Score: Hartwick College 61, Elmira College 33
Records: Hartwick (9-11, 7-5 Empire 8), Elmira (6-15, 3-9 Empire 8)
Location: Murray Athletic Center - Pine Valley, NY

Pine Valley, NY -- The Elmira College women's basketball team suffered a 61-33 loss at the hands of the Hartwick College Hawks on Class of 2016 Recognition Day at the Murray Athletic Center on Saturday.

Elmira's 33 points scored and 25.5 field-goal percentage were both season lows, as the Hawks led throughout the majority of the contest. The Soaring Eagles held a two-point advantage on two occasions in the first quarter, the first at 6-4 on an Emily Green '18 jumper and the latter at 8-6 following a bucket from Rachel Vespucci '19. The Hawks, however, would go on to build a 12-point lead at the half, 28-16, and it only grew from there.

The Purple and Gold were led offensively by Meghan Loya '16 with six points. Loya, one of Elmira's five seniors recognized before the game, also collected a team-high six rebounds, moving the Bethel, CT, native into sole possession of sixth all-time in program history with 565 career boards.

Turning Point
The Soaring Eagles only trailed by four points, 12-8, after the first quarter of play. Hartwick then tripled that lead in the second quarter. Offensively, Elmira was unable to keep up with the hot-handed Hawks in the period, as EC shot only 2-for-8 from the field and coughed the ball up 10 times.

Inside the Box

• Elmira finished 13-for-51 from the floor for a mere 25.5 field-goal percentage.
• Hartwick went 22-for-53 from the field, equaling a rate of 41.5-percent.
• The Soaring Eagles out-rebounded the Hawks, 39-33, including a 13-to-6 advantage on the offensive glass.
• EC turned the ball over 25 times and Hartwick registered 15 steals, led by Jessica Bellai with five.
• Elmira's bench held a slight advantage in points, outscoring the Hawks' bench 16-to-15.
• Loya scored a team-high six points, while she and Lindsey Heaton '19 each hauled in six rebounds.
• Danielle Cleary '18 and Marissa Silverman '17 each scored five points and grabbed five rebounds.

News and Notes

• The Soaring Eagles were swept by the Hawks in the two-game season series.
• EC's 33 points and 25.5 field-goal percentage marked season lows.
• With six rebounds, Loya is now sixth-all time in program history with 565 career rebounds, surpassing Erin Ruppell '11 (559). She needs to collect 19 more in EC's finale four games of the 2015-16 season to pass Bridget Catanese '08 (583) for fifth place.
• With 102 made free throws so far in her sophomore campaign, Cleary is now tied with Rachael Brown '00 for the fifth-most in a single season. With seven more, she'll tie her own record for fourth-place (109).

Up Next
The Elmira College women's basketball team will host Houghton College on Tuesday, February 9th, at 8:00 p.m. for the Soaring Eagles' 2015-16 regular-season home finale.