ONEONTA, NY – Hartwick took the lead with 7:55 remaining in the game and never relinquished it in a 67-58 victory over visiting Stevens Institute of Technology Tuesday night at Lambros Arena. The win, which is Hartwick's first over Stevens in seven tries, improves the Hawks' record to 6-9 and 3-5. The Ducks entered the game in second place in the Empire 8 with a 6-1 record. They fall to 13-3.
All eight Hawks that made it into the game scored at least three points in the victory. Fritzi Flores (Bergenfield, NJ/Paramus Catholic) and Katrina Caulfield (Palmer, MA/Palmer) each scored 13 points to lead the way. Flores added three three-pointers and five steals. Caulfield contributed eight boards.
Hartwick held the Stevens' attack to just 25% shooting for the game, including a 12% (4-for-31) showing from beyond the three-point line. In addition, 'Wick forced 24 Duck turnovers which the Hawks turned into 29 points.
Stevens quickly jumped out to an 8-1 lead in the early going and led for much of the opening 10 minutes. The Hawks erased their deficit with a huge 20-5 run over a six-minute span to take a 34-22 lead with just over three minutes left in the half and 'Wick led for the rest of the night. Flores, Samantha Fox (Hartwick, NY/Cooperstown), and Lee Arduini (Albany, NY/Academy of Holy Names) combined for 16 points in the run.
After closing the gap to seven at the end of the first half, the Ducks fell further behind as Hartwick held a pair of leads by 11 points. Stevens cut it to five with less than five minutes left to go, but seven straight Hawk points increased the edge to double digits once again.
The Ducks made it interesting with just over a minute left as six straight free throws in a five-second span made it a six-point game, 62-56. Hartwick, however, closed it out from the line making 5-of-8 attempts in the final 58 seconds to secure the victory.
Purcell finished the game with a double-double of 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. She also tied Flores with a game-high five steals and she dished out three assists. Tracey Koch (Glenmont, NY/Bethlehem) registered a career-high nine points for 'Wick. Maria Foglia (Rensselaer, NY/Catholic Central) scored eight to go along with four assists. Fox finished with six points and Arduini ended up with five.
Stevens held a huge advantage on the boards, out-rebounding the Hawks by a 52-39 margin. The 52 rebounds included 26 on the offensive glass. Jillian Barrett had a game-high 24 points with 10 boards. Victoria Webber added 23 points and eight rebounds. No other Duck had more than five points.
The Hawks will look for two in a row on Saturday as they play in their final non-conference game of the season against Albany College of Pharmacy at Lambros Arena.