Women's Basketball 1/7/2011 8:31:35 PM Chris Gondek, Hartwick SID

Naz Tops Hawks by a Point, 50-49

Women's Basketball 1/7/2011 8:31:35 PM Chris Gondek, Hartwick SID

Naz Tops Hawks by a Point, 50-49

            ROCHESTER, NY – Hartwick's women's basketball team came up a point short on Friday evening in its Empire 8 opener, 50-49, at Nazareth College. The Golden Flyers took the lead for good on Brittany Tallchief's bucket in the paint with 38 seconds left and they hung on for the win as the Hawks had two chances to either take the lead or tie the game in the final 20 seconds. Naz improves to 5-6 overall and 1-1 in conference play while 'Wick slips to 3-5 and 0-1.
            Hartwick led by as many as 10 points in the opening half of play. Freshman Kate Purcell (Buffalo, NY/Mount Mercy), who paced Hartwick with 18 points on the night, converted a three-point play to give the Hawks a 16-6 lead with seven and a half minutes remaining in the opening stanza. Naz would finish the half on a 12-5 run and the Blue and White's lead was three at the break, 21-18.
            In the second half, neither team gained the upper hand by more than five points, and the lead changed hands four times in the final four minutes of action. Katrina Caulfield's (Palmer, MA/Palmer) two free throws with 3:15 left gave Hartwick its first lead, 45-44, since the 18:50 mark of the second half. Naz's Brittany Wilson, who led all scorers with 19 points, converted a layup just 12 seconds later to put the Flyers back up by one.
            After both teams came away empty on their next two possessions, Purcell dropped in a layup with 1:10 on the clock for a one-point 'Wick edge. On Naz's next possession with under a minute left, Caulfield came away with a steal but was quickly whistled for traveling as she went to the floor in the process. The ball went back to the Golden Flyers and Tallchief put her team up to stay.
            Junior Samantha Fox (Hartwick, NY/Cooperstown) had a chance to regain the lead for Hartwick with 20 seconds left but her layup in traffic wouldn't fall. Tallchief was fouled and sank one of two foul shots for her final total of 14 points to make the score 50-48.
            Following a timeout, Purcell would drive into the lane looking for the tying basket only to be fouled on her way up with less than seven seconds left. Her first shot hit the back rim but she connected on her second making it a one-point deficit. The Hawks fouled and Naz's Katie Kollar missed both free throws with just over three seconds left, but Purcell's half-court shot at the buzzer fell short giving the hosts the victory.
            Purcell would add a game-high 10 rebounds to her 18 points for the Hawks. Freshman Maria Foglia (Rensselaer, NY/Catholic Central) notched 11 points and five rebounds and Caulfield finished with eight points and five boards. Fox contributed five points and pulled down eight rebounds.
            Both teams had a rough night shooting the basketball. The Hawks made 35% (16-of-46) of their shots with the Golden Flyers making 37% (17-of-46). Hartwick hit 45% of its three-point efforts while Naz made only 17%. The Hawks also won the rebounding battle, 38-29.
            'Wick is back in action tomorrow at 2 p.m. The Hawks play RIT (3-8, 1-1 E8), which lost a 70-51 decision to Stevens tonight.

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