The Hillsdale College women's basketball team took a tough loss on the road on Saturday, as a double-digit first half lead didn't hold up in a 69-65 loss at G-MAC co-leader Thomas More.
The Chargers got off to a hot shooting start from the opening tip, scoring on three of their first four possessions and building a 24-10 lead by the end of the first quarter thanks to three 3-pointers off the bench from sophomore
Emilia Sularski. Hillsdale continued to pour in the points in the second quarter despite Thomas More's offense waking up, maintaining a 43-30 lead into the break thanks to 56.3% shooting from the floor and 7 of 11 shooting from 3-point range.
The game flipped in the third quarter, as Hillsdale's offense went cold and the Saints outscored the Chargers 24-8 to turn a double-digit Hillsdale lead into a three-point Thomas More advantage entering the final period. Although the momentum had swung against the Chargers, Hillsdale continued to fight, retaking the lead at 59-58 on back-to-back 3-pointers from
Annalise Pietrzyk with 6:41 to play. An
Ellie Bruce jumper gave Hillsdale a 65-63 edge with 2:52 to go, but Thomas More answered at the other end and held the Chargers scoreless for the final two and a half minutes.
Hillsdale didn't give up a basket either, keeping themselves in the game until the end, but Thomas More was able to get to the line twice in the final minute and convert all four free throws to escape with the victory.
The Chargers fell despite a career-best effort from
Emilia Sularski off the bench, as the sophomore guard was 6 of 9 from 3-point range for 20 points, nearly double her previous career high in scoring. Hillsdale also got a solid outing from its two post players, as
Savannah Smith contributed 14 points and three rebounds, and
Ellie Bruce added 10 points, three rebounds, three blocks and three steals.
Annalise Pietrzyk chipped in 13 points, five rebounds and three steals for the Chargers,
Maddie Smith added nine assists and
Emma Ruhlman 10 rebounds.
The Chargers made 11 3-pointers in the loss but couldn't overcome a discrepancy in free throws, as Thomas More made 18 of 21 from the line in the contest while Hillsdale didn't attempt a foul shot in 40 minutes of action.
Hillsdale is now 7-5 overall, 3-3 in G-MAC play and will look to leave a frustrating road trip behind and get back on a winning track on Thursday, as the Chargers host Cedarville in Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena with tip-off at 5:30 p.m.
