HOUGHTON, NY – Hartwick played a dominant second half in a 72-49 victory over host Houghton College on Friday night to claim its sixth straight victory. The win improves the Hawks' overall record to 20-4 marking the third straight season the team has reached 20 wins.
            Brittney Dumas (Easton, CT/Joel Barlow) and Maria Foglia (Rensselaer, NY/Catholic Central) combined for 31 of the Hawks' points on the night. Dumas had a team-high 16 points with Foglia contributing 15. Taylor Vonasek (Willington, CT/E.O. Smith) was also in double figures with 10 and Christina Graziadei (Oriskany, NY/Oriskany) notched a career-best eight points on 4-of-4 shooting.
            'Wick out-scored the Highlanders by a margin of 39-22 in the second half to aid in the win. The Hawks forced 19 turnovers in the game which they converted into 24 points. Hartwick's bench also chipped in 27 points in the contest.
            The Hawks jumped out to an early 7-3 lead following a Vonasek layup with 2:34 elapsed in the game. An 8-2 Highlander run, however, would put the hosts in front by an 11-9 margin just two and a half minutes later. A Foglia three-point basket at 14:20 would regain the Hawks' advantage and they led for the rest of the night.
            A Dumas layup gave Hartwick its biggest lead of the half up to that point, 25-18, with just over seven minutes left on the clock. The Hawks matched that margin two more times over the next four minutes but each time the Highlanders responded. The Hawks increased the lead to eight with three minutes left before Houghton trimmed it to six at the half, 33-27.
            Early in the second half, Houghton narrowed the gap to a single point, but Hartwick scored 13 of the next 18 points to build the advantage back up to nine, 46-37.
            The Hawks led by a count of 46-40 with just under 13 minutes left to play but they would score the next 18 points over the next five minutes to pull away as they built a 64-40 lead. The Hartwick defense forced the Highlanders into nine missed shots and three turnovers in the span. Foglia and Kait Veit (Easthampton, MA/Holyoke Catholic) each netted five points in the run for the Hawks with Alicia Razanousky (Stuyvesant, NY/Ichabod Crane) adding four.
            The Highlanders finally ended the drought at the 6:16 mark but the damage was done. The Hawks led by at least 20 points the rest of the way in the 23-point victory.
            Dumas would shoot 50% (8-of-16) from the floor in the game. She grabbed a game-high seven rebounds and tied for a game-high with four assists. Foglia made five of her nine shots, including three three-pointers while also dishing four assists.
            Veit ended the game with seven points for the Hawks with Razanousky scoring six. Lee Arduini (Albany, NY/Academy of the Holy Names) matched Dumas and Foglia with four assists.
            The Hawks finished the night making over 50% from the floor. They hit 32 of their 63 shots (50.8%). They also had a decisive advantage in rebounds, 39-28.
            Houghton was led by Kristen Moose and Stephany Ellison who combined for 37 of the team's 49 points. Moose had 19 points and Ellison scored 18.
            The Hawks are now tied with Ithaca at 12-1 in the Empire 8 for first place. Hartwick hosts Elmira tomorrow on Senior Night at 5 p.m. 'Wick must win and hope for an Alfred upset of Ithaca to claim the top seed and right to host the upcoming Empire 8 Tournament.