BUFFALO, N.Y. – Balanced scoring and consistencey down the stretch led to Hilbert College's 80-67 road win over D'Youville College tonight in women's basketball.
The Hawks earned their first Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference win of the season, improved to 6-2 overall and collected the college's first head-to-head Buffalo Cup point.
Taylor Corts posted her first double-double of the season with a game-high 26 points and 11 rebounds. She went 8-for-15 from floor, shot 50% beyond the arc and was 6-for-6 at the charity stripe while dishing four assists.
Ashley Repine, who collected seven points by half time, finished with 17, also hitting a blistering 8-for-12 from floor.
Katelyn Proy (8-for-14 from floor) chipped in 16 points and earned nine rebounds in the win.
Emily Gawlak grabbed nine rebounds, tossed in nine points and three steals while
Demi Battin earned game-high honors with five assists (six points).
In a tight opening quarter, Hilbert went 7-7 from foul line and Proy closed the frame with a tip-in bucket which gave the Royal and White a 22-19 lead. Corts and Repine tossed in nine and seven points, respectively giving the Hawks upper hand early.
Natassia West slipped a screen down low and hit a wide open layup at block to start second frame. Battin knocked down a long ball and Gawlak repeated the score on Hilbert's the next possession.
West continued to contribute and pulled down an offensive rebound, dished to Corts for two which created Hilbert's first double digit spread (31-21).
Hilbert continued to pour points in, setting up a 2-man game with Proy and
Alayna DeFazio in advance of Corts tally off the bounce.
Emma Fredo blew by her defender just before Proy and Fredo hooked-up again for two more points in the paint. Gawlak closed the half with a fastbreak break-away layup before intermission giving the Hawks a 44-31 lead.
Hilbert hit all nine free throw attempts, built a 24-18 edge on the glass and scored 13 second chance points.
Corts led with 13 points and Gawlak trailed with seven points as both guards hit 50% from the floor. Proy (six points) led with three assists setting up all three made 3-pointers.
DYC opened on a roll after intermission and sliced the score to eight points (48-40) with 7:11 on the clock.
The Spartans closed the gap to just three points (58-55) before Corts gave Hilbert a shot from downtown, hustled to a huge block in defensive transition and hit a big 3-pointer in front of her bench.
Then a crazy steal by Proy set the tone for her uncontested lay-up with 1:58 left in quarter (55-47).
D'Youville's zone defense slowed Hilbert's offensive production though the Hawks shared the ball well and found an open player on each possession. The Spartans finished the quarter with two makes from the charity stripe setting up a six-point game at the start of the final frame.
Gawlak crashed hard from the weak side and scored a wide open layup prior to Proy's aggressive drive from the corner to the lane which gave her space for a jumper off the bounce and back to back 3's by Corts gave the Hawks a cushion (67-56).
Repine chipped in four quick points and Gawlak was credited with a steal off the inbounds pass forcing a Spartan timeout (4:24) with Hilbert ahead 71-58.
D'Youville took advantage of four consecutive Hilbert turnovers and grabbed six quick points by 2:43 but couldn't get any closer.
By the final horn, Hilbert converted 12-of-13 from the foul line, built a 44-30 advantage on the glass and hit 47.7% from the floor.
The Hawks return to action this weekend with another AMCC game at Pitt-Greensburg (1-0 AMCC) December 1 at 1pm.
Be sure to stay up-to-date on all your Hilbert Hawk 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.
