ROCHESTER, NY – In a game that saw 15 lead changes, the Hartwick women's basketball team could not withstand a late shooting barrage from host Nazareth on Friday evening, losing their Empire 8 Conference opener, 80-73. The Hawks drop to 7-3 (0-1 E8), while the Golden Flyers improve to 6-4 (1-0 E8)
The first quarter played out about as tightly as possible, with neither team leading by more than three at any point. All five Hartwick starters scored as Nazareth led 17-16 after one. 'Wick was able to take a five-point lead after a Maggie Kirby (Selkirk, NY/Bethlehem) three-pointer just under three minutes in to the second quarter, but the Golden Flyers scored the next six points to take a 27-26 lead. There were three more lead changes before the half was up, and the Hawks took a 34-32 lead into the locker room thanks to a Caitlin Corbett (Altamont, NY/Guilderland) lay-up with seven seconds remaining.
The story of the third quarter was the same as the first two. Hartwick was once again able to take a five-point lead off of an early Maggie Kirby three, and again Nazareth scored the next six points to take a one-point lead, 40-39. The Hawks quickly regained the lead, but were unable to stretch it, and led 54-53 after three quarters. The game remained close through the first four-plus minutes of the final period. Mary Schoenherr (Unionville, CT/Farmington) hit a tie-breaking three-pointer with 5:56 left to lift Hartwick to a 60-57 lead, but the Golden Flyers grabbed control immediately after. Nazareth scored on five straight possessions, missing just one shot (and grabbing the subsequent offensive rebound) over the course of them to go on a 12-0 run and take 69-60 lead. 'Wick kept at it, immediately scoring four straight points, but Elizabeth White hit a three-pointer to move the lead back out to eight, and the hosts went 8-for-8 from the charity stripe down the stretch to hold the Hawks at bay.
Carly Johnson (Greenville, NY/Greenville Central) led Hartwick with 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting, also pilfering the ball a season-high four times, grabbing three rebounds, and dishing out two assists. Schoenherr was not too far off from a triple-double, as she led all comers with a season-high seven assists, gathered seven rebounds, and scored nine points. Three other Hawks had double-digit point totals. Corbett was the second-leading scorer, with 14 points, and also contributed in the other four major statistical categories (four assists, three rebounds, two steals, one block). Maggie Kirby was right behind, potting 13 points to go with her three rebounds and one block. Kelly Pine (Hoosick Falls, NY/Hoosick Falls) rounds out the ten-or-more-point scorers with exactly 10 points herself, also leading the team on the boards with eight rebounds.
As the game indicates, the team shooting percentages were very close. Nazareth outshot Hartwick from the field, 46.7% to 42.6%, but the Hawks had the slight edge from three, 32.0% to 31.3%. Both teams shot above 80% from the free throw line with the Golden Flyers winning that battle 82.6% to 81.3%. Nazareth had a big advantage on the boards, outrebounding Hartwick 44-28, including 14-7 on the offensive boards. That led to a 17-8 difference in second-chance points, more than the distance between the two teams' scores. Hartwick only had 11 turnovers compared to Nazareth's 18, but did not have as big an advantage in points off of turnovers, 20-15.
Rachel Benedict showed out for the Golden Flyers, scoring 26 points on 9-of-15 shooting and just missing a double-double with nine rebounds. She also had three assists and a steal. Jadyn Abrams also had a stellar evening, scoring 23 points to go with her her five assists and four rebounds. Isabella Gjonaj led the team with 11 rebounds, also scoring eight points.
The Hawks are right back at it tomorrow, Saturday, January 5, when they stay in the World's Image Center to take on St. John Fisher at 2 p.m.
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