ROCHESTER, NY – Hartwick led by six points with 2:51 remaining in the game, but host Nazareth finished the contest on an 11-1 run to take down the Hawks Friday night at Kidera Gymnasium.
Hartwick (5-14, 4-6 E8) out-scored Naz (11-9, 7-4 E8) 12-6 to open up the fourth quarter after a 39-all tie after three quarters of play. A Naz layup and then a three-pointer trimmed the margin to one, 51-50, with 1:25 left before a Kelly Pine (Hoosick Falls, NY/Hoosick Falls) free throw made it 52-50 with 35 ticks to play.
Demetria Woodard's three gave the Golden Flyers the lead with 28 seconds to go. 'Wick turned it over and Naz pushed the lead to three after two free throws 17 seconds later. The Hawks' three-point attempt to tie was off the mark as was their put-back on the offensive rebound and Naz put it away with one last free throw.
Caitlin Corbett (Altamont, NY/Guilderland) paced Hartwick with 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting. She added six rebounds. Mary Schoenherr (Unionville, CT/Farmington) contributed 15 points, seven rebounds, and game-highs of six assists and three steals.
The Hawks would fall behind 10-3 in the early stages of the first quarter and trailed by as many as nine points in the period. In the second quarter, 'Wick would close the gap to three twice before the Golden Flyers took a 25-19 lead into halftime.
In a back and forth third quarter, the Hawks grabbed leads on five separate occasions before the two teams settled on a 39-39 tie heading into the fourth. Hartwick grabbed the lead at the 5:39 mark on a Pine layup and they held it until Woodard's three with 28 seconds to play.
Pine finished the night with nine points and a team-high eight rebounds. Carly Johnson (Greenville, NY/Greenville Central) added seven points and seven rebounds.
Rachel Benedict led all scorers with 18 points for Naz. She hit four three-pointers in the game. Samantha Peebles added 15 points. Both Benedict and Peebles tied for a game-high with 10 rebounds.
Hartwick is back in action tomorrow at St. John Fisher beginning at 4 p.m.