ONEONTA, NY – Despite outscoring the Pioneers 17-8 in the third quarter, a 13-point halftime deficit proved to be too much to overcome for the Hartwick women's basketball team on Saturday afternoon, as they fell to visiting Utica, 67-60. The loss drops the Hawks back to .500 at 7-7, and moves them to 1-2 in the Empire 8. The Pioneers are now 9-5 on the season and 2-1 in-conference.

At halftime of the 2 p.m. men's game, the 2018-19 Empire 8 Tournament-winning team was honored and their championship banner was unveiled.

Offense was aplenty in the first quarter, as the teams combined for 46 points over a close ten minutes. After Isley Sterling (Wilton, NY/Saratoga Springs) gave Hartwick a 17-11 lead late in the period, Utica went on a 9-0 run to grab the lead. They maintained that lead through the end of the first, holding on to a 25-21 advantage heading into the second.

The Pioneers immediately extended their lead out to start the second quarter, thanks to a lay-up from Cora Sawyer and a three-pointer by Petrina DeMarco that gave the away side a 30-21 lead. Utica's lead remained between five and nine points for most of the rest of the period, but two more treys from DeMarco in the final minute made the score 43-30 at the break. DeMarco had four threes on six attempts overall in the first half, leading all players in scoring through 20 minutes.

Molly Kirby (Selkirk, NY/Bethlehem) and Maggie Kirby (Selkirk, NY/Bethlehem) quickly combined to get 'Wick's deficit back down to single digits with the first two buckets of the third quarter. After Sydney Przygoda interrupted with a lay-up, 'Wick scored the next six points to make the score 45-40. Just over a minute later, Maggie Kirby banged in a three, assisted by Kayley Ericson (Franklin, CT/Norwich Free Academy), making the Hartwick deficit just two at 47-45. The Pioneers staved off the Hawks for the rest of the period, but led by just four going into the final stanza at 51-47.

The margin remained at four just over two-and-a-half minutes in, but Nicolette Conkin had other ideas, as Utica' scoring guard hit threes on back-to-back possessions, quickly bumping up her team's lead to 10 at 59-49. Hartwick stayed with it, however; Maggie Kirby hit another big three (again Ericson-assisted) with 3:39 to go, and the Pioneers missed on the other end. With a chance to make it a one-possession game, Taylor Verboven (Columbia, CT/E.O. Smith) was just off on a three-pointer, and the score remained 61-56. Utica's Brigid Johndrow was able to hit enough of her free throws in the waning minutes to keep the Hawks away before the final buzzer sounded.

Maggie Kirby led Hartwick in scoring, with 19 points, and also picked up seven rebounds, two assists, a steal, and a block. Giuliana Pritchard (Amsterdam, NY/Amsterdam) set a career-high with 19 rebounds (tying for the game high) and got the double-double with 12 points, her fourth straight game with at least that many points. She picked up a team-high four assists, two steals, and a block, to boot. Molly Kirby ended up with 11 points, including 3-of-6 from three, and Mary Schoenherr (Unionville, CT/Farmington) had eight points, ten rebounds, and two assists.

The two-headed monster of Przygoda and Conkin paved the way for Utica's victory today. Przygoda had a huge 19 points and 19 rebounds, while Conkin ended up with 17 points (including four threes), five assists, three steals, and three rebounds. DeMarco had 12 points and six boards, while Johndrow's 12 points were paired with five assists, four rebounds, and two steals.

Neither team shot all that well, although Utica was better overall. They led 37.3% to 29.2% from the field and 33.3% to 26.1% from three. The rebounding battle was nearly even, as 'Wick held a slight 49-46 advantage. The Hawks led 16-11 on the offensive glass, which in part led to a disproportionate 20-4 difference in second chance points. Both teams had just nine turnovers during the relatively cleanly-played game.

Hartwick will try and get back in the win column next Friday, January 17, when they host Alfred at 7:30 p.m.

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