For the second straight day, the Hillsdale College women's basketball team used a dominant second half run to turn a close game into a blowout victory at home.

On Saturday against Purdue Northwest, the Chargers got rolling a little earlier than they did on Friday night. After a huge fourth quarter propelled Hillsdale to victory over Illinois-Springfield the night before, it was a completely lopsided third quarter against the Pride that resulted in a 77-59 victory and secured a 2-0 start for the Chargers.

Hillsdale outscored Purdue Northwest 23-8 in the third period, turning a four-point halftime lead into an unassailable 19 point edge. The Chargers stretched that lead to as much as 26 in the fourth quarter before the Pride were able to cut it back to 18 in the closing minutes against Hillsdale's reserves.

The Chargers dominated at both ends of the floor in the third period, shooting 5 of 9 from 3-point range to make a big run offensively, while holding Purdue Northwest to just 2 of 11 shooting from the floor in the quarter defensively. Four different players hit 3-pointers in the third quarter for the Chargers, with sophomore Sarah Aleknavicius canning two, as Hillsdale poured it in from all sides to seize control of the game for good.

Hillsdale had a hot shooting night from range in general, knocking down 13 triples in the victory at a 52% clip. The Chargers once again did a great job of sharing the ball, assisting on 21 of their 29 makes, and also outrebounded the Pride 44 to 36, grabbing 14 offensive rebounds and turning those into 22 second chance points.

Junior Annalise Pietrzyk continued a red-hot start for the Chargers with 5 of 7 shooting from beyond the arc and 17 points, along with five assists. Pietrzyk is shooting 69.2% from 3-point range with nine makes through two games, but her teammates have made it tough for defenses to focus on her. Center Ellie Bruce added 17 points, seven rebounds and two blocks as well in the paint for the Chargers, while senior Emma Ruhlman added 11 points, four rebounds and four assists. 

Emilia Sularski knocked down three 3-pointers in nine minutes off the bench as well for Hillsdale, and Savannah Smith also chipped in eight points and six rebounds as a substitute for the Chargers.

Hillsdale will hit the road for the first time on Wednesday to battle an always-tough Wayne State team that enters with a 1-1 record and is coming off an 81-77 upset of sixth-ranked Ashland on Saturday. That game will be played at 6 p.m. at the Wayne State Fieldhouse in Detroit.