ONEONTA, NY - Senior forward Danee Harrison (Cary, NC) sank a free throw with six seconds left in the game to give Hartwick a 66-65 lead and came up with a steal on Clarkson's final possession to hand the Hawks the victory over the Golden Knights on Sunday evening at Binder Gymnasium in Oneonta, NY. The win moves 'Wick to 4-3 in their final game of the semester. It marks the first time since 1999-2000 Hartwick will enter the month of January with a winning record. The team has also won four of its last five games.
The Hawks, who led by six points (64-58) with 58 second left to play, looked safe to take home the victory as the team had connected on 17-of-23 (74%) of their free throwsup to that point. 'Wick would suddenly hit a dry spell from the line, however, as it missed its next five attempts to give the Golden Knights life. Clarkson converted a layup with 18 ticks left before Lauren Ploof (Hammond, NY) finally got one to fall from the line for a 65-61 lead.
Following a Hartwick foul, Ariana Czech cut the lead to two points with a pair of free throws with nine seconds remaining. 'Wick would then turn the ball over on its next possession and committed another foul to force Czech to the line again. She netted both attempts for a tie game, 65-65, with just six seconds left.
On the subsequent inbounds play, Clarkson was then whistled for a foul and Harrison would hit one of two from the stripe to give the Hawks the lead for good. The Golden Knights raced the ball down the court for one last chance at the game-winning shot, but Harrison came up with the steal to seal the Hartwick victory.
Harrison would finish the contest with a double-double with 13 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Junior Krystle Crouse (Canajoharie, NY) came off the bench for 10 points in 16 minutes, and Ploof and Heather Pruchansky (Naples, FL) each scored nine for the Hawks.
Clarkson's Michelle Reddinger dropped in 22 points to lead all scorers. She added a team-high nine boards, three blocks, and three steals. Czech contributed 10 points.
The Golden Knights, who slip to 3-4, led for a large majority of the game taking the lead at the 15:20 mark of the first half and holding it for close to 30 minutes. Clarkson led by as many as 13 points in the opening half, but the Hawks showed their resiliency clawing their way back into the game in the second half and emerging with the win.
The Hawks next play on Jan. 2-3. 'Wick travels to Rochester to play St. John Fisher and Nazareth to open up Empire 8 Conference play.
