HOUGHTON, NY— Kelly Pine completed a dramatic comeback for the Hartwick Hawks, as she sank a tough layup and was fouled with 3.3 second remaining in the game, sinking the Houghton Highlanders, 59-58.
 
With less than five minutes to play in the game, Emie Taylor hit the front end of a pair of free throws to put Houghton up by nine points, their largest lead of the game.  But the Hawks began to chip away, scoring six straight points before Hannah Cybart hit a layup to put the Highlanders up by five with less than two minutes remaining.
 
Back-to-back turnovers by the Highlanders led to back-to-back baskets by the Hawks, as Pine pulled Hartwick within one with 41 seconds on the clock.
 
A third Houghton turnover gave the Hawks the ball back.  With the shot clock off, Hartwick drove the right side and missed a layup, but Pine grabbed the rebound, made a move, drew the foul and sank the lay-in to give the Hawks only their second lead of the game.
 
After missing the ensuing foul shot, Taylor grabbed the rebound, called timeout, and Houghton advanced the ball to mid-court.  The Highlanders, however, committed their fourth turnover in just over a minute, throwing the ball away on the inbounds pass.
 
Remarkably, the Hawks committed a turnover of their own, elapsing only one second off the clock and giving the ball back to Houghton, but Hartwick picked off the final inbounds attempt, sealing the victory.
 
GAME VITALS
Score: Houghton – 58 |Hartwick – 59
Records: Houghton: 5-17 (3-8 Empire 8) | Hartwick: 13-10 (7-5 Empire 8)
Venue: The Nielsen Center, Houghton College | Attendance: 173

NOTABLE STATS
>> Hartwick led for just over 20 seconds in the entire game.
 
>> Houghton out-rebounded the Hawks, 48-to-40, but committed five more turnovers (14-to-9).
 
>> Cori Beck moved into second place on the all-time Houghton assist board, passing current head coach Alicia Mucher (1998-2000, 01-03).  Beck dished out five assists on the night, giving her 364 for her career.  She now trails only Wendy Ivey (1997-2001), who collected 407 assists during her career. 
 
>> Hannah Cybart scored a team-high 16 points for the Highlanders, going 6-of-12 from the floor, and Emie Taylor notched her fifth double-double of the season, picking up 11 points and 11 boards.
 
>> Giuliana Pritchard led the Hawks with 21 points and 11 rebounds, going 7-for-14 from the floor and a perfect 5-for-5 from the line.
 
UP NEXT
The Highlanders return to the Nielsen Center tomorrow for a matchup with the Elmira Soaring Eagles at 4:00 pm.