ONEONTA, NY – Coming off a 2-0 weekend to start conference play, the Hawks looked poised to hand their second straight opponent their first loss of the season, but a cold shooting third quarter led to the Hawks 56-62 defeat at the hands of Utica College.  Utica remains atop the Empire 8 standings with a perfect 12-0 (3-0) record while Hartwick falls to 7-4 (2-1) on the season.
 
The Hawks built a 20-10 lead after the first 10 minutes of action after building a double digit lead less than 4 minutes into the contest.  Hartwick had a strong presence in the paint during the first half, scoring 24 of their 37 points within feet of the basket.  It was an impressive performance that allowed Hartwick to shoot over 54% from the field in the first half.  The women connected on three 3-pointers, finishing 3-7 after the first 20 minutes.
 
The second half proved to be a much different half as Hartwick managed just 20% from the field on 8-39 shooting.  In particular, a difficult third quarter during which Hartwick shot just 2-19 and 0-4 from the free throw line provide to be the difference maker in the game.  Hartwick's 10 point halftime lead turned into a 6 point deficit leading into the final stanza and the hosts held on for the victory when each team scored 15 in the final 10 minutes.
 
The Hawks were led by Giuliana Pritchard who scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for her first double-double on the season.  Molly Kirby dropped 13 points and had a season high 7 steals to go along with her 5 rebounds.  Isabella Astorino led the team with 3 blocked shots in the contest.
 
Hartwick is back on the road this weekend, traveling to Houghton on Friday evening and then to Alfred on Saturday.  Those games will tip-off at 5:30pm and 2:00pm, respectively.