| Taylor Vonasek's late free
throws pushed the Hawks to victory. Hartwick athletics photo |
ONEONTA, NY – Hartwick
overcame an 11-point second-half deficit to earn a gutsy 63-60
victory over nationally 18th ranked Ithaca on Friday night at
Lambros Arena in the Empire 8 Conference opening game for both
teams. The win is the first for the Hawks over the Bombers at home
since 2004.
Hartwick trailed 44-33 with 13:53 to play in the contest but
tallied 15 of the next 18 points over the ensuing eight minutes to
grab a 48-47 advantage. The Hawks would lead the rest of the way to
secure their seventh victory of the season and snap a three-game
winless streak against the Bombers.
Sophomore Brittney Dumas (Easton, CT/Joel Barlow)
recorded game-highs in both points and rebounds for the second
consecutive game. Tonight, she shot 7-of-16 for 18 points and
grabbed 11 boards. Sophomore Taylor Vonasek (Willington,
CT/E.O. Smith) added 14 points and six rebounds. She also
sank four free throws in the final 30 seconds to stave off a late
Ithaca rally. Maria Foglia (Rensselaer, NY/Catholic
Central) was also in double figures with 10 points.
The Hawks darted out to a 9-2 lead after holding the Bombers
without a basket in the opening five and a half minutes, but eight
straight Ithaca points would give the visitors their first lead,
10-9, with 7:18 elapsed.
Hartwick trailed 14-11 at the midway point of the first half
before a big 11-1 run over the next four minutes put the Hawks up
by their biggest advantage of the first half, 22-15. Three-pointers
from Purcell and Foglia and a traditional three-point play from
Dumas highlighted the span.
The Bombers would respond as they finished the half scoring 15 of
the final 20 points, including Kathryn Campbell's jumper at the
buzzer to put IC in front at the break, 28-27.
Ithaca came out blazing in the second half as it converted seven
of its first eight shots in the first seven minutes to open up a
double-digit lead of 11 points. The Hawks were in need of baskets
after making only two of their first 10 shots in the half and after
an HC timeout, Vonasek drained a three-pointer from the corner and
Dumas sank a jumper after a Hawks' stop on the defensive end to
make it a six-point game.
Purcell netted a layup with 12 minutes to play and Kait
Veit (Easthampton, MA/Holyoke Catholic) came off the bench
to nail two straight three-pointers to put Hartwick back in front,
46-45, with just over 10 minutes showing on the clock.
Both defenses clamped down over the next four minutes as neither
team managed to score even a point. Campbell ended the drought for
IC with a jumper with 6:12 remaining to briefly put her team in the
lead, but a Dumas layup with five and a half minutes to go put
'Wick on top for good.
After Tracey Koch (Glenmont, NY/Bethlehem) made a
pair from the line to extend the lead to three, Francesca Cotrupe
narrowed the gap to one but that would be as close as the Bombers
would get.
Dumas hit her only three-pointer of the game at 3:38 to put
Hartwick up 53-49. Both teams traded free throws over the next
minute as the Hawks clung to a four-point edge with under two
minutes left. Lee Arduini (Albany, NY/Academy of the Holy
Names) would give the Hawks a little cushion as she came
up with a critical steal and converted a layup with 1:24 to play to
increase the margin to six, 57-51. The Bombers were forced to put
the Hawks on the free-throw line in the final minute but 'Wick was
up to the task as Foglia sank two from the stripe and Vonasek went
4-for-4 for a 63-55 lead.
Campbell inched the Bombers back with a jumper and following a
Hartwick turnover, she nailed a three-pointer with 0.7 seconds left
to make it a one-possession game, 63-60. The Hawks, however,
inbounded the ball to midcourt where Dumas corralled it to close
out the big
win.
Kate Purcell (Buffalo, NY/Mount Mercy Academy) would dish
out a game-best six assists to go along with six points, five
rebounds, and a steal for the Hawks. Foglia had four assists and
three rebounds and Veit finished with six points.
The Hawks shot 33.9% (19-for-56) from the floor and 38.1%
(8-for-21) from three-point range in the game. They also made 77.3%
(17-for-22) from the free-throw line.
The Bombers, who entered the game ranked 21st in the
country in free-throw percentage (.744) missed nine shots from the
line on the night (14-for-23) for a percentage of just 60.9%. They
made 38.9% (21-for-54) from the floor and held a slim edge on the
glass, 40-38.
Campbell led Ithaca with 17 points. Mary Kate Tierney added 11 and
Cotroupe registered 10 points and eight rebounds.
Hartwick hosts Utica College tomorrow at 5 p.m. as it searches for
a 2-0 start to the conference season.