Hawks Edge Hartwick, 69-67, in Home Opener

By Colleen Gonzalez

NEW PALTZ – The State University of New York at New Paltz women’s basketball team pulled out a last minute 69-67 win over visiting Hartwick College in their home season opener on Tuesday evening in the Hawk Center.

New Paltz (3-1) will return to action after the break, facing New York University on Tuesday, Nov. 29 at 7 p.m. Hartwick (2-3) moves on to play SUNY Oneonta on Tuesday, Nov. 29 at 6 p.m.

New Paltz came out of the gate on top in the first period, pushing a five point run for the lead. Although Hartwick managed to even the score 5-all, a pair of 3-pointers by sophomore guard Lindsay Bettke set the Hawks off and running with the lead once again, capping off the period with a 17-15 edge.

Hartwick trimmed the deficit to 21-19 in the second quarter before taking its first lead of the game off of a three by senior guard Emily Stone. The score remained tight throughout the rest of the period until Hartwick knocked down five points for a 32-29 lead at the half.

Hartwick continued to maintain the advantage in the third stanza but the Hawks rallied to cut the deficit to 47-46 off of a good free throw by freshman forward Paige Niemeyer. Still Hartwick pushed four unanswered points to lead, 51-46, heading into the final period.

As the clock ran down in the fourth quarter, New Paltz slowly climbed its way back up the ladder as Bettke and freshman guard Marion Dietz each downed a 3-pointer to close the gap, 65-64. Dietz capitalized on another three to tie the score before senior guard/forward Kit Small stepped up to the foul line to grab two more points for the final victory.

On the scoresheet, Hartwick hit 25-of-59 from the field (42.4 percent) and had 26 points in the paint. New Paltz shot 23-of-71 from the floor (32.4 percent) but held a 47-36 advantage in rebounds, converted 12 points off of turnovers and had 18 second chance points.

Bettke drained six 3-pointers to lead the Hawks’ offense with 20 points. Dietz chipped in 14 points for the night while Small posted a double-double 11 points and a team-high eight boards. Senior forward Courtney Irby collected three steals, six assists and five blocks for a stellar defensive effort.

For Hartwick, Stone posted 24 points and three assists while sophomore guard Carly Johnson added 16 points. Sophomore guard Caitlin Corbett and senior forward Jacqui Forman each had seven boards for the night.