Women's Basketball

Hawks Stop Naz With 63-52 Victory

ONEONTA, NY - After losing by 24 points in Rochester on Jan. 3, the Hartwick women's basketball team turned the tables on Nazareth with a big 63-52 win at Binder Gymnasium on Sunday. Lauren Ploof (Hammond, NY) equaled a season-high with 21 points to lead the Hawks to the win. Nazareth slips to 10-8 overall. With the victory, Hartwick (9-10, 4-6 E8) has now won four of its last five and jumps up to sixth place in the Empire 8 standings, just a half game back of Naz and St. John Fisher who are both tied for fourth at 4-5.

Cassie Dresser (Ovid, NY) added 14 points for Hartwick while Fritzi Flores (Bergenfield, NJ) came off the bench to contribute 10. Danée Harrison (Cary, NC) secured 11 rebounds which was a game-high. She also recorded five blocked shots.

Hartwick erased a three-point deficit in a 11-2 run in a 5-minute second-half span that gave HC the lead for good at the midway point of the half. Ploof would score five with Flores and Dresser each added three points apiece in the run.

The Golden Flyers would shave the lead down to just three points, 55-52, on a Kelly Dunne triple with 3:15 to play, but the Hawk defense would hold Naz to without a point the rest of the way. A jumper from Dresser with 1:36 left and a Ploof layup with under a minute left built the lead back up to seven, 59-52, and Katie Caddell (Amsterdam, NY) and Dresser closed the game out at the free-throw line with a pair each.

Lizzie Barlow scored 12 points and Brittany Wilson sank 11 and grabbed a team-high eight boards for the visitors. Dunne added nine points and three three-pointers.

The Hawks, after shooting just 18% from the floor in their first meeting with the Golden Flyers, hit 41.2% this time around. They also took care of the basketball committing a season-low 11 turnovers in 40 minutes. The 'Wick defense also limited the Golden Flyers to 35.5% shooting and HC won the rebounding battle 39-35 for the game. The

Hawks travel to Ithaca next Friday for a battle with the league's first-place team at 6 p.m. The next day, 'Wick is back in action at Elmira College at 2 p.m.