with those two, fellow sophomore Savannah Smith, an athletic post player who received more playing time late in the year, also will compete for more minutes and could shine in an expanded role. Juniors Payton Adkins and Emma Ruhlman also could crack the rotation more consistently with another year of experience under their belts.

Hillsdale expects the rotation to be shaken up by a strong incoming freshman class that includes twin sisters Emilia Sularski and Magdalena Sularski, who starred at a high level in Illinois high school basketball with Benet Academy, gifted and versatile wing Sarah Aleknavicius, and a strong 6-foot-2 post presence in Ellie Bruce.
 
Head Coach Brianna Brennan returns for her second season, along with both assistants Abbey McNeil and Morgan Galloway.

 
Matchup History

• Hillsdale trails Cedarville 9-8 all-time but have won four straight against the Yellow Jackets, including a 71-62 road victory on Jan. 11 this season, and have a chance to even the series up this Thursday. The two teams first met on Jan. 18, 2011, and Cedarville's last victory in the series came in a 89-83 win over the Chargers at home on Dec. 1, 2022.
• Kentucky Wesleyan, a traditional G-MAC power, has largely controlled the series with the Chargers, leading the all-time series 10-3, but Hillsdale snapped a 10 game losing streak to the Panthers with a 73-68 win at home last year on Jan. 20, 2024 and will look to build off that this season, with two meetings with KWC in seven days coming up.

 
Other Notes

• The Chargers were picked to finish tied for fourth with Kentucky Wesleyan in the 2024-25 G-MAC Preseason Coaches Poll after tying for fourth place in the conference race in 2023-24. Defending champion Ashland was picked to repeat as conference title-winner, while Malone was selected to finish second and Findlay was picked to take third. Currently, Malone leads the G-MAC standings at a perfect 10-0 with Ashland second, Hillsdale third and Findlay fourth.
• Returning All-G-MAC honoree Lauren McDonald is a key player for the Chargers, averaging 14.5 points to lead Hillsdale and rank sixth in the G-MAC through the Chargers' first 18 contests. McDonald also leads the team in rebounds, assists and steals, and ranks in the top 10 in the G-MAC in field goal percentage (9^th), free throw percentage (10^th), rebounds per game (10^th), assists per game (5^th) and steals per game (2^nd). The Chicago native enters following a 2023-24 campaign where she led Hillsdale in scoring and assists and was second on the team in rebounds, steals and blocked shots while making clutch baskets in overtime victories over Malone and Ohio Dominican.
• Sophomore Annalise Pietrzyk was key to Hillsdale's stunning upset of Ferris State on Dec. 16, scoring a career-high 19 points in a 76-61 victory. Her play helped her earn G-MAC Women's Basketball Player of the Week honors, her first in her career at Hillsdale and the team's first in the 2024-25 season. The sophomore is developing into a key two-way contributor for the Chargers off the bench, shooting an impressive 41.7% from 3-point range and averaging 8.2 points per game so far.
• Hillsdale has a number of sharpshooters from deep, headlined by senior Caitlin Splain, who currently sits fourth all-time in program history in made 3-pointers with 220. Splain has a shot of challenging the program's all-time made 3-pointer record of 237 set by Chelsea Harrison from 2008-2012 if she can stay healthy and maintain her career-average clip. While they're not on a record-setting pace, sophomores Annalise Pietrzyk and Savannah Smith both shot above .350 from deep last year as well for the Chargers and can provide range. As a team Hillsdale is shooting 34.2% from deep, 30^th best in the nation.
• Senior Kendall McCormick had back-to-back career games to lead Hillsdale to road victories over Cedarville and Northwood on Jan. 11 and 14, scoring a combined 50 points in the two wins and setting and then resetting her career high for points in a single game. A key defensive stopper for multiple years for Hillsdale, McCormick has showcased an improved offensive game this season and has been one of the Chargers' top rebounders.
• Sophomore Savannah Smith is making the leap this season after coming off the bench her first year in 2023-24. Smith has already more than doubled her total of double-digit scoring games with 10 in 18 starts so far this season, and is averaging a solid 9.7 points per game. She's forming a strong post tandem with freshman Ellie Bruce, who's been an instant contributor off the bench for the Chargers as well with 6.1 points per game.
• Hillsdale's defense ranks among the top in the G-MAC so far, as the Chargers are conceding just 61.6 points per game, currently fifth in the G-MAC but less than two points behind second place. Teams are shooting just 38.8% from the floor so far against Hillsdale, and 27.5% from 3-point range. The Chargers are also controlling the glass, grabbing 38.2 rebounds per game, second most in the G-MAC.
• The Chargers have become more efficient as the season has worn on, and now boast the G-MAC's third-best assist-to-turnover ratio at 0.93, behind only multi-time defending conference champion Ashland and current G-MAC leader Malone. Hillsdale also is putting together an impressive performance as a team in blocking shots, with 3.28 rejections per game, fifth best in the G-MAC.