By: Utica College Athletics
UTICA, NY – The Utica College women's basketball team was able to take down Hartwick College for the second time this season, never trailing throughout Tuesday evening's contest. UC has a 5-3 record in the Empire 8, going 12-7 overall.
The Pioneers were stout on defense to open the contest, holding the visitors to just one point through the first nine minutes while racking up 14 of their own. It was a free throw by Nicolette Conkin that gave them a 13-point advantage with 3 minutes remaining in the opening-quarter.
After a layup and a free throw cut UC's lead to 10 points, Sydney Przygoda extended it to 12 with a layup with 30 seconds remaining on the clock.
Defense was a big factor in the second stanza as well, as Utica outscored Hartwick 15-9. The trio of Przygoda, Conkin and Petrina DeMarco all posted jumpers in the first two minutes of the quarter to open a 16-point lead (22-6).
After trading buckets, Przygoda helped her squad to regain its footing on a pair of buckets from the charity stripe. DeMarco ends it with a good three-pointer with seven seconds left, owning a 31-13 lead heading into halftime.
The third quarter looked to spell disaster for the hosts as the Hawks were able to put 22 points on the board, more than they had scored in the first two quarters combined. They cut the lead to five with 2:22 left in the period, but four free throws Cora Sawyer and one from DeMarco helped UC to a nine point lead heading into the final 10 minutes. (44-35).
Hartwick opened with a 6-point run, capped off by two free throws by Maggie Kirby to pull itself within three. DeMarco ended the 6-point run by the bad guys with a bucket from three-point land, helped along by Conkin. The latter followed it up with a pair of free throws.
After the teams traded layups in the late goings to make it a 6-point game, DeMarco added two points to the stat sheet on a layup while Brigid Johndrow posted the final two on a pair of free throws.
DeMarco led her squad in scoring, posting 17 points, going 4-for-8 from beyond the arc. She also grabbed eight rebounds.
The pairing of Johndrow and Przygoda also scored in the double-digits, posting marks of 12 and 11, respectively. The latter led the team in boards with nine.
UC hits the road for another Empire 8 contest, set for a 4 p.m. tip off at Elmira College on Saturday.