ALBANY, NY – The 2018-19 Hartwick women's basketball team went where no team has before. With their 67-58 victory on the road at The Sage Colleges on Monday night, they clinched the first outright Empire 8 Conference regular season title in program history. The win was the Hawks' 14th conference win of the season, the most ever by a Hartwick women's basketball team, surpassing the previous mark of 13 set in 2013-14 and duplicated in 2016-17. 'Wick is now 21-4 overall, 14-2 in the conference, and is set to host the Empire 8 Tournament for the first time ever as the number one seed this coming weekend. Sage finishes their season by dropping below .500, closing up shop with a 12-13 record (7-9 E8).
Both teams came out scoring, as the first quarter saw 43 total points. Hartwick took a slim 4-3 lead just over a minute in, but Sage's Emily Parslow started her senior day off strong by scoring the next five points. Mary Schoenherr (Unionville, CT/Farmington) and Kelly Pine (Hoosick Falls, NY/Hoosick Falls) scored lay-ups on back-to-back possessions to tie the game at eight before the Gators' Macie Holmes and Caitlin Corbett (Altamont, NY/Guilderland) traded threes to bump the score up to 11-all. After two more traded buckets, the Hawks went on a 7-0 run to take a 20-13 lead. Maggie Kirby (Selkirk, NY/Bethlehem) had four points over the stretch. Sage followed that with their own 5-0 run, but 'Wick matched that with a Corbett three and Schoenherr lay-up to end the quarter up, 25-18.
Hartwick seemed to take control of the game starting out the second quarter, scoring seven of the first nine points to take a 12-point lead under two minutes in. They led by as much as 14 when Pine sank a three with 5:52 left, but Sage knocked back with seven points in a row to cut their deficit in half. After Schoenherr interrupted the Gators' run with a lay-up, the hosts scored the next six points (four from Macie Holmes), cutting the Hawk lead to just three. Corbett stopped the bleeding with her 16th and 17th points of the half on a lay-up with 1:11 left, and Hartwick ended the half leading by five, 39-34.
Sage pushed the Hawks even more right out of the locker room, as Megan Flynn scored the third quarter's first four points to make the 'Wick lead just one. The two teams alternated buckets a couple times before Parslow put the Hartwick faithful on edge with a game-tying three pointer 3:31 in, tying the game for the first time since midway through the first quarter. The Hawks kept at it, though, as Maggie Kirby potted a lay-up and was followed by two more from Corbett to retake a six-point lead before Sage and Hartwick once again went back and forth, trading baskets. Madasyn Bush made just one of her two free throw attempts in the period's final 90 seconds, and Molly Kirby (Selkirk, NY/Bethlehem) sunk a lay-up with five ticks on the clock to give 'Wick a seven-point lead as they entered the final quarter ten minutes from the title, up 55-48.
The Gators would not give up, once again coming right at the Hawks by scoring the final period's first six points. The offense then slowed down dramatically, however. Molly Kirby followed up a Corbett lay-up with a three-pointer to extend the lead back to six, but Flynn immediately made it four again via a lay-up on the next possession with 5:58 on the clock. Sage would score only two more points for the rest of the game, coming on another Flynn lay-up with 28 seconds to go. In the interim, Pine and Carly Johnson (Greenville, NY/Greenville Central) had lay-ups and Maggie Kirby made all three of her free throws after being fouled on a three-point attempt, giving the Hawks an 11-point lead and essentially icing the game with 2:33 left. Hartwick dribbled out the final seconds with cheers building from the bench and the away fans in attendance in anticipation of their historic accomplishment.
Corbett had a big game for the Hawks, scoring 23 points on 10-of-17 shooting (3-of-6 from three). She also had four assists, three rebounds, and a steal. Pine was not far off from a double-double, scoring 12 points and grabbing a team-high eight rebounds. Maggie Kirby was the only other Hartwick player in double digits, potting 13 points, gathering seven rebounds, and picking up an assist and a block. Schoenherr once again had a great all-around night, scoring only six points but registering a game-high seven assists, seven rebounds, a team-high two steals, and a block.
Hartwick was pedestrian from the field overall, but they easily outshot the hosts, 41.5% to 35.1%. They also had a 14-point advantage from deep, 38.5% to 24.1%, although they took an uncharacteristically low 13 three-pointers, over five below their season average. Sage narrowly outrebounded 'Wick, 38 to 37, although the Hawks reversed that on the offensive board, leading 14 to 13 (and 18 to 13 in second chance points). Hartwick committed ten turnovers, six fewer than the Gators, and had a 13 to 7 lead in points off of turnovers as a result.
Parslow was the leading scorer for Sage in her final collegiate game, scoring 18 points while also pulling down eight rebounds, two assists, and a steal. Bush registered a double-double in just 16 minutes, scoring 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting and gathering a game-high ten rebounds. Flynn was the lone other Gator in double-digits scoring 13 points on a perfect 5-of-5 from the field (and 3-of-3 from the charity stripe). Seniors Holmes, Lauren Cross, and Danielle Stannard also played in their final games tonight.
The Hawks return to the postseason after a one-year hiatus on Friday, playing in the Empire 8 Semifinals. The game will take place at Lambros Arena at a time to be announced, with 'Wick's opponent being determined after the final day of the regular season plays out tomorrow. A win would advance Hartwick to the Empire 8 Championship for the first time since 2012-13.
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