Touchette scores career high, Chargers start season 2-1

By Moira Gleason Collegian Freelancer

The Hillsdale women’s basketball team took backto-back wins this weekend at home in a G-MAC/ GLVC crossover, and lost last night in Indianapolis, to start the season 2-1.

Senior guard Grace Touchette scored a career high of 31 points on Saturday as the Chargers took down the Truman State Bulldogs 98-90 in a thrilling overtime game.

Less than 24 hours later, the team pulled out a 66-55 win with a strong defensive effort against the Quincy Hawks. It was the first time the team had started a season 2-0 since 2017. “We have a different mindset going into this season than we have in the past,” sophomore guard Caitlin Splain said.

“We know we’re good. We believe we’re good, and I think that showed the first two games of the season.

Everyone’s on the same page, and the excitement of playing together is really driving us right now.”

A first team All-GMAC player last season, Touchette started the season strong on Saturday. She led the team in scoring against Truman, with 31 points and 6 rebounds.

Touchette also played a strong defensive game, including a layup block that prevented Truman from winning in regulation and sent the game into overtime at 80-80.

“On Saturday, I think you saw probably the best game of her career and probably one of the better games in the history of Hillsdale women’s basketball,” head coach Charlie Averkamp said. “For her to have that in her first game I think is really special and I think it just shows the type of player she is and all the work that she put in.”

Touchette wasn’t the only player in double figures on Saturday. Senior Sydney Mills scored a total 18 points and 15 rebounds, her first double double of the season after totalling 12 last season.

Sunday’s game against Quincy was a different story for the Chargers offense. With Touchette scoring just two points against the Hawks, Splain stepped up on the offensive end, sinking six 3-pointers for a game high of 18 points.

“The backside of a back-to-back is always hard,” Splain said. “You’re tired from the day before, but we were able to push through. Different people were able to step up. That’s the great thing about our team. We don’t have to rely on one person every game. We have a lot of players that can step up at any moment.”

Mills totaled 14 points and 13 rebounds, posting her second double-double of the weekend, and junior center Ashley Konkle scored 11 points in the first half. Last year’s G-MAC conference freshman of the year, Peighton Nelson, had an impressive performance on Sunday with 10 points and 6 assists for the Chargers.

According to Avercamp and assistant coach Brianna Brennan, both games this weekend demonstrated the strength and depth that characterizes the team as a whole.

“On any given night, it could be someone off the bench, it could be one of our starters that takes over. So being able to have that I think is a huge weapon for us this season and knowing that the pressure is not just on one, two or three of them, but it's going to be a team effort every single night, day in and day out,” Brennan said.

The Chargers traveled to Indianapolis to play the Greyhounds on Wednesday night, ending their streak with a 68-53 loss.

Touchette led the team again in points, finishing with 13 overall. She was closely followed by Sysum and Splain, who both added 11 to the scoreboard. Mills racked up her third double-double of the week, scoring 10 points and getting 15 rebounds.

The team, however, is feeling confident from its wins against Truman and Quincy, Splain said, they know that they have a long season ahead of them, and the work is just beginning.

“We're really proud of ourselves after this past weekend,” Splain said. “But we know that our work isn't done and we're only going to continue getting better. With conference play coming up, we're just looking to get better every day, every practice. I think we all feel really confident in ourselves and we know what we're capable of.”