UTICA, NY – A furious comeback attempt fueled by relentless defensive effort fell short for the Hartwick women's basketball team on Tuesday night, as they fell on the road at Utica, 55-45. In the fourth and final playoff spot entering the night, 'Wick has now slipped to fifth place in the Empire 8 with a 4-4 conference record (10-9 overall). Utica remains in third place in the E8, at 5-3 in-conference and 12-7 overall.
For the second game in a row, an up-for-grabs game in the fourth quarter seemed impossible for Hartwick after the first ten minutes. Leading 2-1 under a minute in, Utica scored the next 12 points in just under six minutes, as the Hawks did not make a shot until Mary Schoenherr (Unionville, CT/Farmington) converted a lay-up on which she was fouled in the final minute. The Pioneers led 16-4 after one.
The second quarter was better for Hartwick, but not by too much. After Molly Kirby's (Selkirk, NY/Bethlehem) opening jumper, three straight Utica buckets ballooned their lead out to 16 at 22-6. The Hawks cut their deficit down to 13 with 5:41 to go when Kayley Ericson (Franklin, CT/Norwich Free Academy) put in a fast break lay-up to make it 24-13, but their progress was stopped there. Utica scored the final seven points of the half, capped off by Petrina DeMarco's three with seven seconds on the clock making it 31-13. Hartwick had a rough half on the offensive end, shooting just 4-of-32 from the field.
The third quarter seemed like it would bring much of the same, as the Hawks still trailed by 14 with 4:29 to go. From there, however, the Hawks began to make their move, cutting the margin to just five points after a 9-0 run. Maggie Kirby (Selkirk, NY/Bethlehem) started it with a lay-up and ended it with a three, with a free throw and Kelly Pine (Hoosick Falls, NY/Hoosick Falls) trey sandwiched in between. After that stretch the score was just 39-34. The Pioneers gave themselves a bit more cushion by the end of the period, ending up with a 44-35 lead, but the Hawks were in much better position headed into the fourth than seemed possible midway through the third.
The final quarter lacked for points to begin with, as a Maggie Kirby free throw was the stanza's first point 2:43 in. Twin Molly followed up with a triple under a minute later, and two more Maggie free throws made it a one-possession game with 5:16 on the clock. DeMarco came right back six seconds later, though, and sank a three to bump the lead back up to six at 47-41. Brigid Johndrow put in a lay-up about a minute-and-a-half later to make it an eight point game, but was quickly answered on the other end by Giuliana Pritchard (Amsterdam, NY/Amsterdam).
The Hawks' ferocious defensive effort continued to pay off right after, as they forced a turnover. Maggie Kirby missed the lay-up that ensued, but Pritchard grabbed the offensive rebound and was fouled. Coach Katie Marcella called a timeout to draw up a play that resulted in a solid look for Maggie Kirby from deep, but she could not get it to go and DeMarco grabbed the rebound with just under two minutes on the clock. DeMarco put in a lay-up after the inbounds to make the score 53-45, and a few more 'Wick misses slammed the door shut on what would have been an excellent, crucial comeback win. Utica has now swept the regular season series from the Hawks, after beating them 67-60 in Lambros Arena on January 11.
Four different Hawks had three or more steals on the night, which is just a small indicator of their tenacity on the defensive end. Molly Kirby and Schoenherr had four apiece, tying for the game high, while Pritchard and Victoria Sacramone (Queens, NY/St. Mary's) each had three. Sacramone's total came in just six minutes of action. Pritchard was solid elsewhere in the box score, too, gathering up her fourth double-double of the season with 13 points and a game-high 17 rebounds as well as three blocks and an assist. Maggie Kirby led the Hawks with 14 points and had eight rebounds, a block, and an assist, Molly Kirby had eight points, three rebounds, those four steals, a block, and an assist, and Schoenherr had 12 boards, five points, the four steals, a block, and an assist.
DeMarco led all players with 17 points, which included 4-of-8 from three, and was followed by Johndrow at 12 points, Sydney Przygoda with 11, and Nicolette Conkin at nine. The Pioneers had a pretty even distribution on the boards, as five players had six or more rebounds. Przygoda led with nine, DeMarco had eight, and Conkin, Kristine Miller, and Sam Cichon each had six. Johndrow also chipped in with four. Elsewhere in the box score, Conkin had six assists and three steals, Johndrow also had three steals, and Miller had four blocks.
It was a tough shooting night all-around, although Utica had the better of it. They shot 31.0% from the field, making three more shots than Hartwick despite the Hawks taking 18 more attempts (19.7%). The Pioneers were just 18.2% from three, but beat out 'Wick's 14.8%, and led 83.3% to 73.3% from the free throw line.
The Hawks ended up edging out Utica in the rebound battle, 45-44, despite trailing significantly in the category at the half. That includes a 20-11 lead on the offensive boards, leading to a more modest 12-6 advantage in second chance points. Utica gave the ball up 20 times compared to Hartwick's 16, but managed a 13-8 lead in points off of turnovers nonetheless.
Hartwick will need to find its shooting touch by Saturday, as they travel to Albany for a matchup with Sage at 4 p.m. The Gators downed the Hawks earlier this year at Lambros and currently sit in second place in the conference, at 6-2.
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.