The Hillsdale College women's basketball team was red-hot down the stretch to dispatch visiting Illinois-Springfield on Friday night, outscoring the Prairie Stars 26-12 in the final quarter to take a 77-61 victory in its season opener.

The Chargers led for much of the game, including taking a seven-point lead into halftime, but struggled to get separation from Illinois-Springfield for three quarters thanks to a red-hot shooting night from 3-point range by the Prairie Stars. A 3-pointer by UIS 30 seconds into the fourth quarter gave the Prairie Stars a 52-51 edge with 9:29 to play.

From there, however, Hillsdale took charge, dominating the game at both ends of the floor. UIS shot just 2 of 12 from the field and 0 of 6 from 3-point range the rest of the way, while Hillsdale shot 82% from the floor and 2 of 3 from deep in the final period to turn a tight contest into a blowout. 

Junior Annalise Pietrzyk kicked off the game-winning run with two baskets to get Hillsdale back in front by multiple possessions, and Pietrzyk and senior Emma Ruhlman added a pair of dagger 3-pointers to push Hillsdale's lead from single digits to 15 with two minutes to play, effectively ending the contest.

Hillsdale used a balanced offensive attack to outshine a strong 3-point shooting night from the Prairie Stars. UIS knocked down 14 3-pointers, but Hillsdale was more efficient from the floor and also shot 45% from deep. Pietrzyk led the way with 19 points, six rebounds and six assists, including 4 of 6 shooting from 3-point range, and she got strong support from sophomore Sarah Aleknavicius, who chipped in career highs in points (13) and assists (7). The Chargers' posts also had a strong showing, with Savannah Smith scoring 13 points in 17 minutes of action off the bench and Ellie Bruce adding 12 and two blocks. Senior Payton Adkins added four points and three steals off the bench, and freshman Maddie Smith chipped in four steals as well. 

The Chargers assisted on 18 of their 26 made baskets in an impressive offensive performance, and also went 16 of 18 from the foul line.

Hillsdale (1-0) is in action again tomorrow, as the Chargers host Purdue Northwest, who beat Tiffin 70-65 on Friday night to start 1-0 as well. Tip-off for that contest is 7 p.m. in Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena.