Trailing 47-46 on the road with 18 seconds left in the third quarter, the Hillsdale College women's basketball team stepped up and finished strong, outscoring host Ursuline 24-7 for the remainder of the game to take a 70-54 road victory on Thursday.

Senior Emma Ruhlman drained a 3-pointer with nine seconds to go in the third quarter to give Hillsdale the lead back, and the Charger continued the run into the fourth quarter, with Ruhlman hitting a second jumper to start the scoring in the period and spark a 14-4 run over the first seven minutes of the final frame to put the game away.

The Chargers were in control for much of the first half, leading by as many as 13 points in the second quarter after an Emilia Sularski 3-pointer put Hillsdale up 28-15, but Ursuline cut the deficit to six at halftime and got the better of the Chargers in a 23-point third quarter, erasing the deficit and taking the lead multiple times in the period.

Ultimately, however, Hillsdale came to life defensively in the fourth quarter, holding Ursuline to just seven points in the period. That allowed the Chargers' offense, which had been consistently executing throughout the game, to seize control.

Hillsdale shot a solid 47.5% from the floor and were aided by six 3-pointers, with many of those makes coming at critical moments. The Chargers held Ursuline, meanwhile, to just 32.8% shooting from the floor. 

An edge on the glass also helped the Chargers as Hillsdale outrebounded Ursuline 41-33, including 15 offensive rebounds that the Chargers turned into 18 second chance points. Savannah Smith made her first start of the season and led Hillsdale with her second strong offensive outing in a row, shooting 8 for 9 from the floor and finishing with 16 points, five rebounds, two assists and three blocks. 

Annalise Pietrzyk also played well for the Chargers with a 12 point, six rebounds, four assist performance, Ellie Bruce added nine points, four rebounds and three blocks, and Magdalena and Emilia Sularski each chipped in nine points as well for the Chargers in a balanced offensive night.

Emma Ruhlman added seven points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals for the Chargers, and Maddie Smith chipped in six points, six rebounds and three assists as well.

The win is an important one for the Chargers, who had lost four road contests and five road G-MAC contests in a row entering Thursday's game. Hillsdale now improves to 10-7 and 6-5 overall and into a tie for sixth place in the league standings with Findlay.

Next up for the Chargers is another road contest with important league implications as Hillsdale travels to Walsh on Saturday for a 1 p.m. tip-off. The Cavaliers are a half-game back of the Chargers in the standings at 6-6 and will be looking to avenge a 60-53 loss at Hillsdale on Jan. 5. A victory would further solidify Hillsdale's position in the standings and put the Chargers in striking distance for a potential top four finish in league play entering February.