ALFRED, NY – Hartwick shook off a pesky Alfred team erasing an 11-point first-half deficit for a 72-62 victory on Saturday evening at the McLane Center in Alfred, NY. The Hawks improve to 18-4 overall and remain at the top of the Empire 8 Conference at 11-1.
            Hartwick trailed 24-13 with 5:10 left in the first half of play, but the Hawks opened the second half out-scoring the Saxons by a 30-12 margin to take command.
             Sophomore Brittney Dumas (Easton, CT/Joel Barlow) registered game-highs of 17 points and 13 rebounds to pace the Hawks. Senior Maria Foglia (Rensselaer, NY/Catholic Central) added 14 points and senior Kate Purcell (Buffalo, NY/Mt. Mercy Acad.) and sophomore Taylor Vonasek (Willington, CT/E.O. Smith) each chipped in with 10 points apiece.
            The game did not start the way the Hawks had hoped as they made just six baskets and turned the ball over eight times in the opening 20 minutes. 'Wick did, however, take an early 7-2 lead after a pair of free throws from Purcell with just over two minutes gone. But the Hawks went cold after that as they managed just two free throws over the next nine minutes of action. Dumas finally ended the drought at 8:45 with a layup but the Saxons led 15-11.
            A 9-2 run put the hosts up by their biggest margin, 24-13, with 5:10 left in the half, but Hartwick would respond with a big 17-4 run to close the half with a 30-28 lead. Foglia had a pair of and-ones in the run and a two Purcell free throws with 58 ticks left put the Hawks up to stay.
            'Wick shot just 17.6% (6-for-34) in the first half of play. The Hawks stayed in the contest on the free-throw line hitting 16-of-18 (88.9%).
            Layups from Dumas and Lee Arduini (Albany, NY/Academy of the Holy Names) and then back to back and-ones from Vonasek and Dumas in the opening 1:27 of the second half widened the gap to 12 points, 40-28. Alfred came back with a three but the Hawks would rattle off 11 of the next 14 points to go up seventeen points with five minutes gone in the half.
            Hartwick maintained its big lead, pushing the margin to 20 following a jumper from Courtney Cirillo (Johnstown, NY/Johnstown) at 7:50 and the Hawks never led by less than 15 until just over two minutes remained in the game. With the game in hand, the Saxons out-scored the Hawks 14-5 over the final three minutes to get the score down to ten at the final horn.
             Arduini would finish the night with seven points and a game-high four steals. Purcell's three steals tied for a game-high.
            Hartwick shot 53.6% (15-for-28) in the second half of play. The Hawks had a 41-36 edge on the glass. 'Wick had 18 offensive boards which it turned into 20 second-chance points.
            Alfred was led by Rachael Stedman and Harley Cleary, who scored 16 and 15 points, respectively. Hailey Sick and Sarah Federico each pulled down six boards.
            'Wick's win is its fourth in a row. The Hawks improve to 42-9 all-time against the Saxons and they have won nine of the last 10 meetings.
            The Hawks now have a 10-day hiatus before they host Stevens on February 18.