Wayne State 52, Hillsdale 49

January 5, 2012 - The Hillsdale College women's basketball team lost in its return to conference play Thursday night, 52-49 to Wayne State University.

The Chargers are now 5-7 overall and 2-4 in the GLIAC, and will remain at home this Saturday, hosting Tiffin University.

Both teams struggled shooting from the field in their first games of the 2012 calendar year. Both teams shot 32 percent from the field and the Charger defense forced 16 turnovers. But seven missed free throws proved to be costly to Hillsdale.

The Chargers held the Warriors scoreless for nearly eight minutes in the second half, during which it went on a 15-0 run to cut a 16-point lead down to a 41-40 score with around four minutes remaining. Hillsdale pulled to within one point on two other occasions, but were never able to vault into the lead. WSU made four straight free throws in the game's final minute to help finish off the win.

Sophomore guard Marissa DeMott made four 3-point shots, and finished with a team-high 12 points for Hillsdale. She was the only player to score in double digits for the Chargers in this game.

Junior guard Lea Jones finished with five points, 12 rebounds, four assists and three steals. Freshman Abbey Lovat came off the bench to contribute seven points in the game for Hillsdale.