MIDDLETOWN, CT – The Hartwick women's basketball team fell behind big early and never could make up their deficit on the first day of the Wesleyan Classic on Friday night, falling to the host Cardinals by a 72-56 score. The Hawks drop to 3-2 as a result of the loss, while Wesleyan is now 2-1.
The Cardinals got off to a very hot start, jumping out to a 13-2 lead under five minutes in and forcing Hartwick Head Coach Sarah Lombard to call a timeout and regroup. 'Wick did score off the pause, via a Bree Fargnoli (Binghamton, NY/Chenango Forks) lay-up, but Wesleyan's Maddie Clark responded right back with a three, and then assisted a Caleigh Ryan shot from deep for a 19-4 advantage. After one, the Hawks trailed by 19 at 26-7.
The Cardinals continued to extend their lead in the second, ballooning it out to 38-13 after Clark canned a three with 4:17 remaining in the half. Clark would hit another three under two minutes later to put the score at 45-16 Wesleyan. 'Wick narrowed their deficit slightly by the time the half ended, down to 27 points, but still had a tough road ahead of them down 47-20.
The Hawks must have made some halftime adjustments, as they had cut their deficit to 20 with 1:33 of the third quarter gone by. Isabella Astorino (Warwick, NY/Warwick Valley) had four of 'Wick's nine points over the opening 9-2 run. The Cardinals stopped the Hawks' rally there, as they steadily increased their advantage out to 28 midway through the quarter. 'Wick again was able to cut their deficit down to 21 after three, thanks to seven consecutive free throws near the end of the quarter, but remained well out of it with ten minutes to go, down 61-40.
The Hawks kept the fight going to start the fourth, and eventually found themselves down just 16 at 68-52 under midway through after Molly Kirby's (Selkirk, NY/Bethlehem) three-pointer was followed up by a slick Mikyla Mitchell (Glenville, NY/Mekeel Christian Academy) lay-up. Two Giuliana Pritchard (Amsterdam, NY/Amsterdam) free throws with 4:42 to go cut the lead further down to 14. That would be the closest 'Wick got, however, as Wesleyan extended their advantage back out to 16 by the time the final buzzer sounded.
Maggie Kirby (Selkirk, NY/Bethlehem) led 'Wick with a season high 18 points, also contributing six steals. Fargnoli led the Hawks with seven rebounds, and Molly Kirby was the only other Hartwick player in double digits with 10 points.
Wesleyan had a big shooting advantage on the evening, draining 42.2% of their shots from the field compared to Hartwick's 29.8%. That gap was driven in large part by the Cardinals' otherworldly shooting in the first quarter, as they lit it up to the tune of 64.7% in the opening ten minutes. The rebounding battle was nearly even, at 42-39 in favor of the hosts. Wesleyan also had a sizable lead in points off of turnovers, converting the Hawks' 18 turnovers to 12 points compared to Hartwick's six points off 14 Cardinals' miscues.
'Wick finishes out the Wesleyan Classic tomorrow at 12:30 p.m., taking on Albertus Magnus in the Hawks' final game of November.
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