ONEONTA, NY – Hartwick led at the half by three points but a big 23-6 Stevens' run to begin the second half was too much for the Hawks in a 66-60 loss on Friday night in Empire 8 Conference women's basketball at Lambros Arena. Hartwick trailed by as many as 15 points at the midway point of the second half before finishing the game scoring 22 of the game's final 35 points to get within six.
           
Hartwick slips to 4-13 overall and 2-6 in the league. The Ducks are now 13-2 and 7-1.
           
Freshman Kelsey Brown (Barrington, NH/Tilton School) led Hartwick with a career-high 15 points. She only missed one shot all day, connecting on 6-of-7 shots from the floor and 3-of-4 from three-point range. Emily Stone (Granby, CT/Granby) added 12 points with six assists and Courtney Cirillo (Johnstown, NY/Johnstown) scored nine points, recorded four assists, and two steals.
           
Kaitlyn Astel led all scorers with 20 points for the Ducks. Sydney Darby was the only other Stevens player in double digits with 12 points.
           
Hartwick bolted out to a 12-4 lead on the favored Ducks five minutes into the game with six straight layups. Stevens would gain its first advantage on an Astel free throw with 9:31 left which made the score 18-17.A Brown three-pointer put the Hawks in front for the remainder of the half, 28-25, with 3:24 remaining, and 'Wick hit the locker room up three, 31-28.
           
Stevens scored the first nine points of the second half and they forced the Hawks into four turnovers on their first five possessions and the Ducks grabbed a 37-31 edge. Later, a Brittany Washington layup made the score 53-38 with 10:24 remaining and the Ducks' lead remained double digits until the 4:21 mark when Stone connected on a three to cut it to nine, 61-52.
           
A Taylor Vonasek (Willington, CT/E.O. Smith) layup would make it a seven-point game with under two minutes left on the clock but an old-fashioned three-point play from Astel on the next play down court would put the game away. Layups from Sarah Shaw (Franklin, MA/Franklin), Brown, and Stone in the last 25 seconds would trim the final margin to six.
           
For the game, the Hawks shot 51.1% (24-for-47) from the floor, which is their best shooting performance of the season. The Ducks connected on 45.5% (25-for-55) from the field. They also dominated the glass, 38-21, including hauling down 14 boards of the offensive variety.
           
Christina Graziadei (Oriskany, NY/Oriskany) chipped in seven points and four boards for the Hawks. Jacqui Foreman (Tolland, CT/Tolland) added six points and four rebounds. Jess Bellai (Schenectady, NY/Schalmont) scored five points and Vonasek contributed four points, four rebounds, and three assists.       
           
Hartwick is off until next Friday, January 30 when it travels to Alfred University.