ONEONTA, NY – Caitlin Corbett (Altamont, NY/Guilderland) became the 16th member of the Hartwick women's basketball 1000 point club on Saturday afternoon, as she scored 25 points in a blowout win over The Sage Colleges, 93-50. The win is the Hawks' ninth straight, as they move to 16-3 overall, and solidify their hold on first place in the Empire 8 Conference with a 9-1 record. The Gators drop to 10-8 (5-4 E8), and remain in the fight for a conference tournament spot.
Hartwick got out to a quick start, scoring the first ten points of the game. Corbett knocked down a three on the team's first possession, assisted by Mary Schoenherr (Unionville, CT/Farmington). Schoenherr then grabbed an offensive rebound on the next possession and layed it in for two. Carly Johnson (Greenville, NY/Greenville Central) took care of the next five points, sinking a three and a jumper in quick succession, forcing a Sage timeout. The Gators scored the first bucket coming out of the timeout, but Schoenherr responded with an old-fashioned three-point play to get the lead back up to double-digits. After a Sage offensive foul, Corbett scored point number 1000 on a contested lay-up, after which Coach Katie Marcella called a timeout to allow the team to congratulate Corbett, with her squad up, 15-2. The Gators got back in it after that, closing the gap to just four on a Megan Flynn lay-up with 1:49 left in the period, but 'Wick scored the final seven points of the quarter to end the first ten minutes up, 26-15. Hartwick gradually extended its lead in the second stanza, eventually outscoring the visitors 21-9 in the period. Corbett and Johnson led the Hawks that period, with eight and seven points, respectively. Headed into the locker room, Hartwick was in firm control, leading 47-24.
The Hawks put the game away in the third quarter, shelling the Gators by a score of 24-5 over the ten minutes. They scored the first 11 points of the second half (the first seven from Maggie Kirby (Selkirk, NY/Bethlehem) and the ensuing five from Corbett), were interrupted by a Sage lay-up, and then scored 11 more unanswered points. Molly Kirby (Selkirk, NY/Bethlehem) had the first five points of that run, followed by four from Isley Sterling (Wilton, NY/Saratoga Springs) and two from Kayley Ericson (Franklin, CT/Norwich Free Academy). At the end of three, the score was 71-29. Sage was much more competitive in the fourth quarter, but it was not close to enough to close the gap. Hartwick stretched their lead out to as much as 49 before ultimately taking it by 43.
Corbett capped off an excellent week with 25 points on 11-of-16 shooting in her milestone game, leading all players. She also grabbed six rebounds, had three assists, and had two steals. Four other Hawks were in double digits as well. Johnson had 14 on an efficient 6-of-8 from the field (2-of-3 from deep). Maggie Kirby had 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds, as well as two steals. Molly Kirby was right behind her with 12 points, three assists, two rebounds and a steal. Schoenherr had 11 points, led all comers with seven assists (her 10th straight game with at least five assists), had three rebounds, and one steal. Alexa DuBois (Hobart, NY/South Kortright) had a nice all-around game, grabbing seven rebounds (three offensive), nabbing a game-leading and season-high three steals, scoring four points, and assisting on two baskets.
Hartwick lit it up from the field in the win, which was Marcella's 50th of her career on Oyaron Hill. The Hawks shot 59.1% overall, making a season-high 39 field goals en route to a season-high 93 points, easily outshooting Sage's 33.9%. They also had the advantage from deep, 42.9% to 35.7%. 'Wick almost doubled up the visitors on the boards, 44-23 (14-9 offensive), and had a 13-7 lead in second chance points to show for it. Hartwick turned it over 13 times to the Gators' 21, leading a gargantuan 31-10 in points off of turnovers.
Megan Flynn led Sage in points and rebounds, with 17 and nine (four offensive), respectively. Gessica Patregnani was the only other Gator in double digits, with 11 points. Giuliana Pritchard had the team-high in assists, with five, also picking up five rebounds.
The Hawks pick up again when the calendar turns, taking on Alfred for the second time this season on Friday, February 1, at 5:30 p.m.
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