ONEONTA, NY – The Hartwick women's basketball team was back in action after nearly a month between competitions and picked up right where they left off, defeating Empire 8 opponent Nazareth College 66-62 in Lambros Arena.  The win moves the Hawks to 6-3 (1-0) and drops Nazareth to 6-5 (1-1).

Molly Kirby led Hartwick with 16 points on 6-14 shooting.  She pulled down 6 rebounds and dished a team high 4 assists.  Maggie Kirby followed with 14 points of her own in 38 minutes played.  Giuliana Pritchard and Isabella Astorino chipped in 12 points, and Mikyla Mitchell rounded out the double-digit scorers for Hartwick with 10 of her own.  Astorino pulled down 11 rebounds as the only player for either team with a double-double on the evening.  This marked her first double-double on the season.

The Golden flyers got 27 points from Jadyn Abrams, who was also a perfect 8-8 from the free-throw line.  Sabrina Wolfe was the only other double-digit scorer for Nazareth with 10 points.

A tight affair throughout, neither team led by more than 6 points and there were 6 lead changes in the game.  Hartwick was the beneficiary of that largest lead, taking the game into the half with a 40-34 advantage.  The third quarter ended right where the game started – tied – setting up the exciting final quarter that saw Hartwick comeback from 5 down with 3:48 to play, 3 down with 1:51 to play, and 2 down with under a minute left. 

Down 2 after a free-throw by Nazareth, Hartwick's Mikyla Mitchell penetrated and hit a layup to tie the game at 62 with 48 seconds remaining.  A quick timeout by the Hawks allowed them to gather their defense, and Wick forced a turnover after 15 seconds of pressure defense.  Unable to connect on two ensuing free throws, Molly Kirby grabbed a huge offensive rebound to keep possession with Hartwick.  Still tied, Mitchell once again drove to the basket drawing another foul and subsequently sunk the second of two to give Hartwick the one point edge with just 14 seconds remaining.

Likely the play that sealed the game came next on defense for the Hawks, as a Nazareth drive to the hoop was stuffed by Giuliana Pritchard.  Molly Kirby grabbed the rebound, was immediately fouled, and hit both free-throws to bring Nazareth to the brink of defeat.  Another turnover generated by Hartwick led to Maggie Kirby sinking 1 of 2 to put the game away.

Hartwick stays in Oneonta for another E8 matchup tomorrow when St. John Fisher comes to town.  The Cardinals come in at 10-0 (2-0) after their win over Sage tonight.  The tip is set for 2:00pm.