ITHACA, NY - Hartwick outscored Stevens 43-25 in the second half to earn a 72-49 victory over the Ducks in the Empire 8 semifinals at Ithaca's Ben Light Stadium on Friday night. The win puts the Hawks in the 2012 Empire 8 title game against the top-seed and host Bombers tomorrow at 4 p.m.

Sophomore Kate Purcell (Buffalo, NY/Mount Mercy Academy) led three Hawks in double figures with 18 points. Jo Vincents (Vallensbak, Denmark/Kent School) scored 17 and Kait Veit (Easthampton, MA/Holyoke Catholic) added 14 for the victors.

The Hawks, who have now won 21 of their last 23 games and are ranked 3rd in the region, will be making their first appearance in the Empire 8 Championship. The only other 'Wick teams to make the conference tournament lost in the semifinals.

"We really played well tonight," said Hartwick head coach and Empire 8 Coach of the Year Missy West after the game. "We stuck to the game plan, executed very well on offense, and played some very tough defense."

For the game, Hartwick shot 43.6% (24-of-55) and hit 10-of-24 (41.7%) three pointers. The Hawks forced 21 Duck turnovers which they converted into 29 points. Hartwick's bench blanked Stevens by a margin of 37-0.

"We played lock-down defense tonight against them," added West. "We wanted to keep them out of the paint throughout the game and I think we did that. When they did get good looks, we had a hand in their face."

In the first half, Hartwick led by a count of five, 14-9, after Maria Foglia (Rensselaer, NY/Catholic Central) hit two free throws with 13:38 remaining for the biggest lead for either team up until that point. An 8-2 Stevens run over the next four minutes would grab the lead for the Ducks, 17-16, thanks to an Avis Benjamin bucket, but Tracey Koch (Glenmont, NY/Bethlehem Central) converted at the opposite end to regain the advantage for Hartwick on the team's next possession and the Hawks never trailed again.

After a Dawn Garcia three-pointer made it 22-20 with just over four minutes to play in the half, the Hawks closed the period on a 7-4 run for a 29-24 edge. Purcell had seven in the half for 'Wick and Foglia, Vincents, and Lee Arduini (Albany, NY/Academy of the Holy Names) each had six.

Purcell scored the first six points of the second half as the Blue and White opened up a double-digit lead, 35-24, with just 2:20 elapsed. The Hawks maintained their big lead until the 14:14 mark when they began pouring it on with six three-pointers in seven attempts over the next eight and a half minutes.

Vincents knocked down two straight in a 45-second span to increase the Hawks' lead to 16. After a Purcell lay-in, Veit came alive with a triple with 11 minutes left for a 50-31 edge.

Another Veit shot from downtown made it a 20-point lead two minutes later, 53-33, and the Hawks never led by less than 20 the rest of the way. Vincents and Veit each drilled three-pointers 37 seconds apart later in the half and the rout was on, 65-39, with under six minutes left. The Ducks got to within only 20 with a little over three minutes left to play but five straight points from Veit, would put the game on ice and seal Hartwick's spot in the finals.

Veit closed out the game hitting 3-of-6 from beyond the arc. Her 14 points was her second-highest offensive output of the season. She also entered the game with just two three's in her previous 12 games.

Vincents made 5-of-7 shots, including 3-of-4 from three-point land. She added three assists and two steals. Purcell hit 6-of-9 shots and added a team-high five rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Foglia finished with nine points and Arduini ended up with six.

Benjamin led four Ducks in double figures with 11 points. Jillian Barrett added 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds and Garcia closed the game with 10 points. Victoria Webber scored 11 for the Ducks.

Hartwick reaches the 22-win mark for just the third time in College history with tonight's victory. The last time the Hawks won 22 or more games was 22 years ago in the 1989-90 campaign. The Hawks also avenge last Saturday's six-point loss to the Ducks on their home floor.

The Hawks oppose top-seeded Ithaca in tomorrow's finale. 'Wick is in search of its second outright conference title in College history and its first Empire 8 Conference championship.

"If we defend like we did today we've got a great shot against Ithaca," said West. "We need to also hit shots. If we do both, we're going to be in great shape."

Hartwick and Ithaca split their season series with both teams winning on the road. The Hawks will look to make it two in a row over the Bombers at Ben Light Gymnasium at 4 p.m. tomorrow with a berth in the NCAA Tournament on the line.