ONEONTA, N.Y. – The Hartwick Hawks Women's Basketball program heads into their second Empire 8 tournament under the direction of Head Coach, Sarah Lombard.
 
The Hawks enter the playoffs with a 9-7 Empire 8 record and secured the #4 seed in the tournament.  The squad is set to host a first round contest against #5 Utica University on Tuesday at 6 PM in Lambros Arena.
 
During the regular season, the Hawks and the Pioneers split the series with both teams taking wins on their home floor.  On the road, Hartwick lost in an OT heart breaker by four-points, but rebounded on their home floor a week and a half later, claiming a dominant 74-53 victory.
 
A quintet of seniors has led the way for the Hawks this past season.  Bree Fargnoli (Binghamton, N.Y.) is currently averaging 12.6 points per game, placing her 7^th on the Empire 8 leaderboard.  Not too far behind, is forward Isabella Astorino who is averaging 10.8 points per game and 7.5 rebounds per game.  Her rebound total places her third on the E8 list and her block total of 1.6 per game is second in the conference.
 
Sareena DiCerbo (Schenectady, N.Y.) is averaging seven boards per game and 9.6 points per game.  Along with Fargnoli, Astorino, and DiCerbo, fellow seniors Angelina Maselli (Burlington, Conn.) and Caitie Unger (Warwick, N.Y.) have also been solid for the Hawks, with Unger coming off the bench to average seven points per game.
 
In the other first round game on Tuesday night, #3 Houghton will host #6 Elmira at 7 PM.  The winners will head to either Nazareth or St. John Fisher for the semifinal round.  The matchups will be determined by seed and will be played on Thursday, February 22.  The Empire 8 Championship game is slated for Saturday, February 24 at the highest remaining seed.
 
Full coverage of the tournament can be found on the Empire 8 website.
 
HARTWICK COLLEGE
 
One of the oldest colleges in the country, Hartwick has continually evolved for 225 years. The College's exciting new chapter is called FlightPath, a future-focused approach to education. Offering a distinctive blend of curricular, co-curricular and real-world work experiences, FlightPath builds on Hartwick's long history of integrating broad-based studies with experiential learning.
 
Hartwick College is a nationally ranked independent college of the arts and sciences located in picturesque Oneonta, NY, in the northern foothills of the Catskill Mountains. The College offers 35 courses of study leading to a bachelor of arts or bachelor of science degree, two master's degrees in the sciences, and a graduate certificate in nursing education. For more information, visit www.Hartwick.edu.