ONEONTA, NY – Two Hawks had double-doubles and one more just missed as the Hartwick women's basketball team won their tenth straight game, beating Alfred University, 73-52. 'Wick is now 17-3, and remain in first place in the Empire 8 Conference with a 10-1 record. The Saxons drop to 6-11, 2-6 in the Empire 8.
The game got off to a slow start, as Caitlin Corbett's (Altamont, NY/Guilderland) lay-up was the only basket through the first three minutes of play. After the two teams then traded buckets, Hartwick went on a 12-0 run to grab hold of the game. Five different Hawks scored over the stretch, shooting 5-of-8 as a team. Alfred was able to put a dent in their deficit immediately after, cutting the lead down to nine at one point, but Hartwick led 22-10 after one. The second quarter started off evenly, but midway through the Hawks went on a 9-1 run, taking a 19-point lead. Molly Kirby (Selkirk, NY/Bethlehem) had four of the nine points. The Saxons scored the next five points, but Corbett smoothly grabbed an offensive rebound off of a missed three and put it in the basket as time expired, giving her team a commanding 40-24 lead at the half.
Things held steady in the third quarter, as Hartwick gradually expanded their lead over the first six-plus minutes up to 22 points after a Kelly Pine (Hoosick Falls, NY/Hoosick Falls) conventional three-point play with 3:57 to go. The lead was still at 22 in the waning seconds of the period before Alfred's Allison O'Toole hit a jumper as time expired to make the score 59-39. The final quarter was a formality, and a low-scoring one, as the teams combined for 27 points (14 for Hartwick). The Saxons gave the Hawks a little scare when they cut their deficit to 13 under two-and-a-half minutes in, but 'Wick scored the next eight points (four by Corbett) to re-establish control. The teams scored just one basket each over the final five minutes, as the Hawks remained up by 21 when the final buzzer sounded.
Fresh off her week of accolades, Corbett had another excellent game, picking up her third double-double of the season and leading all players with 20 points and 13 rebounds (four offensive), also grabbing two steals. Pine had her best game of the season, also picking up a double-double (her second of the year) by tying her season high with 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting and setting a new season high with 12 rebounds (five offensive). Maggie Kirby (Selkirk, NY/Bethlehem) was not far off of a double-double herself, doing the hard part with 11 rebounds (six offensive) but falling one bucket short with eight points. Her sister Molly was the only other Hawk in double digits, scoring 10 points on 4-of-7 from the field and grabbing four boards. Mary Schoenherr (Unionville, CT/Farmington) had identical numbers of points, rebounds, and assists, with four of each (as well as two steals).
Both teams had fairly weak shooting nights, although Hartwick had the upper hand overall, shooting 40.8% from the field to Alfred's 31.8%. Neither team could hit from beyond the arc, as they combined for just six three-pointers and the Saxons led, 19.0% to 11.8%. The Hawks dominated on the boards, outrebounding the Saxons 58-35, including 22 to eight on the offensive glass. They converted this into a huge 28-6 advantage in second chance points. 'Wick had only a slight lead in turnovers, giving it up 14 times to the visitors' 15, but had 14 points off of turnovers to Alfred's six.
Chanice Battle had the best night for the Saxons, scoring 17 points on 8-of-13 shooting and grabbing five rebounds. Jamie Wilcox had a team-high nine rebounds, as well as seven points.
The Hawks are right back it tomorrow afternoon, taking on Houghton for the second leg of their season series at 3 p.m. They would clinch a spot in the Empire 8 Conference Tournament with a win and a Sage loss to St. John Fisher.
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