ONEONTA, NY – The Hartwick women's basketball had to sweat out their 11th win in a row on Saturday afternoon at Lambros Arena, only pulling away in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter in a victory over Houghton College, 73-63. With the win and Sage's loss to St. John Fisher, the Hawks, who are 18-3 overall and 11-1 in the Empire 8, have clinched a spot in the conference's postseason tournament. The Highlanders fall to 11-9 overall and 4-7 in the Empire 8, remaining on the fringes of the playoff race.
Each team started slowly, with the visitors leading 4-2 four minutes in. Scoring picked up after that, as the teams alternated buckets (neither leading by more than two points) before ending up tied at 14 after ten minutes. The second quarter was more of the same. Caitlin Corbett (Altamont, NY/Guilderland) broke a tie at 21-all with a Mary Schoenherr (Unionville, CT/Farmington)-assisted three-pointer about halfway through, but Houghton's Hannah Cybart answered right back with a triple of her own. Molly Kirby (Selkirk, NY/Bethlehem) scored the next four points on two free throws and a jumper, but the Highlanders shot right back with another three, this one from Hannah Haskell. Subsequent buckets from Madison Detwiler and Emily Swanson gave Houghton a three-point lead, but two more Kirby free throws, a Corbett steal and lay-up, and a Corbett rebound and pass to Kirby on the break from the lay-in brought the Hawks into the locker room up, 34-31.
The Highlanders immediately cut the lead to one on the first possession of the second half, and briefly took the lead on a Swanson lay-up before Corbett took it right back with a lay-up of her own. The Hawks pushed the lead to three points three different times, but eventually two Swanson free throws and a Brittany Lenart three put Houghton up by two with 3:32 to go, 44-42. Kelly Pine (Hoosick Falls, NY/Hoosick Falls) helped keep Hartwick in it, answering Highlander buckets by knocking down four-of-four from the line in the last 90 seconds of the quarter. After three, 'Wick trailed, 50-48, the first time they were on the short end of the score entering the final quarter since their come-from-behind win over St. John Fisher on January 5.
Pine gave the Hawks the lead right away in the fourth, converting a conventional three-point play 11 seconds in. The visitors answered, however, scoring the next six points to take a five-point lead, their largest of the afternoon. After some back-and-forth baskets, Houghton remained up by five with 6:40 left, leading 60-55. They would score only one point over the next six-plus minutes, as Hartwick did what they usually do and took control of the game with an 18-1 run. Pine got it started with three lay-ups, two assisted by Schoenherr, giving the Hawks the lead. Molly Kirby got in on the action next, depositing a Schoenherr dime in to the hoop as well. Detwiler then went 1-of-2 from the line, and was immediately followed by a Schoenherr jumper and a Maggie Kirby (Selkirk, NY/Bethlehem) three-point play. Schoenherr owned the next two possessions, making a lay-up, grabbing a defensive rebound off of a miss on the other end, getting fouled, and making both free throws to give Hartwick a 72-61 lead. Molly Kirby finished the run by making 1-of-2 free throws with 28 seconds left. Lenart cut the lead to ten with 15 seconds to go with two of her own free throws, but it was much too little, too late, and the buzzer sounded shortly thereafter.
Schoenherr had the best all-around night for the Hawks, scoring a season-high 16 points on 6-of-11 from the field, tying for the team-high with seven rebounds (two offensive), and spreading out six assists. She also tied for the team-highs with two steals and a block. Pine tied her season-high with a game-leading 17 points on 5-of-11 shooting and 7-of-7 from the line, all of which came in a monster second half. She pulled down five rebounds as well. Corbett was in double digits for the sixth straight game, this time scoring 12 points and gathering seven rebounds, two steals, two assists, and a block. Molly Kirby was the only other Hawk with over 10 points, scoring 13 to go with three rebounds, two asssists, and a steal.
The teams were very evenly matched in terms of shooting. Hartwick narrowly outshot Houghton overall, making 25-of-58 (43.1%) to the visitors' 25-of-59 (42.4%). Each team shot 20.0% from three, although the Highlanders were 4-of-20 compared to 'Wick's 2-of-10. Houghton was 90.0% from the line, a better rate than Hartwick's 84.0%, but the Hawks got to the line much more frequently, making 21 free throws to their opponent's nine. This proved to be a big difference in the game. Houghton outrebounded Hartwick by just three, 36-33 (8-7 offensive), although 'Wick led by one (9-8) in second chance points. The Hawks also had a big turnover advantage, giving it up just eight times compared to the Highlanders' 16. This turned into a 15-4 lead in points off of turnovers, another key to the final result.
Lenart had a double-double for Houghton, with 11 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, also dishing out three assists. Swanson led her team with 12 points on 5-of-10 from the field, also contributing five rebounds and a block. Amber Edwards had a nice afternoon as well, with eight points and six rebounds.
The Hawks have their first road game in a week and a half on Tuesday, February 5, as they travel to Elmira to play the Soaring Eagles at 5:30 p.m.
Make sure to catch the latest news on all your favorite Hartwick Hawks teams by following @HawkTalk on Twitter, @hartwickhawks on Instagram, and by liking 'Hartwick Hawks' on Facebook.