The Hawks (1-1) will meet Suffolk (who defeated Mount Holyoke 63-48 in an earlier contest) at 3:00 p.m. Sunday (Nov. 20) in the championship game. The Golden Bears, who were playing their season opener, face Mount Holyoke in the third-place game at 1.

Hirt was the difference scoring 13 points and pulling down 10 rebounds in the second half.

Western New England trailed by as many as 17 points in the opening half before cutting the margin to eight at 24-16 at the break.

The Golden Bears got within one point on three occasions in the second half, but Hirt scored a basket each time afterwards, the last time giving the Hawks a 46-43 lead with 2:15 remaining in the game.

Hartwick then made eight free throws in the final 1:17 to cement the win.

Sophomore guard Maria Foglia (Rensselaer, NY) made a nice contribution with 13 points while sophomore guard Kate Veit (Easthampton, MA) and freshman guard Josefine Vincents (Vallensbak, Denmark) each added eight points coming off the bench.

Western New England received 10 points from both junior center Elena Radzikowski (Medway, MA) and sophomore guard Katie Eckert (Lee, MA). Junior guard Emily Savino (Ellington, CT) chipped-in with nine points, four rebounds, and three steals.

Seniorforward Sarah Proper (Coxsackie, NY) chipped-in with seven points (all in thes econd half) and a team-high six rebounds.

The Golden Bears had a tough shooting night making only 32.1% of its field-goal attempts, but kept the game close by making 12-of-15 free throws. Hartwick had a 40-26 advantage in rebounding.

Suffolk 63, Mount Holyoke 43
Box Score

In the first game, sophomore forward Jennifer Ruys (Wallingford, CT) compiled a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds as the Rams imnproved to 2-0.

Senior forward Meghan Black (Roslindale, MA) and junior guard Jacqueline Vienneau (Salem, NH) each netted 11 points. Senior forward Mary Garon (Auburn, NH) scored only six points, but pulled down a game best 14 rebounds.

Mount Holoyke's backcourt combination of sophomore Annabel Barrett (Williamstown, MA) and senior Christine Chancy (Miami, FL) combined for 30 points. Barrett tossed in a game-high 18 with Chancy adding 12. Freshman forward Nicole DeMarchena (Miami, FL) grabbed 13 rebounds for the Lyons who fall to 0-2.