Hawks Pull Through in Overtime 81-72 at St. John Fisher; Purcell Drops in Career-High 31
ROCHESTER, NY - Visiting Hartwick stayed red-hot on Saturday with its 12th straight victory. The Hawks fought back from an early hole and outscored the host Cardinals 16-7 in overtime to score the 81-72 win.
Hartwick (21-3, 12-1 E8) has now won 20 of its last 21 games dating back to before Thanksgiving. The Hawks, who have reached 21 wins for just the 6th time in program history, also stay in the hunt for the Empire 8 regular season title by maintaining their tie for first place with Ithaca with one game remaining.
The Hawks' 12 Empire 8 wins marks the most in conference play in program history. The 1993-94 Hawks won 11 games in the Empire Athletic Association and the 2000-01 team equaled the feat in the Empire 8.
"Our players are so deserving of this," stated Hartwick head coach Missy West, who recorded her 50th win at Hartwick on Saturday. "We're going to get some much-needed rest and get our legs back. We still have a lot of work left ahead of us and we know nothing will come easy from here on out."
Sophomore Kate Purcell (Buffalo, NY/Mount Mercy Academy) was stellar with a career- and game-high 31 points in the game. She added game-highs of 14 rebounds and five steals. In the first half alone, Purcell netted 17 to go along with six boards and three steals.
Maria Foglia (Rensselaer, NY/Catholic Central) flirted with a triple-double with 16 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists. She also had another great showing from the free-throw line making 13-of-14 attempts (.929). Foglia is just five free throws shy of the Hartwick single-season record.
Freshman Carlee Hirt (Beacon, NY/John Jay East Fishkill) added her second career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds and Jo Vincents (Vallensbak, Denmark/Kent School) contributed 12 points.
The Cardinals took control quickly in the opening half as they bolted out to a double-digit, 14-4 lead on the Hawks after less than four minutes. 'Wick would battle back with 16 of the next 25 points over a seven-minute span to cut the deficit to three, 23-20, and neither team led by more than three points for the next eight minutes of the half.
A three-pointer from Foglia gave the Hawks their first lead of the day, 26-25, with 3:28 to go and they maintained their advantage through the end of the half. Purcell would tally 15 of the Hawks' final 30 points over the last 14 minutes of the period.
Purcell started the second half with a three-pointer and a bucket from Samantha Fox (Hartwick, NY/Cooperstown) would push the Hawks' lead to eight points, 39-31. The Cardinals would cut it to one, 39-38, just three and a half minutes later, but the Hawks built their advantage back up to seven less than two minutes after that.
With less than 10 minutes to go, Portia Velasco converted a three-point play for Fisher and neither team held more than a three-point lead until the last minute and a half of regulation. The score would change hands twice with four ties over the final 7:47.
Following a Purcell free throw that tied the game at 58-58 with 3:59 left, Foglia put the Hawks ahead with two from the foul line 47 seconds later. Velasco evened the game again with two free throws with 2:37 remaining, but Hirt countered with a layup on the Hawks' next trip down the floor.
'Wick got a stop on the defensive end and after a Hirt offensive rebound, Purcell drained a three-pointer to extend the Hawks' lead to five, 65-60. Brooke Seavitt's layup made it 65-62 with just over a minute left, but the Hawks turned the ball over on their next touch and the Cardinals had two chances to tie it with under 38 ticks to play.
Velasco's first look from three-point range was off the mark, but Sydney Bloomstein converted from beyond the arc to make it 65-65. Hartwick had one last chance to win the game but Foglia's shot just before the horn was rejected by Camryn Buckner to force the extra session.
Both teams came away empty on each of their first two possessions of overtime before Foglia put 'Wick up for good with two from the line with 2:55 left. After a stop on defense, she sank two more, but Buckner converted a three-point play to cut the lead to one, 69-68.
With 1:34 left, Vincents drilled a big three-pointer to build the lead back to four. Meghan Soja made two free throws for the Cardinals but the Hawks outscored their hosts 9-2 over the final 1:08 to record the win. Over the final 2:55 of overtime, the Hawks were 2-of-3 from the floor and a perfect 10-for-10 from the line.
"Our girls are so poised down the stretch in games," said West. "Jo hit a big three-pointer in overtime and Maria hit some clutch free throws in the end."
Fisher was led on the day by Velasco's 22 points. Buckner added 13 points for the Cardinals and Soja added 12.
Purcell closed the game shooting 12-of-24 from the field. She also made four three-pointers to give her 80 for her two-year career. Purcell is now tied for third in the Hartwick record books with Heather Pruchansky (2006-10) in three-point field goals made.
Hartwick looks to finish off the regular season with its 13th straight win next Saturday. The Hawks host Stevens at Lambros Arena beginning at 2 p.m. The Ducks are 11-12 overall and in third place in the conference standings with an 8-5 mark.
The game will also serve as Hartwick women's basketball's "Senior Day." Both Fox and forward Brittany Ladner (Farmingdale, ME/Hall-Dale) will be honored in a ceremony prior to tip off.