Women's Basketball

Hawks Pound RIT for Second Straight Victory

ONEONTA, NY - Hartwick rolled to a 60-33 victory over RIT on Sunday afternoon at Binder Gymnasium to earn its second straight conference win. The Hawks recorded 14 steals, forced 22 RIT turnovers and held the Tigers to just 29% shooting for the game in a stifling defensive effort. All 10 Hawks made it into the scoring column and each player grabbed at least one rebound on the day. The win improves the Hawks' record to 7-9 and 3-5 in the Empire 8, just a half game behind fifth-place Alfred and St. John Fisher.

'Wick would open up a nine-point lead, 15-6, with 12 minutes left in the opening half of play to get a jump on the Tigers, and the team would close the half on a 13-4 run to open up its biggest advantage of 14 points (30-14) at the break. Danée Harrison (Cary, NC) paced HC in the opening period with 13 points and seven rebounds.

The lead grew to 20 points five minutes into the second stanza as Katie Caddell (Amsterdam, NY) and Kara Foro (Schenectady, NY) each connected on three's in a quick 8-2 run to make the score 38-18. RIT would get a few baskets to close the gap to 40-24 with just over 10 minutes remaining in the game, but the Hawks would go on a 14-4 run over the next six minutes while holding the Tigers to without a single field goal in the span to essentially put the game on ice. The Hawks would cruise the rest of the way, never trailing by less than 23 points.

Harrison, although held scoreless in the second half, would end the contest as the game's high scorer with 13. She would miss her second straight double-double by just one rebound, finishing with nine. Caddell and Foro contributed nine and eight points, respectively, while Fritzi Flores (Bergenfield, NJ) added seven points and six boards off the bench.

The Tigers were led by freshman Sharon Dennis who dropped in 11 points and added six rebounds and three blocks. Anne Wapshare scored six points, and Danielle Furman and Kelly Votolato registered seven boards apiece.

The Hawks won the rebounding battle 45-38 over the Tigers and the Blue and White equaled a season-best by turning the ball over only 13 times as a team. 'Wick's bench also outscored the visitors by a 24-8 margin.

The Hawks host Albany College of Pharmacy in a non-conference game on Tuesday at Binder Gymnasium with the tip-off slated for 7 p.m. Hartwick then returns to Empire 8 play with a pair of home games Friday and Sunday versus St. John Fisher (Jan. 30) and Nazareth (Feb. 1).