UTICA, NY – Visiting Hartwick outscored Utica College 39-14 in the opening half and never looked back in a 68-46 rout of the Pioneers on Friday night at Clark Athletic Center in Utica (7-12, 2-6 E8). Hartwick's record now stands at 15-3 overall and 7-1 in the Empire 8. The Hawks play at Ithaca (16-3, 8-0 E8) tomorrow in a battle of the league's top two teams in the standings.
            Sophomore Kate Purcell (Buffalo, NY/Mount Mercy Academy) paced Hartwick with a double-double on the night. She registered game-highs of 19 points and 11 rebounds. She made seven of her 11 shots from the field, including a 5-of-7 showing from three-point range. She added three assists and three steals.
            Senior Samantha Fox (Hartwick, NY/Cooperstown) and Marie Davison (Saratoga Springs, NY/Saratoga Springs) each added 10 points for Hartwick.
            The Hawks scored the first nine points of the game and led by 21 points, 26-5, with nine minutes remaining in the first half. 'Wick led by as many as 28 in the half, shooting 45.5% from the floor and 60% (6-of-10) from three-point range. The Hawks out-rebounded the Pioneers in the frame, 28-11, and held their hosts to just 20% shooting (4-of-20) over the first 20 minutes.
            Purcell was just one rebound short of a double-double in the first half with 16 points and nine boards. Fox added six points and Katrina Caulfield (Palmer, MA/Palmer) grabbed six rebounds.
            After the Pioneers scored five points in the first 1:44 of the second half, an 18-4 Hartwick run over the next 10 minutes would put the Hawks up by 36 points, 59-23. Over the span, the Hartwick defense forced five turnovers and held the Pioneers to just 1-of-12 shooting.
            Utica, which ended the game on a 23-9 run, never got closer than 22 points over the final nine minutes.  
            Hartwick shot 43% (25-for-58) as a team with the Pioneers making 29.5% (13-of-44). The Hawks made 43.8% (7-of-16) of their three-pointers and out-rebounded UC by a margin of 41-30.
             Fox connected on 4-of-8 from the floor for her 10 points while Davison made 4-of-5 shots. Caulfield finished with seven rebounds and Lee Arduini (Albany, NY/Academy of the Holy Names) and Josefine Vincents (Vallensbak, Denmark/Kent School) scored six points apiece.
            Utica received 13 points from forward Meghan Fiore. Alyssa Filkins added 12 points. Fiore, Justine Karst, and Katie McGee each grabbed six rebounds.
            The victory for the Hawks completes their first season sweep of Utica since the 2003-04 season. 'Wick is now 27-19 against the Pioneers all-time.
            Tomorrow, the Hawks try to improve to 8-1 in conference play for just the second time in program history. More importantly, a win over the Bombers would pull the Hawks into a first-place tie with them at the top of the standings. The two teams played two weeks ago with IC coming away with a 63-49 win.