There was the promise of warmer weather in St. Petersburg, Florida, as John Carroll embarked to play in the St. Pete Classic this week.

But the warm weather outside did not translate to hot shooting inside for JCU, as a tough day from the floor by the Blue Streaks spelled doom in an 83-69 loss to Hartwick College in a Wednesday matinee.

The Blue Streaks were just 26-74 (.351) from the field, including 7-27 (.259) from long range, as their three-game winning streak came to an end.

In contrast, the Hawks were 28-59 (.475) from the floor and converted 22 John Carroll turnovers into 28 points.

John Carroll began the day by missing nine of its first ten shots but then rallied to close the gap after falling behind early, 10-3. Nicole Heffington's eight points and a team effort that produced seven rebounds off the offensive glass were big reasons why the Blue Streaks only trailed by one point, 17-16, after one quarter.

It was still close at the half (Hartwick 34, John Carroll 30) and when Dani Carlson made a three-point field goal with 2:26 to play in the third period, the Blue Streaks were down by only two points at 53-51.

Hartwick answered with a 9-0 run to take a 62-51 lead, but John Carroll scored the final six points of the quarter and the Hawks' lead was 62-57 entering the final ten minutes.

Much like the start of the game, John Carroll began the fourth period missing eight of its first nine shots, giving Hartwick the room it would need to build the lead back up.  Still, the Blue Streaks trailed by just six points, 69-63, following a pair of Sarah Sprecher free throws at the 3:50 mark.

The Hawks, however, would score 12 of the next 14 points, primarily from the free throw line, to pull away.

Heffington had 21 points and Kahrin Spear added 16 for John Carroll (6-4) as the Blue Streaks lost for the first time since December 1.

Hartwick (6-2) was led by a phenomenal effort from freshman Maggie Kirby, who scored a game-high 28 points on 8-11 shooting from the field, which included a 4-4 performance from three-point range. She also made nine free throws.

JCU will play Penn State-Behrend tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. for their second and final game in the St. Pete Classic.