ELMIRA, NY – It was the age-old tale of two halves on Saturday evening: in this instance, the first close as can be, and the second a blowout. The Hartwick women's basketball team came out with the win against host Elmira in each team's Empire 8 Conference opener, outscoring the Soaring Eagles 30-8 in the second half (including a 15-0 third quarter) during the 61-39 victory. The win boosts Hartwick up to 7-5 overall (1-0 E8), while Elmira drops to 2-8 (0-1 E8).
As mentioned above, the first half was close throughout. Neither team led by more than five points, and the score was tied at 31-all entering the break. Hartwick took an early 7-3 lead (with all seven points scored by Giuliana Pritchard (Amsterdam, NY/Amsterdam) on her way to a monster game), but the Soaring Eagles tied it up at seven not long after. The teams exchanged the lead a couple times throughout the first ten minutes, and Hartwick ended up in front after one, 15-13.
Mary Schoenherr's (Unionville, CT/Farmington) three gave 'Wick that five-point lead to open up the second quarter, but the lead was back down to one under a minute later. Later with the score 26-22, Elmira went on a quick 7-0 stretch to take a 29-26 lead, all thanks to Taylor Johnson and her three-pointer, lay-up, and pair of free throws. Taylor Verboven (Columbia, CT/E.O. Smith) ended up with the tying basket to send the teams into the locker room knotted up at 31, putting in a lay-up with five seconds to go.
Hartwick's second-half dominance started right from the get-go in the third quarter, as Pritchard put in a lay-up ten seconds in, assisted by Kayley Ericson (Franklin, CT/Norwich Free Academy) for the 33-31 lead. The Hawks continued from there, eventually scoring 13 more third-quarter points and allowing zero (thanks in part to myriad Elmira missed shots and turnovers) for a 46-31 lead headed to the fourth.
The Soaring Eagles finally ended 'Wick's 18-0 run with a free throw 35 seconds into the fourth, but Hartwick went right back to work after that. Buckets from Pritchard, Schoenherr, and Isley Sterling (Wilton, NY/Saratoga Springs) brought the lead to 20, and a Molly Kirby (Selkirk, NY/Bethlehem) trey with 5:02 on the clock gave Hartwick their largest lead of the night at 55-32. The rest of the quarter was a formality, and eventually time ticked to zero with the Hawks up 22.
Pritchard was terrific for the Hawks, securing her second double-double of the year with a season-high 20 points on 7-of-16 from the field and 14 rebounds, as well as two blocks and an assist. Schoenherr had a healthy 14 points on 4-of-9, seven boards, two assists (moving her into a tie for ninth on the program's all-time list), and a block, and Molly Kirby had 11 points, a game-high four assists (tied with Ericson), and two steals. Maggie Kirby (Selkirk, NY/Bethlehem) had six points and seven rebounds, and Verboven contributed with eight points on 4-of-7 shooting, five rebounds, one assist, and one steal off the bench.
Johnson led Elmira in points and rebounds with 15 and 11, respectively, putting up two steals and a block as well. Alyssa Waters was the only other Soaring Eagle in double digits, at 10 points, and Lauren Franklin had six points and seven boards.
Hartwick had a clear shooting edge, at 40.0% to 25.4% from the field and 20.0% to 11.8% from three. They had a 45-38 edge in rebounds, although Elmira led 14-12 on the offensive glass, leading to an 11-7 difference in second chance points. Neither side turned it over all that much, with Hartwick giving it up 12 times to their hosts' 14, and securing a 20-16 lead in points off of turnovers as a result.
Hartwick aims to keep it going in the Empire 8 next Friday, when they host Sage for their conference home opener. Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m. in Lambros Arena.
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