ROCHESTER, NY – Freshman guard Jo Vincents (Vallensbak, Denmark/Kent School) scored nine of Hartwick's last 11 points as the Hawks hung on for a 56-53 victory over Nazareth at Kidera Gymnasium. 'Wick led by five points with 14 seconds left to play in the game but the Golden Flyers scored a basket and got a chance to tie the game on a Katie Kollar three-point attempt at the buzzer only to have her shot miss the mark.
            The victory for Hartwick secures the program's eighth 20-win season and first since the 1996-97 campaign. It is also the Hawks' 11^th straight win and 19^th in their last 20 games. Hartwick remains tied for first place in the Empire 8 and has secured at least the second seed in the conference tournament.
            "I'm very proud of our players," said head coach Missy West. "They work so hard and to get to 20 wins is fantastic."  
            Vincents ended the game with a career-high 13 points, including 8-of-9 from the free-throw line. She contributed two assists and a pair of steals. Sophomore Kate Purcell (Buffalo, NY/Mount Mercy Academy) led all scorers in the game with 14 points and four three-pointers. She also had six rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Maria Foglia (Rensselaer, NY/Catholic Central) was also in double figures with 11 points and Tracey Koch (Glenmont, NY/Bethlehem) grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.
            The score was tied three times with the lead changing hands on four occasions over the first 10 minutes of the game before Hartwick would take charge. The Hawks used an 11-0 run over a seven-minute span late in the half to earn a 12-point, 28-16, lead. A three from Kollar with seven seconds left made it 28-19 at the intermission.
            Purcell connected on two three-pointers early in the second half and the Hawks enjoyed their biggest advantage of the night, 34-21. After leading by at least seven points over the next five minutes, Purcell drained another triple for a 40-30 Hartwick edge. The Golden Flyers, led by Erica Shaw's five points, used an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to two, 40-38, with under eight minutes remaining.
            The Hawks got some breathing room on their next possession with a three-pointer from Lee Arduini (Albany, NY/Acad. of the Holy Names) and Samantha Fox (Hartwick, NY/Cooperstown) hit a layup off a long pass from Vincents for a 45-40 Hartwick lead with 6:30 to go. Naz quickly tied the score with a basket from Brittany Wilson and a three-pointer from Kollar.
            After Vincents gave the Hawks a two-point lead with free throws, Shaw answered with a pair from the stripe to make it 47-47 with 4:15 left. Neither team was able to score for the next 2:20. The Flyers had three opportunities to take their first lead of the second half, but each time they turned the ball over. Vincents put 'Wick in front for good after she drove to the basket, hit a layup, and sank a free throw after a Naz foul with 1:55 left to go.
            Nazareth had three cracks at tying or cutting into the Hartwuck lead but failed to convert. Vincents hit two free throws before Brittany TallChief made it 52-49 with 38 ticks showing on the clock.Koch made one of two from the foul line four seconds later but a foul on the second put Wilson on the line for Naz. She hit both her attempts to make it 53-51.
            The Flyers fouled Vincents, but she came through again with makes on both shots for a 55-51 advantage. The Hawks got a stop on the defensive end and Foglia made 1-of-2 from the line with 14 seconds left pushing the lead to five, 56-51.
            Brittany Patenaude made a layup for Naz with under three seconds left to make the score 56-53, but the Hawks' inbounds pass was thrown away giving the Flyers one shot to tie it. Kollar got free on the right side and had a good look, but her three-pointer caught the back iron to ensure the Hawks' victory.
           "We hit key free throws down the stretch," said West. "But we need to shoot better and make easy shots in big games like this."
            The Hawks made 13-of-19 from the line in the game. They made free throws when they mattered with a 9-of-11 showing over the final four and a half minutes.
            Patenaude, Kollar, and Shaw each scored 12 points for Nazareth. Patenaude added a game-high nine rebounds.           
            "We're happy with the win but we know our work isn't finished," added West. "We're taking it one game at a time."
            That next game for the Hawks is tomorrow at St. John Fisher (11-12, 7-5 E8). The Hawks defeated the Cardinals on January 20 by a final score of 59-49.