Elmira, NY – The EC Women's Basketball team lost a hard fought game, 69-52, to the Hawks of Hartwick College Friday evening in Speidel Gymnasium. The win improves the Hawks to 8-2, while the loss drops the Soaring Eagles to 3-8.

The Soaring Eagles came out strong with a 9-1 run in the first four minutes of the game shooting 5-of-6 from the field. Hartwick would work its way back to within one point, but EC would be determined and keep its lead. Darcy James '12 (Castile, NY -- Letchworth Central) and Liz Forrest '14 (North Walpole, NH -- Fall Mountain) led the Soaring Eagles strong start, scoring 15 of the team's first 21 points. The Hawks climbed within one with a run of their own. Each team would hit three-pointers, as EC went into intermission with a 26-25 advantage.

Hartwick was on fire in the second half, converting on nearly 60 percent of its shots, as they scored 18 more points than EC in the second half to blow the game open. Meanwhile, Elmira struggled to find its shooting touch knocking down just 27 percent of its shots. The Hawks finished with an astonishing 18 assists on 25 field goals and held a 39-31 advantage on the glass. However, the Soaring Eagles would shoot well from the free line going 9-for-11.

James, Forrest and Maria Thannhauser '14 (Newfield, NY -- Newfield) led EC in scoring with 14, 14, and 13 points, respectively. James and Forrest combined to bring down 13 boards. Maria Foglia led the Hawks with a game-high 22 points, while Kate Purcell and Kait Veit tallied 15 and 10 points, respectively.

EC will return to action tomorrow afternoon verse the Ducks of Stevens Institute of Technology at 2:00 p.m. in the Speidel Gymnasium.