ONEONTA, NY – Hartwick's women's basketball team led Albany College of Pharmacy by four points with less than two minutes to play, but the Panthers outscored the Hawks 6-0 over the final 1:21 to earn a 61-59 victory on Saturday at Lambros Arena. 'Wick falls to 6-10 overall with the setback. ACP improves to 11-3.
A Kate Purcell (Buffalo, NY/Mount Mercy Acad.) jumper in the paint gave the Hawks a 59-55 edge with 1:42 to go in the game, but Kelly VanValkenburgh, who led all scorers with 16 points, drained a three-pointer on the Panthers' next trip down the floor to cut the deficit to one. VanValkenburgh picked up a steal and was fouled with 58 seconds left and she converted both of her free throws to put ACP in front for good.
Lee Arduini (Albany, NY/Academy of Holy Names) attempted to put the Hawks ahead with a driving layup with 45 seconds remaining, but her effort was blocked by Alyson Johnson of ACP. Kelsey Johnson would miss a jumper at the other end giving the ball back to Hartwick but Arduini was whistled for a charge to turn the ball back over to the Panthers with less than 20 seconds on the clock.
'Wick fouled Kelsey Johnson, who converted one of two free throws to give ACP a two-point cushion, 61-59. Hartwick had two chances to tie it in the final three seconds. Maria Foglia (Rensselaer, NY/Catholic Central) missed a jumper in traffic and Samantha Fox (Hartwick, NY/Cooperstown) came down with the offensive rebound. Her short jumper in the paint just before the buzzer wouldn't fall and the Panthers escaped with the win.
The game was close from start to finish with neither team leading by more than four points. The lead changed hands 14 times in the game and the score was tied on nine separate occasions.
Arduini registered a career-high 14 points, including a 3-for-3 showing from three-point range. Fox recorded her second double-double of the season, registering 10 points and a season-high 13 rebounds. Purcell scored 11 points, while picking up seven rebounds. Foglia contributed nine points and seven rebounds.
For the Panthers, Kelsey Johnson netted 14 points. Alyson Johnson scored 12 and Amber Batzold registered nine points and a team-high seven boards.
The Hawks controlled the inside, outscoring the Panthers 32-14 in the paint. They also outrebounded the visitors by a wide 47-32 margin. The Hawks connected on 37% of their shots (23-62) in the game. The Panthers, who scored 22 points off turnovers, held a slight advantage shooting 39.6% (21-53) from the floor.
In its next contest, Hartwick will travel to St. John Fisher on Friday, February 4th for an Empire 8 conference game. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.