CORTLAND, NY – Senior Jessica Laing recorded 17 points and 14 rebounds and sophomore Micki Volpini scored 15 points as Cortland led from beginning to end in a 79-47 non-league victory over Hartwick College's women's basketball team Friday night in Cortland.
Sophomore Allyson Biordi added 10 points and career highs of nine assists and seven rebounds for the Red Dragons (5-2). Sophomore Mary Bruns registered eight points and five rebounds off the bench.
Hartwick (3-6) was led by senior Heather Pruchansky (Naples, FL/Community School of Naples), sophomore Jordan Nichols (Bloomville, NY/South Kortright) and junior Laneka Brown (Spring Glen, NY/Ellenville) with seven points apiece. Senior Lauren Ploof (Hammond, NY/Hammond) finished with eight rebounds and four assists and Nichols pulled down six rebounds.
Laing recorded her sixth double-double in seven games, and she accomplished the feat before halftime with 10 points and 12 rebounds as Cortland led 36-22 at the break. Cortland led 12-4 on a Bruns layup with 13:38 left in the half, but the Hawks cut the lead to 12-10 on a pair of Shamia Dean (Rensselaer, NY/Rensselaer) three-pointers over the next three minutes.
Cortland answered with an 8-3 run, including two Laing baskets, over the next four minutes to take a 20-13 lead. Up 32-22, the Red Dragons used a Volpini jumper and two Miranda Lustig free throws in the final minute to take their 14-point halftime lead.
Hartwick quickly cut the deficit to 10 on put-back layups by Pruchansky and Nichols in the first 1:10 of the second half, but Volpini responded with a three-point play at the 18:20 mark and a three-pointer with 17:39 left to give Cortland a 16-point lead.
The guests made one last push to within 11 points on Pruchansky's three-pointer and a Nichols layup, but Cortland went on a 12-1 run over a four-minute span to put the game away. Laing scored five points during that stretch and Biordi capped the run with a three-pointer at the 12:08 mark.
Hartwick closes out the fall semester with a 3-6 record overall and a 1-1 mark in the Empire 8 Conference. The Hawks get back into E8 play in early January when they host Nazareth on January 2nd and St. John Fisher the following day. Cortland is idle until hosting William Smith on Saturday, Dec. 19, at 2 p.m.
