ROCHESTER, NY – Hartwick steamrolled Nazareth in the opening half in a game that was never in jeopardy for the Hawks on Saturday at Kidera Gymnasium in Rochester. 'Wick, which led by as many as 26 points after 15 minutes, won by a final score of 72-54 to improve to 10-3 overall and 4-0 in the Empire 8.
            The Hawks would jump out to an 11-0 lead after four minutes and another big 21-5 over a 9:18 span later would put 'Wick ahead 36-10. In the second half, the Hawks matched their biggest lead of 26 and led by at least 20 until two and a half minutes remained in the game.
            Brittney Dumas (Easton, CT/Joel Barlow) led three Hawks in double figures with a game-high 23 points. She also grabbed a game-best 10 boards. Maria Foglia (Rensselaer, NY/Catholic Central) scored 11 points with Taylor Vonasek (Willington, CT/E.O. Smith) netting 10. Lee Arduini (Albany, NY/Academy of the Holy Names) added eight points.
            "Tonight was the best defensive effort we have had all season," said Hartwick head coach Missy West. "Everyone came in ready to play hard and we had great energy across the board."
           'Wick got off to a fast start on both ends of the floor as it hit five of its first nine shots and forced the Golden Flyers to miss their first six and turn the ball over twice as the Hawks scored the game's first 11 points.
            Naz would tally five of the next 10 points but the Hartwick defense would limit the Flyers to just two points for the next nine and a half minutes. A three-pointer from Hannah Runyon finally got the hosts to the 10-point mark with just over five minutes remaining in the half, but 'Wick had already built a virtually insurmountable 33-10 advantage. Naz scored eight of the last 13 points of the half and it trailed by 20 points, 38-18.
            Hartwick shot the ball well in the first half, making 44.1% (15-for-34) from the floor and 55.6% (5-for-9) from deep. The defense held the Golden Flyers to just 21.4% (6-of-28) from the field and 33.3% (3-of-9) from three-point range in the opening 20 minutes. The Hawks also out-rebounded the Flyers by a margin of 26-15.
            Following a Lindsey Kelly bucket to start the half which closed the gap to 18, the Hawks clamped down on defense again, allowing only a couple of free throws and forcing three turnovers in five minutes of play. The Hawks would build the lead up to 26 points at two separate points in the half, both following Dumas jumpers.
            Twenty-one points was as close as the Flyers could get over another 10-minute span later in the half. They finally trimmed the deficit to 17 twice with under two minutes left, but it was as close as they'd get in the Hartwick victory.
            Dumas would sink 11 of her 19 shots from the floor in the contest. She added three assists, two blocks, and two steals to go along with her 10 rebounds. Foglia dished out a game-high four assists and she pulled down five rebounds. Vonasek made 4-of-7 shots from the floor, and Arduini made 3-of-4 shots and contributed a game-high three steals and two assists.
            Courtney Cirillo (Johnston, NY/Johnstown) came off the bench to score six points. Alicia Razanousky (Stuyvesant, NY/Ichabod Crane) scored four points and added five boards.
            Veronica Peck and Runyon each had 11 points to lead the Golden Flyers. Kelly ended the game with 10 points.
            "I'm proud of our effort tonight," added West. This was a good all-around win for our team."
            The Hawks are back in action on Tuesday, January 14 as they take on Stevens on the road. Game time is 8 p.m.