ONEONTA, NY – Hartwick's women's basketball team snapped a 10-game winless streak against Oneonta State with a 52-47 victory on Thursday night at Lambros Arena. The Hawks improve to 6-2 on the year which is their best start since the 1999-2000 team began the year 8-2. The Red Dragons fall to 4-4 with the loss.
            The Hawks took the lead, 18-17, with 2:19 left to play in the opening half on a driving basket from Lee Arduini (Albany, NY/Acad. of the Holy Names) and never trailed again. Hartwick led by as many as nine in the second half but Oneonta battled back on three separate occasions to trim the lead to three points in the late stages of the game.
            A three-pointer from Red Dragon senior Samantha Szkotak (New York Mills, NY/New York Mills) made the score 50-47 with just over 13 seconds to play, but Maria Foglia (Rensselaer, NY/Catholic Central HS) drained a pair from the line with 11 ticks remaining to put the game on ice for the Hawks.
            Foglia led Hartwick with 16 points. Kate Purcell (Buffalo, NY/Mount Mercy Academy), Carlee Hirt (Beacon, NY/John Jay-E. Fishkill), and Arduini each added eight points for 'Wick. Purcell and Hirt tied for a team-high with seven rebounds.
            Oneonta State received game-highs of 17 points and eight rebounds from Szkotak. Grace Schilling (Northport, NY/Northport) contributed nine points for the Red Dragons.
            "This is a great win," remarked an exhausted Hartwick head coach Missy West following the game. "This is a big confidence booster for our team. We kept our composure throughout the game and our poise really carried us through."
            The first half was closely contested with neither team gaining the upper hand by more than four points. The score was tied four times and the lead changed hand on five separate occasions.
            After a Schilling layup gave the Red Dragons the lead, 14-12, with just over four minutes left in the half, the Hawks closed the first 20 minutes with an 8-3 run. A Katina Caulfield (Palmer, MA/Palmer) bucket tied the score and Foglia gave 'Wick a two-point edge, 16-14, with two free throws.
            Kristen Pappalardo (Mahopac, NY/Lakeland) connected on a three-pointer for Oneonta for the Red Dragons' final lead of the night, 17-16, with 2:45 left but four straight Arduini points to close the half put the Hawks up to stay.
            In the second half, with Hartwick up three, 29-26, the Hawks would use a quick 6-0 run with Foglia scoring four to open up a 35-26 edge with 11 minutes left. After the Red Dragons shaved the deficit to three, Hartwick built its advantage back up and led by eight points three separate times in the final five and a half minutes.
            The Hawks led 46-38 with 90 seconds to go but missed free throws allowed the Red Dragons to climb back into it. Szkotak converted the next four points in 30 seconds to pull her team within four. Josefine Vincents (Vallenbak, Denmark/Kent School) tacked on two free throws for the Hawks but Szkotak answered with two from the line and hit a three-pointer and the score was 50-47. Foglia, however, closed the game out from the line.
            The Hawks held the Red Dragons to just 31% shooting in the game, including 27% in the opening frame. Hartwick also held Oneonta leading scorer Madison Slagle (Rome, NY/Rome Catholic) to just six points.
            "It came down to defense in this one," added West. We played together as a team and did a great job on Slagle. She averages 14 points a game and we didn't allow her much."
            The Hawks made 38% (18-of-47) as a team in the contest and only 12.5% (2-of-16) from three-point range. Hartwick held the edge in rebounding, 37-32, and advantage in the paint with 22 points to the Red Dragons' 12.
            Purcell added four steals to go along with her eight points and seven rebounds. Foglia dished out a game-high four assists.
            Pappalardo registered four steals for Oneonta. Slagle added five rebounds with her six points.
            Oneonta next plays on the road at New Paltz on Saturday. Hartwick gets little time to enjoy the victory as the Hawks host Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts tomorrow night at 6 p.m.
            "MCLA is tough," added West. "We need to recover quickly and not have a letdown against them. I'm confident the girls can do it."