ONEONTA, NY – The Alfred University women's basketball team kicked off their weekend with a 59-48 loss to Hartwick College on Friday night.

The Saxons (4-9, 0-5 Empire 8) held the Hawks (4-8, 2-3 Empire 8) to 22.2 percent from three-point range as part of their efforts.

Jaidyn Chest (Mayfield, NY/Mayfield) led Alfred University with a season-high 14 points to go with 5 rebounds and 2 assists. Leah Harkenrider (Hornell, NY/Hornell) recorded 10 points and 4 boards. Grace Rittenhouse (Dansville, NY/Dansville) added 9 points for AU.

"We came out with fine energy, but some simple focus things got us down 11," Head Coach Mike Moskowitz said. "We had a tremendous second quarter and really responded to challenging them to cut the deficit at the half. The third quarter was a little bit back-and-forth and I definitley think we could've played better, and then the fourth quarter we really dug in defensively for most of it, but couldn't get some good looks to fall. We know we need to be better across the board tomorrow to beat a dangerous Sage team on their home court."

The Hawks set the tone early in the opening quarter with a 7-0 run before Rittenhouse got the Saxons on the scoreboard. A 10-0 run by Hartwick left AU trailing 17-6 going into the second quarter. Chest sparked the offense for Alfred University by scoring the team's first six points. Harkenrider scored the final five points for the Saxons, but they were still behind 32-28 at the half.

Chest opened scoring for AU in the second half. Chest had one more shot from deep, but the Saxons were in a competitive 44-38 deficit with one quarter remaining. Alfred University had points from six different players in the fourth quarter, but Hartwick maintained their lead to close out the game and secure the win.

Alfred University will next travel to face Russell Sage College on Saturday with tip-off at 2:00 PM.