Hawks Fall to National Semifinalist Tufts: Utica Drops Home Opener
Tufts 70, HARTWICK 32
Hartwick stuck with Tufts University (3-0) on Tuesday, trailing by a six-point margin, 19-13, with less than six minutes left in the opening half, but a 27-0 run through the end of the first half and into the second would help the Jumbos pull away.
Tufts, ranked in the top four in a pair of preseason national polls and a contender for this season's national title, won 30 games last season and advanced to the 2014 NCAA Final Four.
Emily Stone (Granby, CT/Granby) and
Anna Hickey (Falmouth, ME/Falmouth) each scored nine points for Hartwick.
Christina Graziadei (Oriskany, NY/Oriskany Central) registered a game-high nine rebounds with
Jacqui Foreman (Tolland, CT/Tolland)
adding seven.
The hosts jumped in front 7-0 after just over three minutes of action. The Hawks cut the margin to five points on two occasions before Tufts opened up a double-digit lead, 17-6, with under 10 minutes to go in the half.
Buckets by Foreman and Graziadei trimmed the deficit to six points with 5:40 left before the break. A three pointer from Tufts' Kelsey Morehead, however, triggered a 20-0 Jumbos' run to close the half and they held a 39-13 advantage at halftime. The Hawks would miss their final nine shots and were forced into five turnovers over the final 5:03.
Seven straight points to start the second half helped Tufts to a 46-13 lead before
Courtney Cirillo's (Johnstown, NY/Johnstown) layup snapped the Hawks' scoreless streak. Tufts maintained its big lead throughout the rest of the second half to secure with the victory.
The Jumbos had 13 players figure into the scoring column on the night. They were led by Morehead's 10 points. Emma Roberson and Hayley Kanner each contributed nine points.
'Wick was held to 28.0% (14-for-50) shooting in the contest. Tufts shot 45.3% (24-for-53).
Oneonta 69, UTICA 54
The Utica College women's basketball team lost, 69-54, Tuesday evening in its home-opener against visiting SUNY Cortland in non-conference play at the Clark Athletic Center. Junior
Mary Miceli (New Rochelle, NY/New Rochelle) posted 21 points including 11-of-12 from the free throw line and four steals, all of which were game-highs.
The Pioneers evened their overall mark at 1-1 on the season and are right back on the hardwood Wednesday as they travel to Troy, NY to challenge Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. at The Alumni Sports & Recreation Center. RPI is currently 1-1 overall on the season.
The Red Dragons moved their season mark to 1-1 and return to the court Saturday Nov. 22 at the Oneonta Holiday Inn Classic at Hartwick's Lambros Arena.
UC jumped out to a 9-0 lead over the initial four minutes, however could not keep the visitors in check as Oneonta answered back with a 12-3 run of its own to knot up the contest, 12-12, midway through the first half. UC battled to keep it close only trailing by four, 27-23, with 2:23 left until the break, but couldn't stop a visitor push as the Red Dragons worked an 8-3 run to close out the half with a nine point advantage, 35-26.
In the second half, SUNY never allowed UC to pull back within nine points and led by as much as 20 at one point before closing out the road victory with a 15 point win, 69-54.
Senior
Bridget Greenwald (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Hills) posted 10 points and eight boards while
Christy Traglia (Mohawk, NY/Mohawk) and
Samantha Stayer (Allegany, NY/Allegany-Limestone) combined for 15 points and six rebounds for UC. Traglia hit a perfect 5-of-5 from the charity stripe, along with three steals in the loss.