Hartwick Controls Second Half in 69-52 Conference Win Over Elmira
ELMIRA, NY - Hartwick outscored Elmira 44-26 in the second half to open its Empire 8 Conference schedule with a 69-52 win on Friday night at EC's Speidel Gymnasium. The victory is Hartwick's seventh in a row and improves the Hawks' record to 8-2.
Sophomore Maria Foglia (Rensselaer, NY/Catholic Central HS) led Hartwick with a game-high 22 points. She made six of her 11 shots from the floor, including a 4-of-5 showing from beyond the three-point arc.
The Hawks ended the contest hitting 48% (25-for-52) from the field and 53% (8-for-15) from three-point range. 'Wick also held a 39-31 edge on the glass.
Elmira jumped out to a quick 9-1 lead in the early going of the game thanks in part to four Hawk turnovers on their first five possessions. The Soaring Eagles extended their lead to as many as nine points, 21-12, with eight minutes remaining in the first half, before a 14-4 Hartwick run cut the deficit to one, 26-25, at the break.
"We were very rusty in the first half," stated Hartwick head coach Missy West. "We haven't played in close to a month and it showed. We weren't patient on offense and did not work for a good shot."
After an Elmira layup to start the second half, Hartwick, scored 10 of the next 11 points to take its first lead of the night. Following an EC timeout, a 13-5 spurt gave the Hawks a 48-34 lead with under 10 minutes left.
"I thought we were much more patient and found the open player in the second half," added West. "We had several ball reversals and hit our shots."
Foglia connected on a trio of three-pointers in the early part of the second half to aid the Hawks in their run while Kate Veit (Easthampton, MA/Holyoke Catholic) knocked down all 10 of her points in a 10-minute second-half span. Her final bucket was a three-pointer that put the Hawks up 53-39 with under eight minutes left.
With less than five minutes to go, Elmira cut the Hawks' lead to 12, but an 11-2 Hartwick run gave the victors their biggest advantage, 69-48. Kate Purcell (Buffalo, NY/Mt. Mercy Academy) and Foglia combined for nine of the 11 points in the spurt, before the Soaring Eagles scored the last four points for the final score line.
Purcell finished with 15 points for the Hawks and she contributed a game-high eight rebounds. Purcell also dished out five assists and grabbed a pair of steals. Veit had a game-high four steals to go along with her 10 points and Katrina Caulfield (Palmer, MA/Palmer) added eight points for 'Wick. Lee Arduini (Albany, NY/Academy of Holy Names) netted six points, tied Purcell for a game-high five assists, and added three steals.
Elmira was led on the night by Darcy James and Liz Forrest, who each had 14 points. Maria Thannhauser contributed 13 points.