HILLSDALE, Mich. - In their final meeting as Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference rivals, Lake Superior State fell 72-63 against Hillsdale College Saturday (Jan. 7) on the road at Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena.
The Lakers (3-11, 1-6 GLIAC), still searching for their first victory away from home this season, erased a 10-point second quarter deficit to draw within a point of the Chargers (9-6, 3-5 GLIAC)following a pair of made free throws by Mackenzie Edwards with a minute left in the quarter. Hillsdale, however, ended the final minute of the half with a 6-2 run to lead 41-36 at the break.
Out of halftime, the Chargers opened on a 9-2 run to build a 12 point lead with 4:53 remaining in the third quarter. Allie Dewire scored six points during the run to pace Hillsdale, which went on to lead 59-45 at the end of the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, LSSU sophomore center Rachel Novotny led the Lakers scoring all of her 10 total points of the game during the final quarter. Four-straight unanswered field goals by Novotny to open the final quarter drew the Lakers within six of the Chargers and, following a layup by Hillsdale's Maddy Reed, sophomore guard Valerie Meissner brought the Lakers to within five with a three-pointer on the other end. Meissner's basket capped an 11-2 run on five consecutive made baskets for the Lakers.
The Chargers quickly responded with an 8-0 run of their own and built their lead back up to 13 points with 3:17 remaining, effectively ending any hopes of a comeback bid by the Lakers.
Junior center Tamara Novic led the Lakers with 12 points and six rebounds in 15 minutes of action off the bench. Meissner added 11 points, six rebounds and tied with Edwards and Hillsdale's Morgan Blair on a game-high five assists.
Edwards and Novotny rounded out the LSSU starters to reach double digits, while Novotny added a team-high eight rebounds
Dewire led the way for the Chargers, who will join the Great Midwest Athletic Conference next season, with a game-high 19 points and eight rebounds, followed by Makenna Ott with 18 points and Blair's 13 points. Allie Dittmer rounded out the Chargers starters reaching double figures in scoring with 10 points and had nine rebounds, six of which were on the offensive end.
The Lakers return home next week for a Thursday evening matchup against Ferris State at 5:30 p.m. LSSU also hosts Grand Valley State on Saturday (Jan. 14) at 1 p.m.