Schedule
Kentucky Wesleyan (14-9, 10-7 G-MAC) at Hillsdale (13-9, 9-7 G-MAC) at Lake Erie | 5:30 p.m. ET Thursday, Feb. 19 | Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena | Hillsdale, MI
Hillsdale (13-9, 9-7 G-MAC) at Ohio Dominican (11-13, 6-10 G-MAC) | 1 p.m. ET Saturday, Feb. 21 | Alumni Hall | Columbus, OH
 
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Additional Info
Hillsdale Roster | KWC Roster | ODU Roster | Hillsdale Stats | KWC Stats | ODU Stats | G-MAC Standings | G-MAC Stats
 
 
Projected Starters
Hillsdale: # #4 Magdalena Sularski, So., G, Lemont, IL/Benet Academy (4.8 ppg, 2.9 rpg); #5 Sarah Aleknavicius, So., G/F, Grafton, WI/Grafton (7.6 ppg, 4 rpg, 3.4 apg, 1.1 spg); #23 Annalise Pietrzyk, Jr., G, Lockport, IL/Providence Catholic (14.5 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 2.7 apg, 1.1 spg); #21 Savannah Smith, Jr., F, Liberty Twp., OH/Lakota East (13 ppg, 4.2 rpg); #40 Emma Ruhlman, Sr., G, Warren, PA/Warren (7.2 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1 spg)
 
KWC: #10 Riley Neal, Sr., F, Prospect, KY/North Oldham/Miami (OH) (12 ppg, 5 rpg, 1 spg);  #11 Emma Bruwer, So., G, Lowell, MI/Northpointe Christian (11.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 1.9 spg); #13 Vilborg Jonsdottir, Sr., G, Njardvik, Iceland/Minot St. U. (3.8 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 3 apg, 1.2 spg); #23 Myah Montgomery, Sr., F, Holland, IN/Southridge (10 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 1.3 spg); #32 Iratxe Amorrortu Sainz,  Jr., G, Tenerife, Spain/North Idaho (5.6 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.2 spg)
 
ODU: #2 Jenna Shackleford, Jr, F, Newark, OH/Newark (12.1 ppg, 5 rpg, 2 apg); #4 Macy Chapman, Sr., G, Hilliard, OH/Bradley (9 ppg, 5 rpg, 2.4 apg, 287 spg); #5 Madelyn Fearon, Sr., G, Greenville, OH/Arcanum (2.6 ppg); #13 Meghan Mayotte, Jr., G, Columbus, OH/Worthington Christian (6.8 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 2 apg); #20 Mackenzie Hurd, Sr., G, Buchtel, OH/Youngstown St. U. (8.4 ppg, 5.9 rpg);
 
 
Scouting the Opposition
KWC: Both Hillsdale and Kentucky Wesleyan are tight in the standings and looking to separate themselves in the final two weeks of the season with a potential home playoff game up for grabs.
The Panthers have had ups and downs this season, with a 10-7 mark in conference play, and have a tough road week ahead as KWC looks to finish strong and build momentum heading into the G-MAC Tourney.

Under the married duo of coaches Nicole and Caleb Nieman, KWC has favored a pressing, up-tempo attack and the 2025-26 squad is no different, as 10 players split a roughly even share of the minutes. Sophomore Emma Bruwer has emerged as the team's leading scorer at guard after coming off the bench as a freshman, and she's well-supported in the post by seniors and veteran starters Myah Montgomery and Riley Neal, both averaging double-digits in scoring so far this season.

Vilborg Jonsdottir returns as the starting point guard and leads the G-MAC in assist-to-turnover ratio, and KWC has a strong second unit spearheaded by guards Georgia Accompanado and Iraxte Amorrortu Sainz.

Kentucky Wesleyan has controlled the all-time series with Hillsdale, winning 12 of 16 meetings, but the two teams have split the last four contests in the series. KWC won an earlier meeting this season at home, 68-44.

ODU: At 6-10 in G-MAC play, the Panthers are the only team on the outside of the G-MAC Tourney field that can still play their way in, but ODU will need to win out and get help to do so.

Playing in the Panthers' favor for this stretch run is that ODU is hot, entering this week having swept its opponents this past weekend. ODU leans heavily on a solid defense that's among the G-MAC's best at slowing down teams, giving up just 60.7 points per game. The Panthers have been winning recently despite the absence of one of its top scorers, senior guard Sarah Ochs. In her absence this past week, ODU has been playing through the post, leaning heavily on leading scorer Jenna Shackleford, Youngstown St. transfer Mackenzie Hurd, and top substitute Jazmyn Wheeler for points in the paint.

Veteran Macy Chapman runs the offense, and the Panthers have benefited from the return of athletic junior Meghan Mayotte on the perimeter in late January. The biggest outside threat is freshman Gracie Cosgrove, who's knocked down 36 triples on .353 shooting, while senior Madelyn Fearon is playing a larger role in recent weeks. Eve Schwemley also brings shooting touch off the bench for the Panthers.

Hillsdale leads the all-time series with ODU 18-11 since the two teams' first meeting in 2011, and the Chargers have won six straight and eight of their last nine over the Panthers, including a 63-52 victory at home on Feb. 7. ODU's most recent win in the series was a Dec. 10, 2022 game in Columbus.
 
Scouting Hillsdale
 
The Chargers are in a tight race for the fourth place spot in the final G-MAC standings, and the right to host a quarterfinal game in the G-MAC Tournament in March. Five teams are functionally tied with seven losses for that spot, which means it's up for grabs if Hillsdale can get hot and go on a winning streak to finish out the season.

The Chargers are buoyed heavily offensively by a breakout campaign from junior guard Annalise Pietrzyk, who's nearly doubled her scoring output from last season and is among the G-MAC leaders at 14.5 points per game, with three contests with 25 or more.
 
Also playing a big role for Hillsdale offensively is the center rotation of Savannah Smith and Ellie Bruce, who each play roughly half the game and combine to average another 21 points between them. Smith, the leading returning scorer from the 2024-25 squad, has been an impact player in the post and ramped up her scoring contributions recently with three 25-plus point games in her last seven. As her backup, the 6-foot-2 Bruce is among the G-MAC leaders in blocked shots and an imposing two-way force, making sure there's little drop-off when Smith is on the bench.
 
Senior Emma Ruhlman is an excellent rebounder from the wing, a strong shooter and a critical leader as well for the Chargers, while sophomore Magdalena Sularski and freshman Maddie Smith share point guard duties for Hillsdale and are growing into the role. Emilia Sularski and Sydney Pnacek are both key bench players for the Chargers. Hillsdale is hoping for a strong month of February from Sarah Aleknavicius, who's made key contributions for the Chargers in the last five games after returning from an injury and who should be an important player for the Chargers down the stretch.
 
Hillsdale is coached by Brianna Brennan, who is in her third year at the helm and was named the BCAM College Coach of the Year for the state of Michigan after guiding the Chargers to the NCAA Tournament in the 2024-25 season. Abbey McNeil returns for her third season as associate head coach, and alumnus Sophia Pierce is back in Hillsdale for her first season as an assistant coach to round out the staff.

 
Other Notes

• Junior Savannah Smith has been strong over the last three weeks, with six double figure scoring contests in her last seven outings, including a 27 point, 12 rebound double-double in Hillsdale's home win over Ashland on Jan. 17, and 25 point efforts in wins over Tiffin on Feb. 5 and Lake Erie on Feb. 12. Now in the starting lineup after coming off the bench for the early part of the season, Smith has seen her role grow, as she ranks second on the team with 13 points per game in just 21 minutes a contest. She makes a strong post tandem with starter Ellie Bruce, who's averaging eight points, five rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game in the minutes when Smith isn't on the floor.
• Senior captain Emma Ruhlman earned G-MAC Player of the Week honors on Jan. 5 after posting a 16-point, 14 rebound double-double to lead the Chargers to an upset victory over then 19^th-ranked Malone on Jan. 3. A three-year contributor and two-year starter for Hillsdale, Ruhlman has provided invaluable leadership and great 3-point shooting. As a senior, she's also become one of the top rebounders in the G-MAC, leading Hillsdale and ranking eighth in the conference with 7.1 per game. She had back-to-back games with 15 rebounds in Hillsdale's two wins on Feb. 5 and 7, including her second career double-double in a 63-52 win over Ohio Dominican.
• Annalise Pietrzyk set a new career high for the Chargers with 30 points in a big win over conference title contender Walsh on Jan. 5. She's having a phenomenal season for the Chargers, already earning one G-MAC Player of the Week honor early in the campaign. Always a sharpshooter for Hillsdale, the junior has stayed hot from deep, ranking among the G-MAC leaders in 3-point shooting percentage (35.4%) with 51 makes, but she's now showing the all-around development of her game, ranking eighth in the G-MAC in scoring (14.5) and ninth in assists (2.7), as a leader and tone-setter for the Chargers.
• Hillsdale sophomore Sarah Aleknavicius is making an impact now that she's returned from an injury that held her out for almost all of January, scoring eight of her 11 points against Tiffin in the final 20 seconds of regulation and overtime to lead the Chargers to victory. Her return is huge for Hillsdale, as before getting hurt, Aleknavicius was averaging 7.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game, major improvements on her freshman numbers. She's also among the team's best defenders, critical for a team that wins with defense, first and foremost.
• Hillsdale has been a prolific 3-point team in 2025-26, shooting 33.3% from 3-point range as a team to rank second in the G-MAC and in the top 35 nationally. Three Chargers players are shooting 35% or better from 3-point range with at least 10 makes – Pietrzyk, Aleknavicius, and Emilia Sularski.
• Part of the reason the Chargers are shooting so well is they're doing a great job of sharing the basketball, leading the G-MAC with 14.73 assists per game. The Chargers are also second in the G-MAC with 3.8 blocks per game, and are among the G-MAC's top defenses, ranking third in opponent field goal percentage (38.3%) and giving up just 63.6 points per game.
• Hillsdale has been sensational at home, with a perfect 9-0 record in Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena so far in 2025-26. The Chargers' record at home could have a big impact down the stretch, as three of Hillsdale's final four conference games in February are at home, including a showdown with rival and G-MAC leader Northwood on Feb. 28, the final day of the regular season. If the Chargers can keep up their sterling home record, they would have a big edge in the race for the fourth seed and a potential home game in the quarterfinal round of the G-MAC Tourney.