RALEIGH, NC – Hartwick, which led by 17 points at halftime, shook off a furious second-half comeback bid by Salem College to emerge with a 51-46 victory at the William Peace University Jackie Ammons Memorial Tournament at the Hermann Student Center Friday evening in Raleigh.
            The Hawks led 28-9 with 15 seconds left in the first half but the Spirits would chip away throughout the second half and cut the lead to just two, 48-46, with 14 seconds remaining. Maria Foglia (Rensselaer, NY/Catholic Central) was fouled and put to the free-throw line with 10.3 seconds to go and she drained both of her shots to make it a two-possession game. The Spirits got off a three-point shot with less than two seconds remaining but it was off the mark and Brittney Dumas (Easton, CT/Joel Barlow) would tack on a 1-of-2 from the line to close it out for the Hawks.
            Taylor Vonasek (Willington, CT/E.O. Smith) and Dumas tied for a game-high 15 points. Foglia added 11. Dumas would also haul down a game-best 14 rebounds.
            Hartwick would stifle the Spirits offense in the opening half as they limited them to three made baskets and 10.7% shooting (3-of-28). The Hawks also held a 25-15 edge on the glass.
            In a low scoring opening ten minutes, an eight-point run over a seven-minute span handed the Hawks a 10-point, 12-2 lead with 10:50 left. Dumas would register six points in the Hawks' rally.
            Hartwick would outscore Salem 16-9 over the last 10 minutes of the first half to enter halftime up 28-11. Dumas registered eight points and added eight rebounds and Vonasek would contribute nine points and six boards in the first 20 minutes of action.
            The Sprits would score 12 of the opening 16 points over the first six and a half minutes in the second half to cut the Hartwick lead to nine, 32-23, but an old fashioned three-point play from Foglia and a three-pointer from Vonasek would increase the Hawks' advantage to 15 points, 38-23, with 12 minutes to play.
            After a Dumas basket made the margin 14, a 12-0 Spirits' run over a four-minute span would put the outcome in jeopardy and trim the Hawk lead to just three, 40-37, with just over six minutes showing on the game clock.
            Vonasek answered with a big trey on the other end and the two teams would trade points until the three-minute mark. With a 45-41 advantage, Dumas' driving layup with 2:25 to play gave the Hawks a six-point lead which they held until under a minute left.
            Salem converted a bucket and called timeout down four, 47-43, with 32.7 ticks remaining. Following a foul, Foglia made one of her two free throws but Salem knocked down a three-pointer at the other end of the floor to close the gap to just one basket with 14 seconds remaining. Foglia would put the game away from the line, however, with just over 10 seconds to play to seal it for 'Wick.
            The Hawks finished the night shooting 34.6% (18-for-52). They made five three-point baskets and had a tough night on the free-throw line, making only 52.6% (10-of-19).
            Salem, which was led by Tiffany Wildgoose's 12 points, shot 27% (17-for-62) from the floor and just 17% (4-for-23) from three-point range. Bria Patterson added 10 points and a game-high five assists for the Spirits.
            Hartwick held the edge in rebounds 47-29. Kate Purcell (Buffalo, NY/Mount Mercy Academy) pulled down 11 rebounds and added four points and four assists for the Hawks.
            The Hawks improve to 3-0 on the season and advance to tomorrow's championship game against the winner of the Peace and Emory and Henry at 3 p.m.