The Hillsdale women’s basketball team fell short in two single-digit losses at home last weekend against teams from the Upper Peninsula. The Chargers lost to Michigan Tech 64-57 on Thursday and fell to Northern Michigan University 57-54 on Saturday.
The Chargers now carry an overall record of 10-5 and a 6-4 record in the GLIAC.
After a well played first half, the Chargers entered intermission with a 5-point lead over nationally ranked Michigan Tech. The second half began with momentum as junior Kayla Geffert swished a three-pointer and sophomore Morgan Blair, the Chargers’ leading scorer, followed with her own back-to-back three-pointers.
But soon after, the Chargers’ defense began to slip as the Huskies took off.
“There was just a short span during the second half where we started to lapse on the defensive end,” senior Kadie Lowery said. “We always say we need to put together a full 40 minutes of defense and that didn’t quite happen.”
Tech had a 37-25 scoring edge over the Chargers, which brought them back from a first half deficit and delivered them to a win.
“Tech waits for you to make mistakes and they’re such good shooters so that’s when they bury their shots,” head coach Claudette Charney said.
It was the Chargers’ own mistakes that lead them to another loss in Saturday’s hard fought battle against Northern Michigan University, Charney said.
“We stopped our own play,” Charney said. “We still feel like the mistakes we’re making aren’t because the other team is forcing us into them.”
The Chargers fouled 14 times in the first half alone due to many repeated foul mistakes. NMU, one of the best free throw teams in the country according to Charney, shot 87 percent at the line gaining 24 free points.
“It’s foul trouble, we’ll just send them to the line and it’s easy points with free throws,” junior Kelsey Cromer said.
This was the case on Saturday when the Chargers allowed the Wildcats to score 12 points in eight minutes, while only putting up one Hillsdale point. This run moved the Chargers from a five-point lead to a seven-point deficit with 6:30 left on the clock.
With 1:55 left, the Chargers had battled back and took a one-point lead.
“At that point you have to basically know that you’re not going to let them score again, you have to have that mentality,” Charney said. “And I don’t think as individuals yet we’re there.”
Unfortunately for the Chargers, they couldn’t hold the Wildcats and the game continued on in a back-and-forth fashion. With 47 seconds left in the game, the score was tied thanks to two free throws by senior Megan Fogt. Those were the last Charger points of the game.
The Wildcats quickly matched Fogt’s two free throw points and pulled ahead by one point. In the remaining seconds, the Chargers executed clean plays and with only four seconds left, junior Maddy Berry’s 12-foot base-line jump shot rimmed in and out. A Wildcat rebound and foul sent them to the free-throw line where they gained their three-point game winning lead.
Charney said her team needs to improve on adjusting to the way the game is being called, and how the other team is playing.
This improvement will be crucial as the Chargers head into a three-game stretch in the next five days. Tonight, the Chargers will travel to Ferris State University to play the Bulldogs (6-6) who they are currently tied with in the league. The game will start at 6 p.m. The team will play again on Saturday against the Grand Valley State University Lakers (9-3) at home at 1 p.m. On Monday, the Chargers will travel to Saginaw Valley State University to take on the Cardinals (1-11) at 6 p.m.