ALFRED, NY - Senior Danée Harrison (Cary, NC) and junior Lauren Ploof (Hammond, NY) combined for 39 of Hartwick's points in a 51-41 victory over Alfred University (12-12, 6-9 E8) Friday night at the McLane Center in Alfred, NY. The win is the Hawks' 7th in their last 10 games, improves their overall record to 12-12, and their Empire 8 mark to 7-8. Both win totals are the highest recorded for a Hartwick women's basketball team since the 2004-05 season.
Ploof finished the contest with a game-high 21 points, four steals and three three-pointers. Harrison added a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Senior Katie Caddell (Amsterdam, NY) contributed a career-high 12 rebounds in the game. Alfred's Lyndsay Murphy was the lone Saxon in double figures with 10 points.
The game was a low-scoring affair in the first half with both teams combining for just 17 points in the opening 10 minutes. A layup from Harrison would give the Hawks a five-point edge (18-13) with 6:34 before halftime, but a 5-0 Saxons run in the next three and a half minutes gave the hosts the lead with under three minutes left. Harrison would net the next four points before both teams traded three-point baskets to close the half with Hartwick clinging to a 25-23 lead.
'Wick used a 14-4 run with Harrison converting eight points in a 5:37 stretch to start the second half to open up a 12-point lead (39-27). The Hawks led by 11 with under 12:25 to play but they would go scoreless for the next eight minutes of play. The Saxons cut it to a 42-37 game with 5:06 showing on the clock and following two Ploof free throws, an Abbey Schaffnit trey trimmed the lead to just four points (44-40) with just over four minutes remaining.
The Saxons got a stop on the defensive end but would come up empty on their attempt to make it a one-possession game with 3:02 left. Harrison gave the Hawks some breathing room with a layup and Alfred hit one of two from the free-throw line with 57 seconds left to make the score 46-41. Unfortunately for the Saxons, it would be their last point of the night. 'Wick closed the game out with five shots from the line.
Hartwick shot just 34% from the floor for the game and 16% from three-point range, but they dominated as a team in the rebounding department with a 40-26 edge over the Saxons.
The Hawks close out the Empire 8 regular season tomorrow at Binder Gymnasium against third-place Stevens Institute of Technology. A victory would put the Hawks over the .500 mark and make them eligible for a possible ECAC Tournament bid. It would also give the team an 8-8 final record in conference play. The Hawks currently trail St. John Fisher (8-7) by just a game for the fourth and final Empire 8 playoff spot. The Cardinals, however, hold the tie-breaker as they swept first-place Ithaca this season while the Hawks went 0-2 versus the Bombers.
