ONEONTA, NY – One basket was the difference on Thursday night, as Maggie Kirby (Selkirk, NY/Bethlehem) grabbed the rebound off a missed lay-up and put in a floater with just 6.4 seconds to go, lifting the Hartwick women's basketball team to a win in their 2019-20 home opener at Lambros Arena. The Hawks beat city rival SUNY Oneonta, 56-54, claiming bragging rights for the fourth season in a row, and move above .500 to 3-2 with three straight wins. The Red Dragons drop below .500, and are now 2-3.
It took over two-and-a-half minutes for the game's first point, on a Leanne Corso free throw, but Kelly Pine (Hoosick Falls, NY/Hoosick Falls) immediately responded with a three-pointer, assisted by Molly Kirby (Selkirk, NY/Bethlehem). Oneonta's Olivia Dobrovosky fired back with a long ball of her own under a minute later, but 1:04 after that Pine canned another three to make it 6-4 Hartwick. Once again, the Red Dragons responded by hitting from deep, this time off the hands of Lauren Obermayer, but the Hawks wound up leading 9-7 after a low-scoring first quarter.
Oneonta scored the first five points of the second quarter, taking a 14-11 lead. Hartwick was not deterred, and went on a 10-0 run over the next 5:59, grabbing some control of the game at 21-14. Molly Kirby and Giuliana Pritchard (Amsterdam, NY/Amsterdam) each hit a three in that stretch. The tides turned again soon after, however, as following Mary Schoenherr's (Unionville, CT/Farmington) jumper with 1:32 to go that made the score 23-15, the Red Dragons scored the next five points to cut their deficit to just three, entering the locker room at 23-20.
In a bit of a reversal of trends, the teams scored fast and furiously to start the second half, combining for 13 points over the first 2:08 of the third. Oneonta barely got the better of those 13 points, as Hartwick led 29-27 after that stretch. That lead would hold steady, more or less, for the remainder of the quarter; Hartwick led by as much as five, but an Olivia Allrich lay-up with seconds left sent the game to the fourth with a 41-39 score, home team in front.
Oneonta wasted little time tying the game to start the final quarter, on a Clara Culeton lay-up 15 seconds in. Dobrovosky got fouled just over a couple scoreless minutes later and sank two from the free throw line to put the Red Dragons on top. Again, Hartwick stayed with it, and Pritchard hit from beyond the arc half-a-minute later for the 44-43 lead and grabbed an offensive rebound, got fouled, and made two free throws a minute after that. Leanne Corso responded with 5:09 on the clock by tying the game on a three, but Pine immediately fired back with her own three-pointer on the next possession to make the score 49-46, assisted by Kayley Ericson (Franklin, CT/Norwich Free Academy).
Hartwick had a slim 50-49 lead with 1:51 to go. Pine nabbed a big offensive board and put back a lay-up with 1:02 to go, extending the Hartwick lead to three. After a timeout, Oneonta's Casey Hayes brought the Hawks' lead back to one with a lay-up from the left side, but she fouled Pine on the next possession, and Pine made her pay with two clutch free throws. Out of the subsequent timeout, Corso got off a three-pointer from the corner that was well-contested by Pritchard, but she drained it nonetheless to tie the game at 54-all with 17 seconds on the clock.
Each team took a timeout after the bucket, enabling Hartwick coach Katie Marcella to draw up a play. Schoenherr inbounded to Pine, who quickly gave it back to Schoenherr for a drive to the hoop. She got off a solid look on a lay-up from the right side, but it hit the front of the rim and bounced off into the sea of hands below. The ball deflected out to a charging Maggie Kirby, who got off a runner from a couple steps below the foul line. It hit the front of the rim, rolled on to the back and bounced a couple times, then dropped through the net with 6.4 seconds to go. Dobrovosky got off a surprisingly open look at the other end, but her try hit the back of the rim and the buzzer sounded a couple ticks later.
Pine, one of four Hawks in double figures, ended up tying Corso for the game-high of 16 points, adding seven rebounds as well. The hero, Maggie Kirby, had 12 points and eight rebounds; Schoenherr also had 12 points as well as seven boards. Pritchard registered 11 points and six rebounds, chipping in with two steals in addition. Molly Kirby was quiet on the score sheet, with just three points, but grabbed six rebounds, had a game-high four steals, two assists, and a block.
Corso led the Red Dragons with 16 points, including 3-of-4 from deep, and had seven rebounds. Culeton had the game-high of 10 boards as well as seven points. Teammates Dobrovosky and Allrich also had seven points, and each had five rebounds; Allrich had a game-high six assists. Hayes was Oneonta's second-leading scorer with eight points to go with her three steals and rebounds.
Neither team shot particularly well. Oneonta was at 30.5% from the field compared to Hartwick's 29.8%, and 31.8% from three compared to 29.2%. The teams were locked at 15 in the turnover battle, with the Hawks taking a slim 14-13 lead in points off of turnovers. Oneonta got much more from their bench with 22 bench points to 2, as Marcella played a tight rotation, but it was not enough for a win.
The Hawks try to keep it going this Saturday, November 23, when they travel to Aurora for their final game before the Thanksgiving break at Wells.
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