ONEONTA, NY – The Hartwick women's basketball team took control of the game midway through the first quarter on Tuesday evening at Lambros Arena, beating the Wells College Express, 82-36. The Hawks move to 4-1 on the season, while the Express fall to 0-5.
'Wick grabbed an early 7-2 lead, but Wells was able to battle back to tie the score at nine apiece with 3:51 left in the first quarter. After that, it was all Hartwick. The Hawks went on a 20-0 run spanning the end of the first and the beginning of the second quarter, taking a 29-9 lead just 1:08 into the second frame. Six different Hartwick players scored during that run, which included four layups off of fastbreaks. The Hawks extended their lead out to 24 by the time the clock hit zero, leading 40-16 heading into the locker room.
Hartwick picked right back up again in the third quarter, extending its lead out to 29 a little under two minutes into the period. At one point, the Kirby sisters took over; after Maggie Kirby (Selkirk, NY/Bethlehem) hit a layup, Molly Kirby (Selkirk, NY/Bethlehem) scored the next eight Hartwick points on back-to-back three pointers and a layup to stretch the lead to 34. The Hawks ended the third up by 37 points, 64-27. The fourth quarter was more of the same, with the lead getting as large as 48 points before ending up at 46 when the final buzzer sounded.
Every Hawk participated in this one, as each member of the roster had at least one rebound or point. Four players had double-digit point totals: Molly Kirby, who had 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting (3-of-4 from beyond the arc), Carly Johnson (Greenville, NY/Greenville Central), who had 12 points to go with her three rebounds, Caitlin Corbett (Altamont, NY/Guilderland), who had 11 points, four rebounds (two offensive), two assists, and two steals, and Giuliana Pritchard, who had ten points on 4-of-6 shooting to go with her team-high six rebounds. Mary Schoenherr (Unionville CT/Farmington) also had a nice evening, with nine points on 3-of-5 shooting, four assists, three rebounds, and three steals. Maggie Kirby contributed in each of the five categories, registering seven points, four rebounds, three assists, a block, and a steal.
Hartwick outshot Wells from the field, 45.5% to 29.3%, although the Express shot 37.5% from three-point land compared to the Hawks' 26.9%. In both categories, however, 'Wick had many more attempts, accounting for the large point disparity overall. Hartwick also outrebounded Wells, 41-29, including 16-6 on the offensive glass, accounting for a 7-0 difference in second-chance points. Turnovers may have been the biggest difference in this game, with the Hawks forcing the Express into 34 turnovers while giving up the ball just 19 times themselves. Hartwick was much more often able to turn those takeaways into points, scoring 41 points off of turnovers, compared to Wells's 10.
Diamonne Harris led the Express on the stat sheet, scoring eleven points on 3-of-4 shooting from the field and 5-of-6 from the free throw line. Carley Ryan also had a nice night, contributing in every category with nine points, four rebounds, an assist, a block, and a steal.
Hartwick plays next after the Thanksgiving break, traveling a few minutes to take on rival SUNY Oneonta in a battle for the city on Tuesday, November 27 at 6 p.m.