ONEONTA, NY – Reigning ECAC Upstate and Empire 8 Player of the Week Brittney Dumas (Easton, CT/Joel Barlow) drained a 17-footer with three defenders on her with under two seconds left to lift Hartwick's women's basketball team to a 65-64 victory over Stevens (8-5, 2-3 E8) at Canavan Arena in Hoboken, NJ on Tuesday night.
            The Hawks squandered a 12-point second-half lead and trailed by one after Kaitlyn Astel's jumper with 30 seconds left put the Ducks ahead 64-63. With 3.9 seconds left, the ball was lofted in-bounds to Dumas, who took a dribble and fired in a difficult shot in traffic for the game-winner. A desperation heave for the Ducks from the opposite foul line managed to hit the rim but it bounced away allowing 'Wick to escape with the victory.
            "I have a lot of respect for Stevens down the stretch for fighting back and not giving up," stated Hartwick head coach Missy West following the game. "They always give us a battle so walking away with a win is something I don't take lightly."
            The Hawks, who improve to 11-3 overall and 5-0 in the Empire 8, were led by Maria Foglia (Rensselaer, NY/Catholic Central) who tallied a game-best 24 points and tied for a game-high with four three-pointers. Lee Arduini (Albany, NY/Academy of the Holy Names) sank a trio of three-point baskets and netted a career-high 15 points. Dumas finished with 12 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
           Astel was Stevens' top scorer with 15 points. Erica Guketov scored 14 points with four three-pointers, and Molly Spadaro added 10. Brittany Washington was the Ducks' leading rebounder in the game with 10.
            Hartwick jumped in front early on their hosts, scoring 12 of the game's first 14 points inside of five minutes. The Ducks would chip away at the lead as they outscored the Hawks by a 16-6 margin over the next ten minutes of action to tie the score at 20-20.
            'Wick would go without a field goal for nearly nine minutes of play until Foglia connected on a shot from beyond the arc to lift the Hawks back in front with under four minutes left in the half. Following a Dumas basket, Foglia would tally the Hawks' final five points and they took a 30-26 advantage into the locker room.
            Foglia (12), Dumas (8), and Arduini (8) accounted for 28 of Hartwick's 30 points after 20 minutes. Guketlov had 12 for Stevens, all of them coming by means of four three-pointers.

            Neither team shot the ball particularly well in the first half with both hitting under 37%. Six of the Ducks' 10 made field goals in the half, however, were of the three-point variety.

            In the second frame, Hartwick's lead grew to seven twice in the first six minutes. On the second occasion, Kate Purcell (Buffalo, NY/Mount Mercy) converted a rare four-point play and 'Wick led 42-35. Following a Stevens' basket, the Hawks would convert three straight three-point baskets from Foglia, Alicia Razanousky (Stuyvesant, NY/Ichabod Crane), and Arduini to put them up by their largest margin, 51-39, with under 10 minutes to play.
             Later, an Arduini layup with 5:19 to play gave Hartwick an 11-point margin and the Hawks looked poised to cruise to the win. The Ducks had other ideas as they outscored the Hawks 15-3 over a 3:39 span to take a 62-61 edge. Stevens would go 5-for-5 from the floor and 5-for-5 from the free-throw line in the spurt while the Hawks could only manage three from the stripe.
            Astel's two foul shots put the Ducks ahead with 1:09 remaining. It marked their first lead since early in the first half of play. Down one, Arduini converted a tough runner in the lane to regain the lead for Hartwick with 42 ticks left. Astel answered for the Ducks with a jumper from the right side just 12 seconds later.
            Purcell and Arduini had shots on the opposite end with under 15 seconds to play for Hartwick but neither fell. With 5.2 seconds left and the ball out of bounds under the Ducks' basket, an in-bound attempt was knocked away and last touched by Stevens with 3.9 to go to set the stage for Dumas' game-winner.
            "Lee played a great game for us and hit some key shots," added West. "Brittney did a good job on the glass and had a great shot at the buzzer."
            The Hawks hit only 10-of-28 (35.7%) from the floor in the second half, but they made 5-of-8 (62.5%) from deep. They also connected on 10 of 13 shots (76.9%) from the free-throw line. The Ducks would get back into the game with a 16-for-28 (57.1%) shooting performance in the second half.
            Stevens held a 39-35 edge in rebounds for the game. 'Wick would grab 16 offensive rebounds, which it turned into 21 second-chance points.
            Arduini and Foglia would each dish out a team-best three assists for Hartwick. Purcell, who ended the game with eight points, grabbed a game-high five steals.
            "We're happy to come away with the win but we have to learn how to finish a game like a veteran team," said West. "We will work in practice and get better but it's time to put a full 40 minutes together and finish a game.
            The Hawks will get the opportunity at Lambros Arena on Friday night. They host Alfred University at 8 p.m.