Hawks Continue to Roll With Win at Stevens
HOBOKEN, NJ - Hartwick (14-3) beat defending Empire 8 champion Stevens Institute of Technology (7-10) for the third consecutive time on Tuesday night with a 65-51 triumph in Hoboken, NJ. With the victory, Hartwick has now won five straight games and 12 of its last 13.
Hartwick
The Hawks, who are 6-1 in the Empire 8 and in second place in the Empire 8, put some distance between themselves and much of the league. They are now two games in front of the third-place Ducks and St. John Fisher, who are both 4-3. Hartwick is also 6-1 in conference play for the first time since 1998-99 when the Empire 8 was known as the Empire Athletic Association.
Hartwick did it with defense once again as the Hawks allowed only 37 points over the first 37 and a half minutes of the game. The 'Wick defense also forced 26 Duck turnovers which it converted into 22 points on the night.
Sophomore Kate Purcell (Buffalo, NY/Mount Mercy Academy) led Hartwick with 21 points, including 11-of-12 from the free-throw line. Classmate Maria Foglia (Rensselaer, NY/Catholic Central) contributed 13 points and hit 7-of-8 from the stripe.
Hartwick never trailed in tonight's game with the Ducks only managing three tie scores in the first 14 minutes of action. Jillian Barrett, the game's leading scorer with 23 points for the Ducks, tied the score for the final time at 13-13 with 6:31 to go in the opening half. A free throw from sophomore forward Tracey Koch (Glenmont, NY/Bethlehem) with exactly six minutes showing on the clock would put the Hawks up to stay as they closed the half on a 12-5 run for a 25-18 lead.
Consecutive buckets from Samantha Fox (Hartwick, NY/Cooperstown) and Foglia gave 'Wick a double-digit advantage in the opening two minutes of the second half. Minutes later, a Lee Arduini (Albany, NY/Academy of the Holy Names) three-pointer extended the lead to 12 points, 34-22.
Stevens bounced back with a quick 6-0 run to make it 34-28 with 13:16 remaining. Following a Hartwick timeout, forward Carlee Hirt (Beacon, NY/John Jay East Fishkill) and Purcell combined for all eight points in an 8-0 spurt that put the Hawks by 14 points, 42-28.
A pair of Victoria Webber free throws briefly cut the Hartwick lead to single digits, 44-35, with 6:16 left but Foglia converted two foul shots on the Hawks' next trip down the floor and they never led by less than 10 the rest of the way.
Hartwick outscored the Ducks 14-4 over the next four minutes to open up its biggest lead of the game at 58-39. The Hawks had the game in hand before Stevens would inch closer making four three-pointers in the final 1:39 for the 65-51 final score.
The game featured a total of 45 turnovers, including 27 in the first half alone. The Hawks would shoot 39% (18-of-46) as a team with the Ducks slightly better at 40% (18-of-45). Both teams finished even on the boards with 30 rebounds.
Purcell tied Barrett for a game-high of four steals on the night. Foglia contributed three assists and Fox finished with a team-best six rebounds to go along with six points.
Arduini ended the contest with nine points for Hartwick and Katrina Caulfield (Palmer, MA/Palmer) added eight points.
Barrett hit 8-of-13 from the floor for Stevens. She made three 3-pointers, and grabbed a game-high eight boards. Webber scored 10 points and Molly Spadaro delivered seven assists.