PITTSFORD, N.Y. – The nationally-ranked St. John Fisher College women's basketball team moved one step closer to securing a postseason berth as the Cardinals, who are ranked 22nd in the latest D3hoops.com poll, defeated visiting Hartwick College, 67-61, on Saturday afternoon in an Empire 8 clash inside Manning and Napier Varsity Gymnasium on Bobby Wanzer Court.  With the win, the Cardinals improved to 18-2 on the year and 10-1 in the league standings while the Hawks fell to 12-6 overall and 7-3 in league play.

The win had added significance as the Cardinals honored and celebrated and thanked the members of its senior class including Amy Gardner, Leah Koonmen, Miranda Lynch, Lauren Robbins and Sam Fischer.

In a battle of two of the top teams in the Empire 8 this season, both Hartwick and Fisher looked even over the first six minutes of play until the Cardinals closed out the opening period with an 8-1 run that including a buzzer-beating heave from Claire Kruszka to make it 18-10 in the home team's favor.

The Cardinals carried their momentum over into the second quarter with Lynch draining a 3-pointer on the wing to put Fisher ahead by double digits, 21-10.  As the frame wore on, Fisher's advantage would grow to as many as 17 points following a 9-2 burst, but the Hawks returned the favor and scored nine of the final 11 points of the half to cut the gap to single digits heading into halftime.

After extending its lead to 14 to begin the fourth, Kruszka put the home team up by 17 with another make from downtown to make it 54-17.  Holding a comfortable lead, Fisher went cold from the floor as Hartwick took advantage to the tune of a 9-1 run to cut the deficit to nine with six minutes still showing on the clock.

Leading 55-46, Fisher pushed its margin back to double digits when Lynch buried a triple, but the Hawks continued to grind and scored seven of the next nine points to pull to within seven with under three minutes to play.

With momentum favoring the visitors, Kaitlyn Walker afforded Fisher some breathing room with a pair of makes at the free throw line. Down by nine, Hartwick put on a full-court press and out-scored the Cardinals 8-3 in a span of 86 seconds to climb to within four with seven seconds left.  From there, the Hawks fouled to stop the clock, but Kruszka drained two key free throws down the stretch to hold off the late comeback bid.

Kruszka finished with a team-leading 19 points to go along with seven assists, three rebounds and a steal while Lynch poured in 15 points with five makes from downtown.  Walker was one rebound shy of a double-double with 15 points and nine boards while Sidney Tomasso contributed eight points and six rebounds off the bench.

The Cardinals will look to cement a berth in the Empire 8 Championship at 1 p.m. on Sunday when they host Russell Sage in a conference pairing inside Manning and Napier Varsity Gymnasium on Bobby Wanzer Court.