ITHACA, NY – Hartwick's women's basketball team came up just short of its quest for its first Empire 8 Conference Championship on Saturday at Ithaca's Ben Light Stadium. The Hawks led by five points with just over three minutes remaining in the game, but the top-seeded Bombers were not to be denied as they outscored the Hawks by a 12-2 margin over the final 2:50 for a 43-38 victory in a thrilling final. Hartwick is now 22-5 overall and will hope for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, which will be announced Monday at 2:30 p.m.
            Little separated the number two and three ranked teams in the East region this season. Both teams entered the game with identical 22-4 records, both teams went 15-1 in the Empire 8 Conference, and they split their season series. Today was no different as the teams battled through seven tie scores and seven lead changes. Over the last 11 minutes alone, the score was tied four times and the lead switched five times. In addition, neither team led by more than six points all day.    
            Six straight points from sophomore guard Maria Foglia (Rensselaer, NY/Catholic Central) late in the contest gave the Hawks their biggest lead of the game, 36-31, with 3:10 remaining. Following an Ithaca timeout, Bomber Jessica Farley hit a three-pointer to cut the IC deficit to one.
            Center Carlee Hirt (Beacon, NY/John Jay East Fishkill) calmly sank two from the line after an IC foul with 1:20 to go to push the Hartwick advantage to three once again, but Farley answered again with a three-pointer to tie it at 38-38.
            The Hawks couldn't convert at the other end and Devin Shea dropped in a layup with 16 seconds left to put the Bombers in front. After a pair of Hartwick timeouts, Kate Purcell (Buffalo, NY/Mount Mercy Academy) drove to the hoop to try and even the game, but her shot wouldn't fall. The Hawks fouled and Jenn Escobido hit two from the line to make it a two-possession game with seven ticks left to put the game away for the hosts.
            "This was just a defensive battle," stated Hartwick head coach Missy West. "Neither team had any easy shots all night. Ithaca made some big buckets at the end of the game and that was the difference."
            Neither team shot over 27% for the game, a tribute to great defense on both sides. The Hawks made 26.9% on 14-of-52 shooting and 14% (2-of-14) from three-point range. The Bombers made 24% (12-for-50) of their shots. IC made 27.8% (5-for-18) of its shots from beyond the arc, but hit the two that mattered down the stretch.
            The largest lead for either team in the first half of play was five following a Mary Kate Tierney three-pointer with 5:10 remaining to put the Bombers up 15-10. The Hawks came right back with seven unanswered points to go up 17-15. Purcell scored on a layup, Kate Veit (Easthampton, MA/Holyoke Catholic) hit a three-pointer, and Hirt made a short jumper in the spree. Ithaca would outscore the Hawks 6-0 over the final two minutes of the session for a 21-17 edge at half.
            The lead swelled to six very early in the second half, but the Hawks again fought back. Purcell made a layup and Jo Vincents (Vallensbak, Denmark/Kent School) converted the traditional three-point play to cut the deficit to one. Following a Katrina Caulfield (Palmer, MA/Palmer) layup with 11 minutes left that cut the Ithaca lead to two, neither team led by more than three points for the next eight minutes until Foglia's layup put 'Wick up by five.
            Foglia and Tierney tied for the game-high with 11 points each. Purcell had seven points and a team-best seven rebounds. Hirt finished with eight points and six boards and Caulfield and Foglia had seven and six rebounds, respectively.
            Farley closed the game with eight points and nine boards for the Bombers. Escobido had six points and nine rebounds.
            "I'm so proud of this team and not one of our players should hang their head," said West. "It could have easily gone the other way. Our team has done unbelievable things this year and we're looking forward to postseason.  
            The Hawks, with their current number three regional rank and a 3-3 record against regionally ranked opponents should give the NCAA selection committee much to think about. This season, the Hawks defeated three NCAA Tournament teams in their own region (Vassar, Oneonta State, and Ithaca). They will learn their fate on Monday, February 27 at 2:30 p.m. when the tournament field is announced.