ONEONTA, NY – Hartwick led for the final 17:15 of action and built a lead of 17 points in the fourth quarter in a 75-64 victory over Ithaca on Saturday evening at Lambros Arena. The win for the Hawks is their third straight as they improve to 6-5 overall and stay perfect in the Empire 8 Conference at 3-0.
            The win snaps a four-game losing streak against the Bombers, who fall to 8-2 overall and 1-1 in league play.
            Carly Johnson (Greenville, NY/Greenville Central) led all scorers with 19 points for 'Wick. She also dished out a team-high five assists, grabbed four rebounds, and contributed a pair of steals, and a blocked shot.
            Jacqui Foreman (Tolland, CT/Tolland) recorded her third consecutive double-double with 18 points and a game-high 15 rebounds to go along with three assists and two steals. Emily Stone (Granby, CT/Granby) registered 17 points and Caitlin Corbett (Altamont, NY/Guilderland) chipped in with 12.
            Hartwick finished the game shooting 48.4% (30-for-62) from the floor. The Hawks held the Bombers to 29.2% (21-for-72) shooting and forced them into 21 turnovers.
            Ithaca would jump out to a 6-0 lead 2:48 into the game, but the Hawks would hold the visitors to just two points the rest of the quarter as they closed on a 16-2 run for a 16-8 lead. The Bombers would battle back in the second quarter, out-scoring the Hawks by an 18-11 margin. IC grabbed three leads in the period, but a Stone layup with five seconds left would give the Hawks a 27-26 edge heading into the break.
            After three lead changes in the first two and a half minutes of the third quarter, a Courtney Cirillo (Johnstown, NY/Johnstown) layup with 7:15 left would put the Hawks up for keeps. A jumper from Johnson with 14 ticks to go would give Hartwick a 49-42 advantage.
            A pair of buckets each for Foreman and Stone early in the fourth increased the Hartwick margin to 15 points, 57-42. Eleven points was as close as Ithaca could get over the next six minutes. A Johnson jumper with 1:17 left on the clock opened up a 71-54 lead on the Bombers. They would close the gap to nine twice in the final minute but could get no closer.

            Stone would end the game with four assists and two steals for the Hawks. Corbett added seven rebounds and three assists. Sarah Shaw (Franklin, MA/Franklin) came off the bench for seven points and seven rebounds. She hit a pair of three-pointers and had a game-high five steals with a block, and an assist.

            Jordan Beers led Ithaca with 18 points. She hit six three-point field goals and dished out five assists. Shayna Gaskins added 10 points.

            The Hawks remain at home for the next week with a trio of Empire 8 games on tap. They start on Tuesday with a meeting with defending conference champion Stevens. Game time is 6 p.m. from Lambros.