Women's Basketball 2/18/2011 9:21:01 PM Chris Gondek, Hartwick SID

Women’s Basketball Comeback Falls Short Against Regionally Ranked Ithaca

Women's Basketball 2/18/2011 9:21:01 PM Chris Gondek, Hartwick SID

Women’s Basketball Comeback Falls Short Against Regionally Ranked Ithaca

            ONEONTA, NY – Hartwick's women's basketball team stormed back from a 25-point deficit to take the lead with under three minutes to play, but Ithaca ended the game on a 6-1 run to survive in a 59-54 victory at Lambros Arena Friday night. The Hawks not only nearly pulled off a miraculous comeback but also came close to putting the Bombers' 32-game conference regular season unbeaten streak to a halt. Instead, the Hawks fall to 9-14 overall and 6-9 in the Empire 8. Ithaca, ranked #4 in the NCAA East Regional Poll, improves to 17-5 overall and 15-0 in the E8.
            Hartwick's Maria Foglia (Rensselaer, NY/Catholic Central) led all scorers with 18 points. Kate Purcell (Buffalo, NY/Mount Mercy Acad.) and Fritzi Flores (Bergenfield, NJ/Paramus Catholic) each scored nine and Katrina Caulfield (Palmer, MA/Palmer) scored eight.
            The visitors jumped out to an early 17-0 lead en route to a 34-11 advantage at the break. The Bombers scored 20 points off of 16 first-half Hartwick turnovers and held a 28-13 edge on the glass.
            The second half was a different story as the Hawks roared back thanks to a 22-3 run over the opening 10 minutes to cut the lead to six, 37-33. Foglia led the way with nine points but six different Hawks registered at least a point in the run. Defensively, the Hawks forced 12 straight missed shots and the Bombers turned the ball over eight times before Jennifer Escobido gave her squad its first field goal in over 10 minutes at the 9:37 mark.
            Ithaca built its lead back up to eight, but the Hawks continually chipped away at it, and back-to-back three-pointers from Foglia and Flores evened the score at 49-49 with 3:24 left. An Ithaca free throw gave the Bombers a one-point edge but Tracey Koch's (Glenmont, NY/Bethlehem) bucket put 'Wick in front for the first time of the night, 51-50, with 2:44 remaining.
            The lead for Hartwick was short-lived as Jessica Farley's three-pointer on Ithaca's next trip down the floor put the Bombers in front, 53-51. Caulfield free throws would make the score 53-53 but with 1:19 left an Elissa Klie layup put the visitors ahead for good. Samantha Fox (Hartwick, NY/Cooperstown) had a chance to tie it but she made one of two free throws with 32 seconds showing on the clock. 'Wick then fouled and IC sank a pair from the line with eight ticks left for a 57-54 lead.
            Foglia drew a foul with just over three seconds left as she dribbled up the floor and went to the line for a one-and-one. She missed the front-end, however, and Ithaca sealed it with another pair from the free-throw line.
            The Bombers were led in the game by Klie, who scored 16. She added eight rebounds. Farley ended the night with 14 points.
            Foglia shot 7-of-15 from the floor and she added a game-high four assists. Flores contributed a team-best five boards and a game-high four assists.
            The Hawks wrap up the 2010-11 season tomorrow against Elmira at Lambros Arena at 2 p.m.

Print Friendly Version