CHICOPEE, MA - The Hartwick College women's basketball team had 13 of 14 players figure into the scoring column in a 79-66 win over Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in the opening round of the Elms College Blazer Tip-Off Tournament in Chicopee, MA. The victory is the Hawks' first of the season and first for head coach Missy West who is in her inaugural season with the Blue and White.
Katie Caddell (Amsterdam, NY) led 'Wick's balanced scoring attack with 12 points. Lauren Ploof (Hammond, NY) added nine and Kara Foro (Schenectady, NY), Brooke Anderson (Hopkinton, MA), and Heather Pruchansky (Naples, FL) scored eight points each, and Danee Harrison (Cary, NC) grabbed a team-high eight boards.
Hartwick's defense converted 27 MCLA turnovers into 29 points in the game. The Hawks also held a 24-12 scoring advantage in the paint. Despite shooting 54.2-percent in the first half, MCLA found itself down 40-33 at intermission.
With the score tied at 3-3, a layup by Caddell with just under three minutes elapsed in the game gave the Hawks the lead, and they never relinquished it. Eleven Hawks scored at least one basket in the opening half as the team led by as many as nine in the opening frame.
In the second half, the Hartwick advantage swelled to as many as 21 points with just under nine minutes left, and 'Wick cruised the rest of the way for the victory.
Trailblazer sophomore guard Molly Broda (Southampton, MA) and freshman guard Alie Dobrovolc (Little Falls, NY) combined for 36 of MCLA's 66 points, each netting 18 points apiece in the losing effort.
With the victory, the Hawks advance to tomorrow's championship game at 4 p.m. against Johnson State. The Badgers recorded a 64-61 victory over host Elms College earlier tonight.
