Hartwick Cruises Over Alfred; Hawks Winners of Eight Straight
ALFRED, NY - Visiting Hartwick jumped out to a 10-point lead six minutes into the game and never looked back in a 60-40 rout of Alfred University on Saturday afternoon at the McLane Center. 'Wick is now 9-2 overall and 2-0 in the Empire 8. With the victory, the Hawks have now won eight straight games which ties for the fourth-longest winning streak in program history. The win also marks the first time Hartwick has started the conference slate 2-0 since the 1999-2000 season.
The sophomore trio of Maria Foglia (Rensselaer, NY/Catholic Central HS), Tracey Koch (Glenmont, NY/Bethlehem Central), and Kate Purcell (Buffalo, NY/Mount Mercy Academy) combined for 35 points and 16 rebounds in the game. Foglia led the way with a game-best 16 points and Purcell fell a point short of a double-double with nine points and a game-high 10 boards.
The Hawks, who led from start to finish in the game, shot 44.9% from the field as a team. Hartwick also won the rebounding battle by a wide margin, 43-30.
"We played well and got out to a great start," said head coach Missy West after the contest. "Today, we had the right players taking the right shots at the right time. I don't think we did that yesterday. We also kept them off the boards very well."
The Hawks started strong as they converted on their first six field-goal attempts for an early 13-6 edge. Foglia scored seven with Koch adding four in the run. Ten of the next 12 points handed 'Wick a 15-point edge with under 10 minutes remaining in the half.
Alfred cut the Hartwick advantage to eight points, but the Hawks closed the half on another 10-2 run to head into the locker room up 36-17 and they never led by less than double digits the rest of the day.
The lead swelled to 20 early in the second half and grew to as many as 29 points, 51-22, with a little under 10 minutes to play in the game. The Hawks cruised over the final 10 minutes of action with at least a 20-point lead.
Foglia connected on only three of her 11 shots from the floor in the game, but she made up for it at the free-throw line with a 9-of-10 performance. She added two assists and a block. Purcell made a pair of three-pointers and dished two assists to go along with her 10 rebounds. Koch made 5-of-8 field goals, grabbed four rebounds, and picked up two steals.
Samantha Fox (Hartwick, NY/Cooperstown HS) contributed six points on 3-of-4 shooting for 'Wick. She grabbed seven boards, including five on the offensive glass, and blocked two Saxon shots.
Grace Williamson led Alfred with 13 points and eight rebounds. Harley Cleary scored 12 points and Sarah Federico netted eight.