ONEONTA, NY – Hartwick overcame a tough shooting night by playing lockdown defense in a 54-36 win over Nazareth in Empire 8 women's basketball at Lambros Arena on Saturday night. The Hawks shot only 33% (19-for-57) from the field, but they allowed just a 25% (14-for-56) performance by the visitors while forcing 17 Golden Flyer turnovers in the victory.
            With the win, the Hawks are the only unbeaten Empire 8 team at 5-0 and they remain alone in first place. The Hawks are 13-3 overall and winners of six straight games.
            Freshman forward Brittney Dumas (Easton, CT/Joel Barlow HS) was big for the Hawks with game-highs of 20 points and nine rebounds. With 4:38 gone in the second half, Dumas (16) had more points than the Golden Flyers (15) after her three-pointer handed the Hawks a 26-15 lead.
            Kate Purcell (Buffalo, NY/Mt. Mercy Academy) also was in double figures for the Hawks with 14 points. She had eight rebounds, four steals, three assists, and a trio of three-pointers.
            The two teams came out cold as they combined to miss their first nine shots of the ball game. After a basket from Maria Allocco finally broke the deadlock at the 16:39 mark, the Hawks would hold the Flyers to without a field goal for the next seven minutes.
            Dumas would net nine point for Hartwick to put her team in front 13-4 before Erica Shaw finally ended the Naz drought with a three-ball with under 10 minutes left in the half. Consecutive three-pointers from Purcell pushed the lead back up to 12 points, 20-8, with 5:16 to go. With under a minute left, baskets from Dumas and Maria Foglia (Rensselaer, NY/Catholic Central) handed the Hawks their biggest advantage up until that point, 24-11. A bucket just before the horn made the score 24-13 at halftime.
            Dumas accumulated 11 points and six rebounds in the opening frame with Purcell adding seven points. The Hawks would hold the Flyers to just four field goals out of 21 attempts and 11 turnovers.
            After a quick Nazareth basket to start the second half, Hartwick would allow just five Golden Flyer points over the next 10 minutes of action. A jumper from Marie Davison (Saratoga Springs, NY/Saratoga Springs) made it a 19-point game, 39-20, with under 10 minutes to go and Purcell's third three-pointer of the day less than a minute later extended the lead to 20.
            A three-point play from Taylor Vonasek (Willington, CT/E.O. Smith) gave the Hawks their largest lead, 45-22, with 7:44 remaining in the contest. A 9-3 run for Nazareth cut the deficit to 17 points with 4:30 left on the clock, but the Hawks went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line with a pair each from Dumas, Purcell, and Alicia Razanousky (Stuyvesant, NY/Ichabod Crane) to close out the victory.
            The Blue and White would hit 10 of their 11 shots (91%) from the line in the game. They would also convert 15 points off of Naz's 17 miscues. The Golden Flyers held a slim edge in rebounds, 41-39.
            Nazareth was led by Lindsey Kelly's 11 points.  She tied for a team-high seven boards with Allocco. Shaw was the Golden Flyers' next highest scorer with six points.
            The victory for Hartwick improves its all-time record against the Golden Flyers to 26-24. The Hawks have now defeated Naz five straight times.
            Hartwick next plays on Tuesday night with a home game against Stevens. The Hawks and Ducks tip off at 6 p.m. at Lambros Arena.