PITTSFORD, N.Y. – Sophomore Ella Eckert flirted with a triple-double on Friday as the top-seeded St. John Fisher College women's basketball team cruised to a 68-50 win over fourth-seeded Hartwick College in the semifinal round of the Empire 8 Championship inside Manning and Napier Varsity Gymnasium on Bobby Wanzer Court.  With the win, Fisher, which has now won seven straight games, improved to 20-6 on the year while the Hawks saw their season end at 14-12.

Eckert finished with her 10th double-double of the year including 14 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high eight assists.  Julia Mertsock added her sixth double-double of the year with 14 points and 10 boards of her own while Miranda Lynch netted 13 points in the win.  Leah Koonmen provided a big spark off the bench with 10 points and three rebounds in 22 minutes.

It was all Fisher to begin the game as the Cardinals jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead with three minutes gone by.  As the quarter continued, Hartwick would climb back into contention after a 3-pointer at the top of the key made it 10-9 midway through the frame.

Leading by one, the Cardinals regained control and would extend their advantage as the quarter wore on after stringing together eight unanswered points over the final three minutes of play to hold a double-digit cushion heading into the second, 22-12.

Facing an uphill climb to begin the second, the Hawks turned up the intensity of the defensive end of the floor and held the Cardinals scoreless for a stretch of nearly four minutes, but Hartwick's offense struggled to find its groove as the visitors managed to trim just two points off the deficit. 

Holding a 29-21 lead with just over three minutes to go before the break, Harper Mead dumped it off to Lynch on the wing for a 3-pointer to stake the home team to 32-21 lead at halftime.

In the third quarter, Fisher continued to push the pace and would build a 21-point cushion after reeling off a 14-3 run.  The advantage would grow to as many as 23 points in the fourth as the Cardinals' lead was never in question.

As a team, Fisher was 24-of-52 from the field and 12-for-12 from the free throw line.  The Cardinals held a 44-28 advantage on the glass and forced the Hawks in to 10 turnovers overall.  Head coach Melissa Kuberka's squad spread the wealth and accounted for 18 assists on 24 field goals.

The Cardinals will advance to their third consecutive Empire 8 finale at 4 p.m. on Saturday where they'll meet second-seeded Sage after the Gators defeated Utica, 82-75, in the night's other semifinal.