ALFRED, NY – Freshmen guards Kate Purcell (Buffalo, NY/Mount Mercy Acad.) and Maria Foglia (Rensselaer, NY/Catholic Central) combined for 26 points, nine steals, and eight rebounds, and six assists on Saturday as Hartwick's women's basketball team rolled to a 61-42 victory over Alfred University at the McLane Center. The victory for the Hawks avenges a heartbreaking one-point loss to the Saxons at Lambros Arena in January and improves their overall record to 7-11 and their conference mark to 4-6.
The 'Wick defense forced 28 Saxon turnovers in the game which the Blue and White turned into 22 points. The Hawks also earned 18 steals and they held their hosts to just 16 season-half points.
The first half was back and forth with five lead changes and seven tie scores. Neither team led by more than four points until Hartwick scored the final seven points of the half to head into the locker room up 32-26.
Jumpers by Foglia and Samantha Fox (Hartwick, NY/Cooperstown) pushed the 'Wick advantage to 10 in the early going of the second half. The Saxons made it a six-point game with 14 minutes to play, but Hartwick scored the next 10 points over the next four minutes to break the game open. Foglia and Tracey Koch (Glenmont, NY/Bethlehem) combined for eight points in the run and the Hawks forced seven Alfred turnovers before a Grace Williamson basket ended the Saxon skid.
Over the final eight minutes, 'Wick never led by less than 13 points. The Saxons managed just one field goal and the Hawks forced six turnovers in the span.
Purcell led all scorers with 14 points to go along with a game-high five steals and three assists. Foglia scored 12 points, grabbed five rebounds, and notched four steals, and three assists. Fox ended the day with eight points and five rebounds, while Katrina Caulfield (Palmer, MA/Palmer) registered seven points and tied for a game-high with nine boards. Koch and Kate Veit (Easthampton, MA/Holyoke Catholic) each recorded six points for the Hawks.
Alfred (8-12, 3-8 E8) did not have a player reach double figures. Courtney Lincoln led the Saxons with nine points. The Hawks held leading scorer Lyndsay Murphy (14.3 ppg) to only seven points.
The Hawks return to action on Tuesday night as they travel to Utica College for a big conference game. Fifth-place 'Wick trails the fourth-place Pioneers (6-4) by two games in the Empire 8 standings.