ITHACA, NY – Hartwick led by as many as 11 points very early in the second half but the Ithaca Bombers would come away with the victory as they outscored the Hawks 50-31 in the second half of play for a 70-59 win Saturday at Ben Light Gymnasium. The loss drops the Hawks to 14-4 overall and snaps their six-game winning streak. They also fall into a first-place tie with the Bombers in the Empire 8 at 7-1.
            Hartwick, which shot 50% from the floor and 54% from three-point range in yesterday's win over Utica, were only able to muster a 32.3% (21-for-65) showing from the field and a 25% (6-for-24) performance from beyond the arc today.
            The Hawks would lead for the opening thirty minutes of the game until the 10-minute mark of the second half when the Bombers evened the score at 44. The lead changed hands four times with two tie scores over the next three and a half minutes before an Ali Ricchiuti three-pointer gave Ithaca the lead to stay with 6:35 left in the contest.
            Brittney Dumas (Easton, CT/Joel Barlow) secured a double-double with team-highs of 17 points and 10 boards. Lee Arduini (Albany, NY/Academy of the Holy Names) scored 14 points for the Hawks and Maria Foglia (Rensselaer, NY/Catholic Central) tallied 12.
            'Wick would jump out to the early lead on a Foglia three-pointer inside of one minute and it would build six-point advantages three separate times before the 10-minute mark of the first half. Arduini gave the Hawks an eight-point margin with a layup at 7:05 but a three from IC's Kathryn Campbell quickly cut into the deficit.
            Throughout the remainder of the half, Hartwick built leads of seven points four times with the Bombers answering with points on the other end each time. Holding a 25-20 lead with a minute and a half left, Kate Purcell (Buffalo, NY/Mt. Mercy Academy) converted one of two free throws and Foglia connected on a layup with eight ticks left and the Hawks went into the locker room up eight points, 28-20, to match their biggest lead up to that point.
            Both teams would shoot under 33% from the floor in the half. Dumas tallied 10 points with seven rebounds for Hartwick while Jenn Escobido dropped in 13 points for the hosts.
            The Hawks quickly got their lead to double digits, 31-20, on an Arduini and-one with one minute elapsed in the second half. The Bombers would climb back into it as they scored the next seven points, but Dumas answered with a three to push the margin back to seven.
            After the Bombers came back with the next two buckets, 'Wick received a three from Arduini and four straight points from Foglia to make it a seven-point game, 41-34, with 11:27 left. A big 9-0 run for Ithaca over the next 90 seconds, however, would tie the game up at 42-all.
            Mary Kate Tierney put her team in front for the first time all night with 9:33 remaining in the contest but the lead would see-saw back and forth for nearly the next three minutes. A three-point basket from Kait Veit (Easthampton, MA/Holyoke Catholic) gave Hartwick its final lead of the game, 49-47, at 6:53 but Ricchiuti answered at the other end of the floor to retake the advantage for the Bombers.
            The Bombers would extend their advantage with seven consecutive points over a one-minute timeframe to go up 56-49 with 3:41 left. Two Arduini free throws made it a five-point margin and after Samantha Klie made 1-of-2 from the line, Hartwick's Taylor Vonasek (Willington, CT.E.O. Smith) sank a layup for a four-point game, 57-53, with 1:43 showing on the clock.
            The Bombers worked for a good shot and got it on a Ricchiuti driving layup to make the IC lead six points. The Hawks missed on their subsequent possession and they were forced to start putting the Bombers on the line.
            After Ricchiuti converted a pair from the foul line, Alicia Razanousky (Stuyvesant, NY/Ichabod Crane) hit a three and the Hawks called timeout. Following another foul, Klie sank another pair but Foglia hit one from downtown to cut the lead to four, 63-59, with 49 seconds remaining.
            It would mark the final points for the Hawks in the game though. Ithaca made 7-of-8 from the line in the final minute and the Hawks could not convert on their final three possessions.
            The Bombers shook off their first-half shooting woes as they made 15-of-26 shots (57.7%) in the second half. Hartwick would hit 10-of-30 (33.3%) in the final period.
            Escobido would pace Ithaca (14-4, 7-1 E8) with a game-high 18 points. Ricchiuti finished with 12 points and Tierney had 11 points, 13 points, six assists, and three blocks.
            Arduini would connect on four of her seven shots to go along with a 5-for-5 night from the free-throw line. Foglia tied Tierney for a game-high six assists. Purcell would grab eight rebounds and she had a game-high three steals. Vonasek contributed five points and six rebounds and Veit tallied five points as well.
            Hartwick is off until next weekend when it continues Empire 8 Conference play at Lambros Arena. The Hawks host Nazareth on Friday, January 31 and St. John Fisher on Saturday, February 1.