ONEONTA, NY – Hartwick held onto a late lead with a key defensive stop on the game's final possession to secure a 72-70 over visiting Nazareth (11-13, 7-8 E8) on Friday night at Lambros Arena. The Hawks were clinging to a two-point lead with 4.4 seconds remaining with Nazareth taking the ball out at midcourt. It came in to Naz's Samantha Peebles, but Hartwick senior Courtney Cirillo (Johnstown, NY/Johnstown) stripped her of the ball for the critical steal, which was her third of the game, to close the game out.
           
Hartwick improves to 16-8 overall and 12-3 in the Empire 8 with the victory. They have clinched the third seed in the upcoming Empire 8 Tournament and will play either Ithaca or Stevens on a neutral court in the semifinals.
           
Emily Stone (Granby, CT/Granby) led four Hawks in double figures with 20 points. She shot 7-of-14 from the floor and hit three of her four three-point attempts to go along with three assists and a pair of steals. Jacqui Foreman (Tolland, CT/Tolland) added 18 points, eight boards, and five assists.
           
Carly Johnson (Greenville, NY/Greenville Central) and Sarah Shaw (Franklin, MA/Franklin) each chipped in with 12 points.
           
The visiting Golden Flyers would bolt out to an 8-0 lead on the Hawks after 1:36 of action and they extended their advantage to 12 points, 16-4, almost four minutes later. Hartwick answered with 12 straight points to even the score after the first quarter, 16-16.
           
The Hawks held a slim lead for the first half of the second quarter before a Golden Flyer 10-2 run would put them up by four, 31-27, with just over two minutes to play before halftime. The two teams traded buckets to close the half with Hartwick trailing 33-30.
           
A 9-0 spurt for 'Wick in the third quarter would give Hartwick a nine-point edge, 45-36. The Hawks built the advantage to as many as 13 points with 90 seconds to play in the quarter before Naz trimmed it to seven, 55-48, heading into the final period.
           
In the fourth, Nazareth slowly cut into its deficit and tied the score at 65 with 3:07 remaining. A Foreman layup on Hartwick's next possession would put the Hawks ahead for good.
           
The Flyers trimmed it to one before a Shaw free throw made it a two-point game. She missed the second but Foreman grabbed one of her four offensive rebounds and was sent to the line where she split a pair. Naz had a chance to tie with 10 seconds left but missed 1-of-2 free throws. Stone made it a two-point game with a free throw before Cirillo came up with the late steal to ice it.
           
Cirillo would close the night with five boards and two points. Anna Hickey (Falmouth, ME/Falmouth) contributed six points for the Hawks, who shot 44.6% (25-for-56) from the floor. Naz made 52.2% (24-for-46) for the game and hit 11 threes. The visitors also out-rebounded the Hawks 31-28.
           
Rachel Benedict scored 25 points to lead Naz. Sam Sorge added 15 and Peebles had 12 points, six rebounds, and six assists.
           
Hartwick hosts St. John Fisher tomorrow at 5 p.m. on Senior Day. The Cardinals defeated the Hawks in Rochester on January 20 by a final score of 69-66.
           
Stevens can clinch the top seed and right to host the E8 playoffs with a win tomorrow against Nazareth. If they do, the Hawks would play Ithaca in Hoboken on Friday. A Ducks' loss tomorrow and 'Wick travels to Ithaca and meets Stevens in the semis.