POUGHKEEPSIE, NY – Hartwick women's basketball won for the 10th time in its last 11 games on Tuesday night with a 67-55 road victory over Vassar College. The Hawks, who improve to 11-3 with the win, received a game-high 21 points from sophomore guard Maria Foglia (Rensselaer, NY/Catholic Central) and 13 points and 13 rebounds from Kate Purcell (Buffalo, NY/Mount Mercy Academy). The Brewers, who captured the Liberty League title in 2010-11, slip to 8-4 with the setback.
The two teams played through a tight first half before the Hawks broke loose in the early stages of the second half with an 18-2 run over a 5:15 span. During the spurt, Foglia netted 11 points including three 3-pointers in four trips down the floor for 'Wick.
Foglia finished the night shooting 7-of-12 from the floor, including 5-of-6 from three-point range. She also grabbed four rebounds and delivered three assists. Purcell dished out a game-high six assists to go along with her game-high 13 boards. She also registered three steals. Sophomore Lee Arduini (Albany, NY/Academy of the Holy Names) was also in double figures for the Hawks with 10 points.
Hartwick shot 41.3% from the floor as a team and hit eight three-pointers. The Hawks also out-rebounded the Brewers 49-33, including 29-16 in the second half.
Neither team held a lead larger than four points in the first half of play with eight tie scores and six lead changes in the opening 20 minutes. A three-point play from Vassar's Hannah Senfleber gave the Brewers their biggest lead of the game, 26-22, with 4:15 to go, but the Hawks closed the period with 14 of the final 22 points for a 36-34 lead at intermission. Arduini and Samantha Fox (Hartwick, NY/Cooperstown) combined for eight points in the final 3:08 for the Hawks.
After back-to-back buckets from Katrina Caulfield (Palmer, MA/Palmer) gave Hartwick a 40-34 edge early in the second half, a three-pointer from Vassar's Brittany Parks shaved the deficit to three for the hosts. Foglia would answer for 'Wick with a trio of triples in the next 57 seconds to turn the game into a 12-point advantage, 49-37. A Purcell three-pointer gave the Hawks their biggest lead of the game, 58-39, with just over 10 minutes remaining.
Vassar got as close as 10 points, 61-51, on a Cydni Matsuoka bucket with 3:11 left to play, but the Hawks got the next two baskets to open up a 14-point edge to ensure the win. For Matsuoka, it marked her only basket of the second half after scoring 12 in the opening half. She finished with 14 points, as did Parks.
"It was a great team effort tonight," said head coach Missy West. "We went back and forth in the first half, but we played really good defense in the second half. We held their leading scorer to two points in the half and controlled the boards."
Caulfield closed out the game with eight points and seven rebounds for Hartwick. Fox netted six and added six boards. The 'Wick bench aided in the victory with a combined 13 points, 12 rebounds, and three assists.
"Our bench gave us some very solid minutes tonight," added West. "I was very pleased with that."
Hartwick gets back to Empire 8 Conference play this weekend at Lambros Arena. The Hawks host St. John Fisher Friday evening and Nazareth Saturday afternoon.