PITTSFORD, NY – Molly Kirby's (Selkirk, NY/Bethlehem) three-pointer with just 1.1 seconds on the clock gave the Hartwick women's basketball team a 55-52 victory over host St. John Fisher in a game that the Cardinals led by as much as 13 points. With the victory, the Hawks move to 8-3 (1-1 E8), while Fisher drops to 7-4 (1-1 E8).
St. John Fisher rolled out to a big lead early, ending the first quarter on an 8-0 run to lead 14-4 after one. After 'Wick narrowed the gap to six, a pair of lay-ups and a three-pointer from Elle Lazore ballooned the lead out to 13 with 5:38 to go in the half. The Hawks once again stayed in it, outscoring the Cardinals 10-2 over the remainder of the period to keep the game in reach headed into the locker room, at 25-20.
Hartwick grabbed their first lead of the afternoon early on in the third, when Caitlin Corbett (Altamont, NY/Guilderland) hit a pair of threes en route to a 13-point second half. The rest of the quarter went back and forth, with each squad grabbing the lead a couple of times, and Fisher ending up leading by three, 41-38. Carly Johnson (Greenville, NY/Greenville Central) hit from deep to tie the game early on in the final quarter, but the Cardinals were able to extend their lead out to six on a Lazore three with 5:58 to go. Corbett and Molly Kirby quickly responded, cutting the lead to one with a three and lay-up respectively. Fisher broke a tie at 50-all on a lay-up with 1:34 left, but the Kirby sisters connected to immediately knot the score again, as Molly sent one into Maggie Kirby (Selkirk, NY/Bethlehem) for a lay-in. The hosts' Erin Hulbert missed a potential go-ahead three-point shot with 19 seconds on the clock, after which Mary Schoenherr (Unionville, CT/Farmington) grabbed her third rebound and Coach Katie Marcella called a timeout to draw up a play. That play saw the ball come to Schoenherr at the elbow, who dribbled into the paint and kicked the ball out to Molly Kirby in the corner, who connected for the go-ahead three-pointer with 1.1 seconds left. Hulbert had a chance to tie it at the buzzer, but was forced into an awkward shot that banked off of the backboard and caromed off of the rim.
Molly Kirby was on fire all afternoon, scoring a career-high 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting, including 4-of-4 from beyond the arc. She had 13 points in the second half, and grabbed five rebounds (four offensive) overall. Corbett was the second-leading scorer with 14 points, also nabbing four rebounds and two assists. Schoenherr tied for the game-high with five assists, as well as potting eight points and gathering three rebounds. Maggie Kirby had a team-high eight rebounds and three steals (one of seven Hawks with a steal), as well as six points, an assist, and a block.
Hartwick had a very slight edge in field goal percentage, 37.1% to 36.8%, and a more substantial one from three-point land, 34.8% to 29.2%. The Cardinals won the rebounding battle, 44-36, and had a slight advantage in second-chance points, 13-9. Both teams forced a fair amount of turnovers; Fisher had 22, while Hartwick had 17. 'Wick had a 13-12 lead in points off of turnovers.
Lazore led the hosts with 18 points and an impressive six steals, as well as four rebounds. Julia Mertsock had the game high with 11 rebounds, also contributing eight points. Ella Eckert was not far off of a double-double with eight points and eight rebounds. Hulbert had nine rebounds and five assists.
The Hawks open up their home conference schedule on Tuesday, January 8, against Stevens at 5:30 p.m. in Lambros Arena.
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