SCHENECTADY, NY – A rough first quarter doomed the Hartwick women's basketball team on Friday evening at Union, as they were outscored 21-9 in the first 10 minutes of what turned out to be a 65-46 loss. The defending Empire 8 Champions start out their season 0-1, while Union is a perfect 1-0 to begin their 2019-20 slate.

Union jumped out to a big lead early on, as they led by nine at 13-4 after a Corina Lindsay three-pointer with 5:41 to go in the first. Giuliana Pritchard (Amsterdam, NY/Amsterdam) tried to start the comeback with a three-point play, but the Dutchwomen advanced their lead out to 21-9 by the end of the quarter after Anna Metcalf's three with five ticks on the clock.

The teams traded points a few times to begin the second, but at 29-16 Union went an 8-0 run to take a 21-point lead, with the last basket coming on a Joana Santos fastbreak three-point shot. Maggie Kirby (Selkirk, NY/Bethlehem) had five of Hartwick's 12 points in the quarter, as they trailed at the break, 39-21.

The Kirby sisters teamed up for the first six points of the second half, as Molly Kirby (Selkirk, NY/Bethlehem) sank a three on the first possession and Maggie made one free throw, missed the second, and got a lay-up right after on the next, cutting the Hawk deficit to 12. The trend would not hold however; Union pushed their advantage out to 24 on a fastbreak bucket by Metcalf with 1:38 left, and led, 54-31 after three.

'Wick showed some promise in garbage time, scoring eight of the first ten points to start the fourth. They cut their deficit down to 16 after a Molly Kirby three with 3:40 left made the score 62-46, but that was the end of their scoring for the evening, as the buzzer sounded with the Hawks down 19.

Maggie Kirby led the Hawks in scoring with 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting, also tying with Kelly Pine (Hoosick Falls, NY/Hoosick Falls) for the game high of two blocks. Pine had seven points, two rebounds, and two assists as well. Pritchard and Molly Kirby each had nine points; Pritchard also had seven rebounds, a career-high six steals, three assists, and a block in a game-high 37 minutes, while Kirby had three boards, two dimes, a block, and a steal. Mary Schoenherr (Unionville, CT/Farmington) led all Hawks with 11 rebounds and four assists in her 32 minutes. Taylor Verboven (Columbia, CT/E.O. Smith) played 25 minutes in her first collegiate game, contributing six points and a steal.

Four Dutchwomen achieved double-digit scoring. Laura Vinton led with 17 points on 6-of-10 from the field and had eight rebounds as well. Metcalf had 13 points, a game-high five assists, five rebounds and two steals, and Santos had 11 rebounds and a team-high four steals. Elly Vaughan notched a double-double, putting in ten points and grabbing an impressive 17 rebounds.

Union narrowly outshot Hartwick from the field, at 38.5% to 38.0%, but their 48 to 27 lead in the rebounding battle (including 22 offensive boards) led to 15 more shot attempts for the hosts. The Dutchwomen won the turnover battle, giving it up 25 times to 'Wick's 27, but had a much larger advantage than that would suggest in points off of turnovers, at 26-16.

Next up for the Hawks is SUNY Cortland, who they beat 65-51 last season. They travel to Cortland to take on the Red Dragons next Tuesday, November 12, with opening tip at 7 p.m.

Make sure to catch the latest news on all your favorite Hartwick Hawks teams by following @HawkTalk on Twitter, @hartwickhawks on Instagram, and by liking 'Hartwick Hawks' on Facebook.