Another stellar defensive effort and a career night from junior Annalise Pietrzyk helped the Hillsdale College women's basketball team run its win streak to three with a 60-53 victory over a tough visiting Walsh team on Monday night.

Pietrzyk scored a career-high 30 points, half of the Chargers' scoring effort on the night, in a virtuoso performance to help lift Hillsdale in a contest where the Chargers struggled at times offensively. As the Chargers fell behind early thanks to nine turnovers, it was three 3-pointers from Pietrzyk in the first quarter that kept the Chargers in the game, and the junior added another seven points in a 15-6 second quarter in Hillsdale's favor that saw the Chargers take the lead into halftime. 

The Chargers never trailed in the second half, though three 3-pointers by Walsh in the final quarter kept the game close. With Hillsdale clinging to a 54-50 lead with 1:23 to play, Maddie Smith nailed a clutch jumper off an offensive rebound to keep Hillsdale in front, and Smith and Pietrzyk combined to make four free throws in the final minute to seal the victory.

Along with her 30 points on 10 of 15 shooting, Pietrzyk also added eight rebounds, just missing a double-double. She got the better of Walsh star Kiley Dyrlund, who led the Cavaliers with 27 points in one of the best dueling statlines by two players in the G-MAC so far this season.

Pietrzyk got an important assist from sophomore Ellie Bruce, who finished with 10 points and six rebounds on the night, while Savannah Smith added six points and five rebounds for the Chargers, and Emma Ruhlman chipped in five points and six rebounds.

While Hillsdale struggled with turnovers on the night, the Chargers dominated the glass, with 45 rebounds to Walsh's 27, including 13 offensive rebounds. Hillsdale also made life difficult for Walsh offensively, holding the Cavaliers to 37.3% shooting from the floor and a 4 of 19 mark from deep.  Walsh's 53 points in the game were the third lowest by the Cavaliers in a contest in 13 outings on the season.

Hillsdale moves to 7-3 overall, 3-1 in the G-MAC with the victory, which helps Hillsdale keep pace with fellow one loss teams Kentucky Wesleyan and Thomas More in the G-MAC title race. All three squads are chasing undefeated Northwood, a game up on the pack. The win over Walsh and the victory over Malone give the Chargers a crucial leg up on both teams in the G-MAC standings, and Hillsdale will look to duplicate that feat this weekend during a Kentucky swing to battle both the Panthers and the Saints who are tied with the Chargers near the top of the standings. Hillsdale plays Kentucky Wesleyan on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. eastern, before heading to the east side of the state to battle Thomas More on Saturday at 1 p.m.