POUGHKEEPSIE, NY – Allyson Pemberton's 15-footer from the corner of the key with less than two seconds to play handed Vassar College a 67-65 non-conference basketball victory Tuesday night in Poughkeepsie. Trailing by three, the Hawks rallied to tie the game with 8.2 seconds to go on Maria Foglia's (Rensselaer, NY/Catholic Central) three-point play. Following a timeout, Cydni Matsuoka drove the length of the floor and dished to Pemberton, who took a dibble, and hit the game-winning shot.
            Foglia finished with a game-high 17 points for Hartwick. Brittney Dumas (Easton, CT/Joel Barlow) added 16 points and Taylor Vonasek (Willington, CT/E.O. Smith) tallied 11. Lee Arduini (Albany, NY/Academy of the Holy Names) netted nine.
           The game was a matchup of two teams receiving votes in the latest D3hoops.com national poll and was tight throughout the 40 minutes. In the second half alone, the lead changed hands eight times and the score was tight on six separate occasions.
            The Brewers took the first lead of the game just four ticks into the contest and they maintained it for nearly six minutes until a Vonasek three-pointer gave 'Wick an 11-9 edge. Matsuoka nailed a three-pointer 25 seconds later to put Vassar in front for the rest of the half.
            A four-point lead was all Vassar could muster on the Hawks for the next 11 minutes. A Jacqui Foreman (Tolland, CT/Tolland) jumper made it a 24-22 game, but a 9-0 run over the next four minutes would hand the hosts their biggest lead of the night, 33-22, with 45 seconds left until halftime. A three-pointer from Alicia Razanousky (Stuyvesant, NY/Ichabod Crane) and a layup from Foglia narrowed the gap to seven at the break, 34-27.
            In the second half, the Brewers built leads of six points four times in the first five minutes but the Hawks answered each time to keep the game close. A Razanousky jumper put 'Wick in front for the first time of the second half, 49-48, and the stage was set for a back and forth final 10 minutes of action.
            Matsuoka gave her team a four-point advantage with 5:34 remaining but it would mark the largest lead for either team the rest of the way. A triple from Arduini and then a layup from Foglia gave Hartwick a 60-59 lead with just over four minutes showing on the clock. Pemberton free throws gave Vassar the lead briefly but Dumas hit a jumper to regain the edge for the Hawks.
            Vassar would tally the next four points over the next two and a half minutes to take a 65-62 lead with just over a minute to play. Following a timeout, Foglia followed up a miss from the corner, grabbing the offensive rebound and converting the layup while getting fouled in the process. She calmly sank her free throw to tie the game with just over eight seconds left but the Brewers would prevail on the Pemberton shot which beat the final horn.
            The Hawks would shoot 41.4% (24-for-58) and 35.3% (6-for-17) from three-point range as a team. The Brewers shot 45.6% (26-for-57) from the floor and 54.5% (6-for-11) from downtown. They also held the edge on the glass, 36-31.
            Matsuoka would pace Vassar with 16 points. Hannah Seftleber contributed 11 points and Pemberton ended the game with 10.
            Foreman scored a career-best seven points for the Hawks. Razanousky closed the game with five.
            With the setback, Hartwick falls to 8-3 overall. The Brewers improve to 7-2.
            The Hawks get back to Empire 8 Conference play this weekend in Rochester. They face St. John Fisher on Friday, January 10 and Nazareth on Saturday, January 11.