ONEONTA, NY – For the first time in program history, the Hartwick women's basketball team is the Empire 8 Champion. They used a strong second and start of the third quarter to pull away from #3 St. John Fisher, eventually winning the game, 69-62, on Saturday afternoon at Lambros Arena. Top-seeded 'Wick's Caitlin Corbett (Altamont, NY/Guilderland) was named the Tournament Most Valuable Player, as she averaged 16.5 points, five rebounds, three assists, and 2.5 steals over the two games against Stevens and St. John Fisher. The Hawks are now 23-4 and finish 16-2 in the Empire 8, and have made the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament for the first time since 2014. St. John Fisher drops to 19-8 (13-5 E8), and will have to hope for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Like the two regular seasons games between these teams, the first quarter was closely contested. Corbett got the action started with a three-pointer 1:53 in, but Fisher's Sydney Masna answered back on the next possession with her own three-ball. The Cardinals and the Hawks went back and forth, with Hartwick continually taking the lead but St. John Fisher generally answering right back. 'Wick led by as much as four points after back-to-back buckets from sisters Maggie Kirby (Selkirk, NY/Bethlehem) and Molly Kirby (Selkirk, NY/ Bethlehem), but a free throw from Ella Eckert and Erin Hulbert's jumper in the paint with three seconds to go made the margin just one after the first ten minutes, at 15-14.
The second quarter mirrored the first for a large portion. St. John Fisher took a few small leads, but Hartwick fought back. With 2:27 left in the half the Cardinals' Leah Koonmen hit a pair of free throws to again cut the Hawk lead to one, at 25-24. 'Wick took this as a cue to grab control of the game with an extended scoring stretch, as they have done so many times this season. Corbett had three lay-ups and Mary Schoenherr (Unionville, CT/Farmington) sank a pair of free throws as the Hawks went on an 8-0 run to end the half, suddenly taking a nine-point, 33-24 lead in to the locker room.
Hartwick seemed to put a stranglehold on the title at the start of the third quarter, as lay-ups from Kelly Pine (Hoosick Falls, NY/Hoosick Falls), Schoenherr, and Corbett enlarged the lead to 15 points just 2:03 in. A big block on one end and three-pointer on the other from Carly Johnson (Greenville, NY/Greenville Central) with 5:29 left in the quarter sent the crowd into a frenzy and forced a Cardinal timeout facing a 16-point deficit. Johnson would later extend the Hawk lead to its largest of the quarter at 17, but regionally-ranked #8 St. John Fisher stayed with it, closing the quarter on a 9-2 run to enter the final ten minutes down ten points, 49-39.
They could not continue, however, as 'Wick replicated their start to the third in the fourth, using three straight lay-ups (one from Johnson and two Schoenherr-assisted by Corbett) to again take a 16-point lead, with 1:56 gone by. Hartwick gradually extended their lead all the way out to 20 on a Pine lay-up with just over three minutes left, at 65-45. The Cardinals would not go quietly, however. They continued to narrow the lead, eventually making it a nine-point game with 33 seconds left and forcing a timeout from Hartwick's coach, Katie Marcella. Time was not on Fisher's side, however, as a Koonmen steal and lay-up with eight seconds left was all they would get. 'Wick dribbled out the clock and into the NCAA Tournament.
All-Conference First Teamer and Tournament MVP Corbett had a great night offensively, scoring a game-high 20 points on 9-of-15 shooting, also leading the team with five assists and picking up five rebounds. Fellow senior and Empire 8 Second Team All-Star Johnson was right behind her, potting 18 points on 5-of-10 from the field (including 2-of-4 from deep) and contributing in every category with three rebounds, two assists, a game-high two blocks, and a team-high two steals. Schoenherr followed up her sensational semifinal with another strong evening, scoring 12 points to go with four rebounds, four assists, and a team-high two steals. Pine was the only other Hawk in double-digit scoring, following up her 21-point night with 11 more on 5-of-8 shooting and a game-high seven rebounds. She also picked up two steals. Empire 8 Honorable Mention Maggie Kirby had a nice afternoon, with six points, five rebounds, a block, and a steal.
Hartwick comfortably outperformed St. John Fisher in all aspects of the shooting game, making 48.1% of their shots compared to the visitor's 41.1%. 'Wick shot 30.8% from three, over 5% better than Fisher's 25.0%, and 75.0% from the free throw line, over 8% higher than the Cardinals' 66.7%. St. John Fisher outrebounded Hartwick by a small margin, 34 to 31. That included an 11 to 8 advantage on the offensive glass, although the Hawks had a tiny 9-8 lead in second-chance points. Both teams gave the ball up a lot, as the Cardinals had 21 turnovers and the Hawks had 19. The visitors had the lead in points off of turnovers, however, 22 to 16.
Sam Fischer was Fisher's leading scorer, making 7-of-9 from the field for 14 points. She also had four rebounds, two steals, and a block. Koonmen was the only other Cardinal in double digits, with 11 points and six boards. Julia Mertsock had nine points and five rebounds, while Sydney Masna and All-Conference Honorable Mention Ella Eckert had seven points apiece.
The Hawks will have to wait to find out their fate until Monday, February 25, when the NCAA will release the 64-team field for the Division III Women's Basketball Tournament. There will be a live selection show on the NCAA's website at 2:30 p.m.
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