ONEONTA, N.Y. (February 18, 2014) – The Stevens Institute of Technology women's basketball had its five-game winning streak snapped by Hartwick College on Tuesday night, 71-50, in Empire 8 Conference action.

Stevens (16-8, 8-5) scored the first basket of the contest just 48 seconds into the evening but never led again after Hartwick (19-4, 12-1) hit a three-pointer 27 seconds later. The Ducks trimmed their deficit to 9-8 with 13:33 left in the half, but Hartwick would go on an 8-0 run to go up, 17-8, with 9:17 remaining.

After Stevens brought the showdown back to 17-12, the Hawks closed out the half outscoring Stevens, 9-4, and went into the break with a 10-point lead at 26-16. Stevens shot just 20.8-percent (5-for-24) in the opening 20 minutes, while Hartwick went 10-for-31 (32.3%) from the floor.

Both teams stepped up the offense in the second half – Stevens 11-for-24 (45.8%), Hartwick 12-for-20 (60%) – but the Hawks drained three more shots from long range and six more attempts at the free throw line. Hartwick led by as many as 24 points in the second half with 4:34 left in regulation.

The Ducks also turned the ball over 22 times which resulted in 22 points for the Hawks.

Sophomore Kaitlyn Astel (Staten Island, N.Y.) and freshman Brittany Washington (Iselin, N.J.) each scored 12 points to lead Stevens offensively. Astel grabbed a team-high six rebounds and went 5-for-6 from the line. Washington shot a perfect 4-for-4 from the field and was 4-of-6 from the stripe.

Sophomore Dylan Krause (Atlanta, Ga.) added five points and five boards off the bench, while senior Avis Benjamin (Queens, N.Y.) and sophomore Miranda Ripken (Fallston, Md.) combined for nine rebounds. Benjamin pulled down five and Ripken snatched four.

Senior Molly Spadaro (Sewell, N.J.) and freshman Erica Guketlov (Spotswood, N.J.) each shot 2-for-6 in the contest.

Stevens remains in third in the Empire 8 but needs to win on Friday, February 21 against Elmira College (16-7, 7-5) to secure a spot in the conference tournament. Friday night's game will tip-off at 8 p.m. and the four seniors will be recognized for their careers before the contest.

Elmira sits in the fourth and final playoff spot but St. John Fisher College lingers in fifth at 16-9, 8-6 with no games remaining on its schedule.

Follow Friday's action on Empire 8.tv and Stevens live stats.

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