ONEONTA, NY – Junior guard Maria Foglia scored a game-high 24 points as Hartwick's women's basketball team survived a scare from Elmira College on Saturday, 60-52. After the lead had changed hands 12 times, the Hawks took the advantage for good with 4:17 left in the game on a Lee Arduini (Albany, NY/Academy of the Holy Names) layup.
            Hartwick is now 17-6 overall and 9-3 in the Empire 8. Elmira falls to 8-15 and 3-9 in the league standings.
            With the victory, the Hawks clinched a berth in the upcoming Empire 8 Tournament. They now make back-to-back appearances in the league playoffs for just the second time in program history.
            Foglia entered tonight's game needing 14 points to break the 1,000-point mark for her career. She hit the milestone with 31.3 seconds to go in the first half on a jumper at the right corner of the foul line. Foglia becomes just the thirteenth player in Hartwick history to reach 1,000 points and the first player to do so since Mara Tichy in 2007.
            Foglia made 7-of-16 shots from the floor and 3-of-5 from three-point range. Her second triple was her 100^th in a Hartwick uniform. She is one of only three 'Wick players to reach the century mark for threes. One of those players, all-time three-point leader Kate Purcell (Buffalo, NY/Mt. Mercy Academy), chipped in today with 11 points. She also went 6-for-6 from the line, grabbed four rebounds, and added three steals, two assists and two blocked shots. Brittney Dumas (Easton, CT/Joel Barlow) finished with 16 points, six boards, three steals, two assists, and a block.
            The Hawks trailed at halftime by a count of 32-24 as the Soaring Eagles shot 60% (12-of-20) from the floor over the first 20 minutes. After alternating points in the opening minute of the game, Hartwick grabbed the lead at 18:54 and held onto it for the next 12 and a half minutes. The Hawks' largest margin was six points.
            'Wick led 17-12 with 9:11 left in the half before Elmira surged ahead, scoring on each of its next four trips down the court for a 20-19 advantage with 5:39 to play. The Hawks quickly got back in front, but the Soaring Eagles would go 5-for-6 from the floor to close the half. Maria Thannhauser knocked down a pair of three-pointers and accounted for eight points with Alex Balara adding four in the run.
            Eight points (35-27) was EC's largest lead in the second half with 18:50 remaining in the game, but the Hawks would slowly begin to chip away at it. After a Jessica Zoltowski bucket gave the Soaring Eagles a 40-34 edge with 15:29 showing on the clock, they would go without a field goal for the next seven minutes. The Hawks limited EC to 0-for-9 shooting and forced three turnovers in the span.
            Hartwick, on the other hand, grabbed its first lead of the second stanza, 42-41, with 9:31 remaining on a pair of free throws from Kait Veit (Easthampton, MA/Holyoke Catholic). The lead would then change hands seven times over the next five minutes.
            Thannhauser's third three-pointer of the game would regain the Soaring Eagle lead for the last time, 48-47, with 5:12 left. She had an opportunity to add to the lead after a Hartwick possession but she could not convert. Instead, Arduini hit her only basket of the game on a driving layup to put the Hawks up 49-48 at 4:17 and they led for the rest of the night.
            'Wick was in front by as many as five points on two occasions in the next three minutes but Elmira would convert on the offensive end to trim the deficit each time. Zoltowski made the score 55-52 with two free throws with one minute remaining, but those were EC's final points of the game. Foglia and Purcell would combine for five straight free throws with under 58 seconds left to seal the hard-earned victory.
            After their hot start, the Soaring Eagles made just 27% (7-of-26) in the second half and ended the game making 41% (19-for-46). The Hawks would close the night making 34% (16-for-47) as a group. EC, which out-rebounded 'Wick 15-11 in the first half, ended the night with a 32-30 edge on the glass.
            Veit and Arduini would finish with four and three points, respectively, to help secure the win. Katrina Caulfield (Palmer, MA/Palmer) added two points and she hauled down a team-best seven rebounds.
            Zoltowski paced EC with 17 points and a game-high eight rebounds. Thannhauser and Balara each registered 11 points for the Purple and Gold.
            Prior to the game, guard Marie Davison (Saratoga Springs, NY/Saratoga Springs) and manager Jenna Kurtz were recognized as the Hawks celebrated Senior Day. Davison finished the game with two rebounds and an assist in 11 minutes of action.
            The Hawks, who improve to 43-10 against Elmira all-time, have two remaining games left on their regular season schedule. They travel to St. John Fisher next Friday and Alfred on Saturday.