Women's Basketball

By Moira Gleason Collegian Reporter

Despite a 29-point game from senior Grace Touchette, the Hillsdale women’s basketball team fell 94-60 to the undefeated Ashland University Eagles on Thursday night. Two days later, the Chargers got their first conference road win of the season with a second half push to defeat Ursuline College 66-55.

Tied with Walsh University for sixth place in the G-MAC, Hillsdale is now 14-11 overall and 7-8 in the conference. The Chargers have recorded the most wins overall this season since the 2018-2019 season, the last time they made the conference tournament.

Nine players scored for the Chargers Thursday night, led by Touchette who shot 10-for-17 from the floor and 6-for-6 from the free-throw line to finish with 29 points and four rebounds. Even with this performance, the Chargers couldn’t match No. 1 Ashland, who sank 11 3-pointers in the first half and took

Men's Tennis

a 55-30 lead heading into halftime. Hillsdale kept scoring close in the third quarter, hitting 17 points for Ashland’s 20, but the Eagles pulled away in the fourth quarter to seal the game.

“They shot the lights out,” said senior Maverick Delp. “It wasn’t a bad game for us. Grace Touchette played incredibly. I don’t really think anyone in the league can guard her, so she ended up really carrying us in the first half. Good competition, so we have to take the positives from that, which I think we did because going into Ursuline, we were pretty fired up.”

Sophomore Caitlin Splain scored eight points and grabbed four rebounds for the Chargers. Senior Sydney Mills led with nine rebounds and added three points. Sophomore Dani Salenbein chipped in six points.

“Preparing for a team like that, we tried to make it similar as we prepare for every team,” assistant coach Brooke Bailey said.

“I’m super proud of the way our girls played and how they stayed composed and handled themselves whether we were making shots or not.”

The Chargers ended a 13-game road losing streak on Saturday with a critical road win against the Ursuline College Arrows. Trailing 30-25 at the half, Hillsdale put together a 10-1 run in the third quarter with 3-pointers from Mills and sophomore Carly Callahan to pull ahead.

Salenbein scored seven points in three minutes in the fourth quarter. The Arrows cut Hillsdale’s lead to 59-55 with 1:12 to go, but the Chargers made four defensive stops and went 7-of-8 at the line to secure the win.

Ten players scored for Hillsdale against Ursuline. Salenbein led with 15 points off the bench. Mills hit 14 points and snagged 14 rebounds for her eighth double-double of the season. Callahan added nine points, and sophomore Peighton Nelson scored six points with five rebounds.

Sophomore Lauren Mc -

By Emily Schutte Collegian Reporter

The spring season started with a pair of victories, over Cornerstone and Davenport, for the Hillsdale men’s tennis team.

“In our matches this weekend we showed off our depth in the singles and doubles lineup,” head coach Keith Turner said.

The Chargers went 6-1 both days, outplaying their opponents in almost every match. In Saturday’s competition against Cornerstone, each of the players won at least one singles or doubles point for the team. On Sunday, Hillsdale grabbed its second win of the weekend, and is now 3-0 this season.

Saturday’s match against Cornerstone started off strong with senior Brian Hackman and freshman Nik Wastcoat taking a 6-1 win as the No. 2 doubles team for the Chargers.

“I've never played them before, but my coach said that they are a very good NAIA school, so we didn't underestimate them at all,” Hackman said. “No. 2 is the highest I've ever played in the lineup. I knew I would have a tough opponent, but I've just been really focused on my fitness and just being able to be really consistent and just play a bit more de-

Donald also added five points off the bench.

“I thought Peighton Nelson and Lauren McDonald, along with Dani, really solidified us and helped push the lead for us in the fourth quarter,” head coach Charlie Averkamp said. “To finally come out in that fourth quarter and get one was exciting for all of us.”

The Chargers face Walsh at home on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. as they fight for one of the three remaining spots in the G-MAC tournament. Saturday is senior and alumni day as the Chargers face Lake Erie at home at 1 p.m.

“Walsh is a very tough team,” Delp said. “They’ve got a lot of talent and a lot of different weapons. We’ve got some different defenses ready, changing it up between zone and man. We’re expecting a battle, so we know it’s going to come down to a two, three point game hopefully in the fourth. That’s kind of what we’re looking for. We’re hoping we’ll be able to put the ball in the basket there at the end.”