GREENSBURG, Pa. – The Hilbert College women's basketball team earned their seventh win of the season this afternoon, and first of the new year. The Hawks posted a 59-55 road win over Pitt.-Greensburg and maintained their 2nd place standings in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference with a 5-1 league record.
After the four-point loss, Greensburg dropped to 2-5 overall and 2-3 in AMCC action.
Kelsi Ebert led three Hawks in double figure scoring as she reached for 18 points (six steals) and shared game-high minutes with
Emily Gawlak (39 minutes) who posted 12 points, seven rebounds and three steals.
Ashley Repine collected her third career double-double with 14 points (6-for-9 from the field) and 11 rebounds (six offensive) as the Hawks held a slight edge on the glass.
Hilbert sank 23-of-58 shots from the floor (39.7%) but couldn't buy a bucket from deep finishing with a solo trey while Greensburg was 21-for-56 (37.5%) but hit three 3-point shots. Neither team was very successful from the foul line yet the Hawks made three more freebies (12/22 vs. 9/20) in the win.
The Hawks built a three-point lead after ten minutes of action but slipped behind in the second quarter (15-17) to take a 28-27 lead at intermission. Eight of the nine players for Hilbert chipped in on the score board in a very balanced first half effort. Ebert and Gawlak posted six points each and Repine and
Taylor Corts followed with four points each.
Hilbert dominated the third quarter outscoring the Bobcats 18-8. Ebert took off after the break and with her ninth point in the 3rd, she lifted Hilbert by 13 points (42-29) with 2:52 remaining. The Royal and White settled for an 11-point lead (46-35) heading into the fourth session.
Greensburg sliced their deficit to single digits (50-42) thanks to a deep shot at 6:42 and then were knocking on the door after a six-point run brought them within two points (52-50) at 3:17. Ebert responded with a 3-pointer padding the Hawks lead back to five points. The Bobcats cut the score to one point again with 1:29 left.
Over the next 50-seconds, Hilbert went 0-for-4 from the charity stripe while the hosts missed both their attempts. With 12-seconds left, Repine made the first free throw but missed her second. Gawlak grabbed the offensive rebound and then went 2-for-2 after getting fouled right away. Repine closed the game with one free throw in the final 4-seconds for the win.
Hilbert fans should be excited to see their Hawks (7-4) compete in the Hafner Rec Center three times next week. The women's team will welcome Empire 8 Nazareth in a non-conference game January 8 before they host a pair of AMCC games later in the week. Penn State Behrend hits Hamburg January 10 and then Mt. Aloysius invades Western New York January 13.
Be sure to stay up-to-date on all your Hilbert Hawks scores and awards by following @HilbertAthletic on Twitter and by liking the "Hilbert College Athletics" Facebook page. Additionally fans of the Hawks who have an Apple device can receive push notification from the newly created Hilbert College Hawks iOS SIDEARM mobile App which can be found in the Apple Store and ITunes.
