ONEONTA, NY – A ten day layover had little effect on Hartwick's women's basketball team Tuesday night as it rolled to a 71-50 victory over visiting Stevens (16-8, 8-5 E8) at Lambros Arena. Senior Maria Foglia (Rensselaer, NY/Catholic Central) paced four Hawks in double figures with a game-high 20 points. Sophomore Taylor Vonasek (Willington, CT/E.O. Smith) added a double-double with 16 points and a game-best 10 rebounds. 'Wick was playing in its first game since a road win at Alfred on February 8.
            The victory pulls the Hawks into a first-place tie with Ithaca in the Empire 8 standings. Both teams have identical 12-1 marks with one conference game remaining on their schedule. 
            Tonight, Hartwick limited the Ducks to 20.8% shooting in the first half and 33.3% for the game. The Hawks forced 22 Duck turnovers which they converted into 22 points.
            Sophomore Lee Arduini (Albany, NY/Academy of the Holy Names) and senior Kate Purcell (Buffalo, NY/Mt. Mercy Acad.) were the other two Hawks in double figures on the night. Arduini netted 11 and Purcell scored 10, including a game-high three three-point field goals.
            The Ducks would jump out on top with the game's opening bucket at 19:12 of the first half, but a Kait Veit (Easthampton, MA/Holyoke Catholic) triple 27 seconds later would put the Hawks up 3-2 and they led for the remaining 38:45 of action. Hartwick would put some distance between itself and Stevens near the midway point of the half. 'Wick led 9-8 but an 8-0 run over a four-minute span would give it a 17-8 edge with 9:17 left.
            The Ducks closed the gap to five points two minutes later only to have the Hawks gain it back with an Arduini basket and a three from Foglia to make it a double-digit lead, 22-12. Stevens cut it to eight, but Purcell's second trey late in the half would hand the Hawks a 26-16 edge at the break.
            In the half, the Hawks would limit the Ducks to only five baskets. They also forced 12 turnovers which they turned into 12 points.
            Hartwick maintained its lead early in the second half and pushed its advantage to 17 points after a three from Foglia, two from the line from Vonasek, and a basket from sophomore Brittney Dumas (Easton, CT/Joel Barlow) with 14:42 remaining.
            A six-point spurt for the Ducks narrowed the gap to 11 with 11:27 to go. Hartwick answered with 11 of the next 13 points, capped by an Arduini three-pointer to build the advantage up to 20 points, 56-36, with under 10 minutes showing on the clock.
            Two free throws from Foglia gave Hartwick its biggest advantage of the night, 66-42, with 4:34 left and the hosts led by at least 20 the rest of the way.
            Foglia would end the night with a 7-of-13 showing from the field. She also added four rebounds. Vonasek would close the game perfect at 10-for-10 from the line. She also dished out a game- and career-high five assists.
            Arduini shot 4-of-8 from the field and contributed three rebounds, and Purcell delivered three assists. Dumas ended up with seven points and nine boards.
            The Ducks were led by Kaitlyn Astel and Brittany Washington. Each player registered 12 points.
            Hartwick shot 22-for-51 (43.1%) as a team. 'Wick made 9-of-22 (40.9%) from beyond the three-point arc and had the edge on the glass, 37-33.
            The Hawks improve to 8-7 against the Ducks all-time. They now have won six straight games against the Ducks dating back to the 2011-12 season.
            Hartwick, which has already clinched at least the second seed in upcoming the Empire 8 Tournament, must win on Saturday in their regular season finale against Elmira to have a shot at the regular season title. A win would also set the program record for conference wins in a season.
            The Hawks travel to Houghton College on Friday, February 21 in their next game. Tip-off with the Highlanders begins at 8 p.m.