Over the last four seasons, the Hillsdale College women's basketball team has been on a steady climb in the conference and Midwest Region.

This past March, the Chargers got to experience the fruits of their efforts over the last half decade, as Hillsdale put together just the fifth season with 20 or more wins in the program's 45-year history, and its best finish since the 2008-09 campaign.

Hillsdale got off to a slow start, battling injuries and players in new roles, with three tough losses by five or less points in their first six games. The turning point came in a shocking upset of then-nationally ranked Ferris State, the defending Midwest Regional champion, on Dec. 18. Hillsdale not only beat the Bulldogs but dominated the contest, running away with a 76-61 victory that showed how good the Chargers could be if they were firing on all cylinders.

That victory proved to be the start of something special for the Chargers, who won 11 of their next 12 games to go from a below-.500 squad to a team in the thick of the G-MAC title race. As Hillsdale reached the final weeks of the season, the Chargers proved their worth as a team with two massive road victories, rallying from second half deficits and dominating the fourth quarter in wins over rival Findlay, 68-57, on Feb. 20 and Malone, 68-61, on March 1.

The victory at Malone clinched a runner-up finish in the G-MAC for the Chargers, whose 16-4 record in conference play was the best mark since Hillsdale's 19-3 finish on the way to a share of the GLIAC title in 2008-09.

As the second seed in the G-MAC tournament, Hillsdale won its first home postseason game since 2009 in a dominant 81-66 victory over Cedarville in the tournament quarterfinal, then took down Malone in a rematch in the semifinal in a tight 54-51 victory. Facing three-time defending champion and top-seeded Ashland on its home floor in the G-MAC Championship game, Hillsdale led for much of the contest and trailed just 59-57 with three minutes to play before the Eagles escaped late.

Hillsdale's 21-9 mark was good enough to earn a spot as one of eight teams to qualify for the NCAA DII Midwest Regional, the Chargers' first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2018 and their first time receiving an at-large bid since 2008. Hillsdale received the sixth seed and faced a tough first-round matchup against third-seeded Northern Michigan. In a game played at host Grand Valley State University, the Chargers staged another spirited comeback from a double-digit deficit to get within a single possession with 1:11 to play, but the Wildcats held on to end a historic season for Hillsdale in a 61-56 final.

Hillsdale's success in 2024-25 depended heavily on a strong senior class that joined the program coming off a four-win season and led the Chargers to heights not seen in nearly two decades. Two players in particular put up historic seasons. Senior guard Caitlin Splain became the 21^st player in Hillsdale College women's basketball history to surpass 1,000 points for her Chargers career, and broke Hillsdale's more-than-decade-old career 3-pointers made record with 253 on her way to first-team All-Conference honors. Fellow senior Lauren McDonald also surpassed 1,000 points for her collegiate career and was a first-team All-G-MAC honoree as well, with both players pacing the Chargers in several of the team's big victories in February and March. Hillsdale's third senior starter, Kendall McCormick, also had huge games for the Chargers down the stretch and was one of the engines behind the Chargers' NCAA Tournament comeback.

Having returned to the NCAA Tournament and conference title contention, Hillsdale now will turn its focus to trying to remain there. The Chargers will have big holes to fill next season, but return two strong post players in junior Savannah Smith and sophomore Ellie Bruce, as well as sharpshooter Annalise Pietrzyk and a whole cast of young and hungry players primed for bigger roles as third-year head coach Brianna Brennan looks to match and build on winning seasons in her first two campaigns in charge of the program.