HOBOKEN, NJ – After a close first half, the host Stevens Ducks out-scored the Hartwick Hawks 43-25 in the second half for a 71-55 victory Tuesday night at Canavan Arena in Hoboken, NJ. The game was a meeting of the top two teams in the Empire 8 Conference. With the win, the Ducks improve to 10-8 overall and 9-1 in league play. The Hawks slip to 12-7 and 8-2 in the Empire 8 and into a second-place tie with Ithaca (8-2).
           
The Hawks received a team-high 16 points from sophomore Carly Johnson (Greenville, NY/Greenville Central). She would connect on 6-of-11 shots from the floor including four three-point field goals. Senior Jacqui Foreman (Tolland, CT/Tolland) added 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Sophomore Caitlin Corbett (Altamont, NY/Guilderland) also had 10 points and she contributed seven boards.
           
The Ducks made just 29% from the floor in the first half of play but they heated up in the second, making 59% on 16 of 27 shots. The Hawks would make around 35% in both halves.
           
The first quarter saw neither team hold an advantage larger than three until the two and a half minute mark. Johnson nailed her third three-pointer of the quarter to give the Hawks a 15-10 advantage but two straight threes to close the quarter gave the hosts a slim 16-15 edge.
           
Johnson's fourth triple of the game in the second period handed 'Wick a 24-23 lead at 4:37. The advantage grew to five points later on a pair of free throws from Anna Hickey (Falmouth, ME/Falmouth), 28-23. The Ducks would answer with five straight, but a driving layup from Emily Stone (Granby, CT/Granby) just before the halftime buzzer gave Hartwick a two-point, 30-28 lead at the intermission.
           
In the third quarter, a free throw from Corbett tied the score at 39 with 3:26 remaining. The Ducks would close the period on a 10-2 run to get some breathing room and they took a 49-41 lead heading into the final quarter.
           
Stevens would take command in the early going of the final stanza as it started on a 15-2 spurt to grab a 64-43 lead. The Hawks would go without a field goal for close to seven minutes before an old fashioned three-point play from Corbett cut the deficit to 18 points, 64-46. It would be as close as the Hawks would get, however, until the final minute.
           
With her four three-pointers, Johnson now has 42 on the season, which ranks seventh all-time in single-season treys. She also climbs to tenth on the Hartwick career three-point list with 71.
           
Stone finished the night with nine points. Hickey and LeeAnne Green (Windsor, CT/Watkinson School) each added four points.
           
Stevens got a game-high 18 points from reigning E8 Player of the Year Kaitlyn Astel. Megan Brown added a double-double of 15 points and a game-high 10 rebounds with Erica Gutketlov chipping in 11 points and a game-high five assists.
           
Hartwick next plays on Friday night at Houghton beginning at 6 p.m.