Schedule
Hillsdale (15-7, 12-3 G-MAC) at Tiffin (8-15, 3-12 G-MAC) | 5:30 p.m. ET Thursday, Feb. 13 | Gillmor Center | Tiffin, OH
Northwood (11-11. 9-5 G-MAC) at Hillsdale (15-7, 12-3 G-MAC) | 1 p.m. ET Saturday, Feb. 15 | Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena | Hillsdale, MI
 
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Additional Info
Hillsdale Roster | Tiffin Roster | Northwood Roster | Hillsdale Stats | Tiffin Stats | Northwood Stats | G-MAC Standings | G-MAC Stats
 
 
Projected Starters
 
Hillsdale: #3 Lauren McDonald, Sr., G, Chicago, IL/St. Ignatius/Air Force (14.5 ppg, 7 rpg. 3.4 apg, 2.1 spg); #15 Kendall McCormick, Sr., G, Hinckley, OH/Highland (8.8 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 2 apg, 1.3 spg); #24 Ellie Bruce, Fr., C, Lancaster, OH/Fisher Catholic (6.5 ppg, 3 rpg); #30 Caitlin Splain, Sr., G, Powell, OH/Olentangy Liberty (12.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.4 spg); #40 Emma Ruhlman, Jr., G, Warren, PA/Warren (3.7 ppg, 2.9 rpg)
 
Tiffin: #1 Megan Campbell, G, Fr., Massillon, OH/Jackson (11.8 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 2.8 apg 1.5 spg);  #5 Bree Allen, Fr., G, Proctorville, OH/Fairland (6 ppg, 2.4 rpg); #11 Riley Irwin, So., G, Findlay, OH/Liberty-Benton (3.2 ppg); #15 Lyv Lindeman, Fr, G, Delphos, OH/Jefferson (11.6 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.6 spg); #42 Grace Craig, So., P, North Canton, OH/Hoover (7 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 1.5 bpg)
 
Northwood: #4 Maelyn McNealy rFr., G, Scottsdale, AZ/Farragut/Coastal Carolina (5.9 ppg, 2.5 rpg);  #13 Maeve St. John, Jr., G, Howell, MI/Howell (13.7 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 5.8 apg, 2.6 spg); #22 Lea Holmes, rFr., C, Cleveland, OH/Brunswick (15.5 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 1.2 spg, 2.6 bpg); #25 Maddie Voelker, Sr, F, Goodrich, MI/Goodrich (14.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg); #33 Ella Miller, So., C/F, East Lansing, MI/East Lansing (6.5 ppg, 6.8 rpg)
 
 
Scouting the Opposition
 
Tiffin: It's a youth movement at Tiffin as third-year head coach Josh Mason has turned to a talented freshman class to take charge of a program that's struggled the past couple of seasons.

Tiffin enters the week with a little momentum, after snapping a four game losing streak with a win at Thomas More on Saturday, and have been more dangerous at home with a 5-6 record in the Gillmor Center.

The Dragons revolve offensively around two dynamic freshman guards, as Megan Campbell and Lyv Lindeman are both averaging double-digit points per game. The pair are also strong rebounders and are pesky defensively, combining for three steals per game.

Along with Campbell and Lindeman, freshmen guards Bree Allen and Isabelle Niederst also play important roles off the bench.

Those four freshmen have combined with returning posts Grace Craig and Presley Feltner to lead Tiffin so far.

It's been a difficult season of growing pains for Tiffin's young lineup, especially in G-MAC play, but the Dragons are not completely out of the G-MAC Tournament race with five games to play and will have a chance to build some momentum heading into the 2025-26 season.
 
Northwood: It's a big showdown for Northwood on Saturday, as the Timberwolves need a quality win over a team like Hillsdale to keep their chances of a top four seed and a home game in the G-MAC Tourney alive after two damaging losses in the last four games.

Offensively, Northwood leans heavily on its trio of stars – forward Maddie Voelker, the team's lone returning starter from last season, playmaking guard Maeve St. John, and breakout redshirt freshman post Lea Holmes, who's developed into one of the league's premier interior scoring threat. All three of those players average 14 or more points per game.

In addition to its three-headed scoring threat, Northwood also gets major minutes from center Ella Miller and guards Maelyn McNealy and Lexie Bowers. Northwood has missed Alexa Kolnytis the past few weeks and will hope to get her back from injury before season's end.

While Northwood is trying to get back on track, the Timberwolves still have a signature victory, a 69-58 win over three-time defending champion Ashland that was just the Eagles' second-ever G-MAC regular season loss. That win, plus a favorable remaining schedule, gives Northwood hope if it can get hot down the stretch.
 
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.
 
The Chargers split a pair of tough road games in Kentucky this past weekend, but still remain in strong position to host a G-MAC Tournament game for the first time since joining the conference in 2017. This is a critical week for Hillsdale, which can all but lock up a top four spot with two victories.

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 leads the all-time series with Tiffin 23-12, after sharing a conference with the Dragons dating back to the mid-2000s. The Dragons are 5-3 against Hillsdale in the last eight meetings, but the Chargers have now won two straight, including a 92-53 victory over the Dragons at home earlier this season on Jan. 9.
• Northwood and Hillsdale have a long history dating back to their shared membership as founding members in the GLIAC, and the Timberwolves hold a 37-26 series lead in a matchup that dates back to the 70s. Northwood had won three straight over Hillsdale entering this season, including both meetings in 2023-24, but lost 86-83 at home to the Chargers on Jan. 14, who will look to sweep the Timberwolves for the first time since the 2014-15 season.

 
Other Notes

• This season marks the return of "The Jack", the traveling all-sports trophy between Hillsdale and Northwood. Inaugurated in 1996 to honor legendary ADs Jack Finn of Northwood and Jack McAvoy of Hillsdale, the trophy was awarded for 20 years before Hillsdale's departure from the GLIAC in 2017-18 left the two teams in different conferences. With both programs back in the G-MAC, the traveling trophy will return for the 2024-25 season, with results in head-to-head matches and conference finishes factoring into the point total for both teams and the program with the most points at the end of the year receiving the trophy and bragging rights until the subsequent season. Hillsdale has a 7-0 lead entering this weekend thanks to wins in football, men's basketball and women's basketball, a sweep in volleyball and superior finishes in the G-MAC Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships. If both the Charger men and women can complete a sweep of basketball season this weekend, it would put Hillsdale on the cusp of clinching the trophy with the spring results still to come.
• 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, Ashland leads the G-MAC standings at 14-1, with Malone a game back in second, Hillsdale two games back in third and Findlay three games back in fourth.
• The seedings for the 2025 G-MAC Tournament will be determined by the Points Rating System. Currently Hillsdale is third in the PRS and would host Cedarville in the quarterfinal round if the season ended today.
• Returning All-G-MAC honoree Lauren McDonald is a key player for the Chargers, averaging 14.5 points to lead Hillsdale and rank fifth in the G-MAC through 22 contests. McDonald also leads the team in rebounds, assists and steals, and ranks in the top 10 in the G-MAC in free throw percentage (8^th), rebounds per game (6^th), assists per game (3^rd), steals per game (2^nd) and assists to turnover ratio (5^th). She surpassed 1,000 points for her collegiate career on Saturday at Kentucky Wesleyan and will play a big role in Hillsdale's performance down the stretch.
• Hillsdale has a number of sharpshooters from deep, headlined by senior Caitlin Splain, who currently sits second all-time in program history in made 3-pointers with 233. Splain needs just five 3-pointers to break the program's all-time made 3-pointer record of 237 set by Chelsea Harrison from 2008 to 2012, and could do that this weekend.  She already has set one milestone this season, becoming the 21^st player in Hillsdale College women's basketball history to reach 1,000 points against Cedarville on Jan. 30. As a team Hillsdale is shooting 34.7% from deep, second-best in the G-MAC and 27^th best in the nation.
• 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 43.2% from 3-point range and averaging 7.9 points per game so far.
• 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 at 5.7 per contest.
• 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 12 in 21 starts so far this season, and is averaging a solid 9.8 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 6.5 points per game.
• Hillsdale's defense ranks among the top in the G-MAC so far, as the Chargers are conceding just 60.6 points per game, currently third in the G-MAC. Teams are shooting just 38.4% from the floor so far against Hillsdale, and 28.3% from 3-point range. The Chargers are also controlling the glass, grabbing 38.9 rebounds per game, the most by any team 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 0.97, behind only multi-time defending conference champion Ashland and the second-place team in the G-MAC standings, Malone. Hillsdale also is putting together an impressive performance as a team in blocking shots, with 3.41 rejections per game, fifth best in the G-MAC.