Women's Basketball

Naz Pulls Away From Women's Basketball in Second Half

ROCHESTER, NY - Nazareth denied the Hartwick College women's basketball team a 2-0 start in the Empire 8 with a 63-39 victory over the Hawks on Saturday at Kidera Gym in Rochester. The Golden Flyers, who improve to 6-3 overall and 2-1 in conference play, outscored 'Wick 42-22 in the second half en route to the victory.

The Hawks, who downed St. John Fisher last night 80-70, slip to 5-4 and 1-1 in the E8. Hartwick had its problems on the offensive end on the day as the team hit just nine field goals and connected on only 18.8% (9-for-48) of its shots. The Hawks, who hit 11 three-pointers yesterday against Fisher, hit three of their 19 attempts from beyond the arc this afternoon.

The Golden Flyers held a decisive advantage on the glass outrebounding the Hawks 54-33 for the game. The hosts' bench also dropped in 42 points to the Hawks' two.

'Wick took a 10-8 lead to start the game on a pair of Denée Harrison (Cary, NC) free throws with seven and a half minutes played in the first half before the team would go without a point for the next eight minutes. Despite the drought, the Golden Flyer lead would only climb to six points and Harrison and Katie Caddell (Amsterdam, NY) would combine for seven points in a 7-5 run to close the half down 21-17.

In the second half, the Hawks trailed by a 23-21 margin with 17:20 remaining after Cassie Dresser (Ovid, NY) sank two foul shots. Nazareth would then go on a 26-8 run over the next 12 minutes to take a commanding 20-point lead, 49-29. The Flyers held the Hawks to 3-of-14 shooting and forced eight turnovers while hitting 10-of-19 shots and three treys in the span. Naz closed out the game on a 19-9 run over the last 6:42 to secure the victory.

Nazareth's Brittany Wilson led all scorers with 14 points. She was the lone player to reach double figures in the contest. Thirteen other Golden Flyers figured into the scoring column. Brittany Patenaude pulled down a game-high eight rebounds and Lizzie Barlow contributed another seven.

For the Hawks, Harrison, Caddell, and Lauren Ploof (Hammond, NY) each netted nine points with Harrison contributing a team-high six boards. Hartwick is back in action January 9th at Binder Gymnasium against Alfred beginning at 6 p.m.