Box score

December 19, 2010 - Hillsdale College women's basketball head coach Claudette Charney has coached in the GLIAC for more than 20 years, but it's unlikely she's ever seen her team pull off what it did Sunday afternoon.

The Chargers put together a comeback the likes of which is rarely seen, rallying from a 23-point, second-half deficit on the road to defeat Ashland University 80-77 at the Kates Gymnasium. Hillsdale now enters its holiday break with an overall record of 8-2 and 3-2 in the conference.

In the first meeting between these teams on Dec. 2, the Chargers jumped out to a 13-2 lead, only to see the Eagles come back and dominate the second half in a 75-56 Ashland win. Sunday's rematch started out in much the same way that first game ended.

Holding a 38-28 lead at halftime, the Eagles blitzed the Chargers with a 17-4 run in the first 5:40 of the second half, extending their lead to 55-32. That's when The Comeback started.

Senior forward Laura Barczak (pictured) popped in five quick points to help get momentum going in Hillsdale's direction. After starting Hillsdale's comeback, Barczak would later put th efinishing touches on it, completing a career day for the six-footer from Franklin, Wisconsin.

Ashland maintained a 16-point lead as late as the 10:04 mark of the second half, 62-46. But in the final half of the second half, the Chargers would go on a 34-15 run that won't soon be forgotten by the players or coaches.

Junior Chelsea Harrison drained a 3-point shot at the 10:03 mark, then successfully converted a three-point play on the next possession to cut the lead to 10, 62-52. Those six points started a 14-2 Hillsdale run over the next four minutes. Junior forward Elizabeth Brannick also played a big part in the rally, scoring four of her six points off the bench during that 14-2 run, helping to provide the crucial "second" scoring run that any trailing team needs when trying to chip away at a big lead on the road.

The game was tied four times in the game's final 2:45. But after each tie in the game's waning moments, the Chargers scored the go-ahead basket, keeping pressure on the Ashland offense.

Freshman guard Marissa DeMott scored the ultimate game-winning basket, hitting a short jump shot with 37 seconds left in the contest to give the Chargers the lead for good. The scoring was finished with one made free throw by junior Katie Bildner.

Barczak finished the game with a career-high 27 points, going 10-for-16 from the field while making all seven of her free throws. Eight of her points in the game came in the final 3:44 of the contest, providing a sweet back end to the comeback that she helped to start.

Harrison poured in 24 points, and matched Barczak's 7-for-7 performance from the free throw stripe. As a team, Hillsdale shot 20-for-22 from the free throw line (91 percent) and outscored the Eagles by 12 big points from the charity stripe. Bildner had 10 points and six rebounds for Hillsdale, while Brannick produced six points and five rebounds in 15 minutes off the bench for the Chargers.