Hillsdale 89, Hawaii Pacific 88

Hillsdale 70, Northwest Missouri State 64



November 25, 2011 - The Hillsdale College women's basketball team is spending Thanksgiving Weekend in Hawaii, where it played two games. The team has some extra luggage coming home - two victories at the Oahu Classic.

Friday, Hillsdale won for the second time in two days, defeating Northwest Missouri State University 70-64. The Chargers now hold a 3-1 record as they begin GLIAC play next week.

The Bearcats made the NCAA Division II Final Four a year ago, making this an awfully big win for the Chargers at this stage of the season.

Sophomore guard Marissa DeMott led all players with 21 points, swishing five 3-point field goals, which provided Hillsdale with a crucia edge in a tightly played game. In the two games in Hawaii, DeMott scored a total of 45 points, and made 50 percent of her 3-pointers (9-for-18).

As prolific as DeMott was with her outside shooting, starting guard Lea Jones was equal to the task in rebounding. She grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds to go along with 11 points, five assists and three steals in 38 minutes on the court. Her 14 boards were the most by a Hillsdale player since the 2009 NCAA Tournament, when All-American Katie Cezat had 16 rebounds in the final game of her career.

Senior guard Chelsea Harrison played a key part in bringing the win home for the Chargers against the Bearcats. She buried a 3-pointer when Hillsdale was up two points with 1:17 left in the game. She made one free throw in the last minute to preserve the win. Harrison finished with 12 points.

Hillsdale held Northwest Missouri State without a field goal over the final 4:32 of the game.

Senior Katie Bildner and freshman Abbey Lovat each scored seven points in the win for the Chargers.

THURSDAY WRAP-UP
Junior guard Lea Jones drained three free throws in the waning moments of Thursday's game, helping Hillsdale to an exciting 89-88 win over the host school for the tournament, Hawaii-Pacific. Hillsdale is now 2-1 and will play Northwest Missouri State at 7 p.m. Michigan time on Friday.

Jones' game-clinching free throws all came in the game's last 30 seconds. She finished with 16 points, and was one of five players - all starters - who scored in double figures in the win.

Sophomore guard Marissa DeMott scored a team-high 24 points, draining four 3-point shots during the game. Senior Katie Bildner added 11 points and four steals, while senior guard Chelsea Harrison tallied 16 points. Sophomore forward Angela Bisaro scored 13.

Freshman center Megan Fogt came off the bench to lead the team in rebounding for the second game in a row, this time hauling in eight boards.