Women's Basketball | 2/21/2024 1:53:00 PM

PITTSFORD, N.Y. – The St. John Fisher University women's basketball team hosts the Hartwick College Hawks on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. in the Empire 8 semifinals. At stake: a place in the conference title game and a shot at an automatic bid into the NCAA Division III tournament.
 
The Cardinals, who finished the regular season with a 21-4 overall record and a 14-2 mark in the Empire 8, are the top seed in this year's tournament. 
 
Last Time Out
St. John Fisher lost its regular season finale, 73-65, to arch-rival Nazareth last Saturday. Junior guard Sidney Tomasso led the Cardinals with 21 points, while freshman forward Joleen Lusk and freshman guard Madeline Ramsgard each had 11. 
 
Despite the loss, the Cardinals held the tiebreaker with the Golden Flyers, allowing them to clinch the top seed in the conference tournament and potential home-court advantage throughout. 
 
Know Your Foe
Hartwick finished the regular season 13-13 overall but 9-7 in the Empire 8. Entering the Empire 8 tournament as a four-seed, they reached the semifinals by defeating fifth-seeded Utica on Tuesday, 69-44.
 
Fisher is 52-17 all-time against the Hawks, including a current six-game winning streak. The two wins this season were by a combined score of 162-100, with Jan. 27's 48-point 87-39 win the largest victory over Hartwick in the history of the series. 
 
Fun fact: Hartwick College was founded in 1797 as a seminary. 
 
Tournament History
This is Fisher's 19th-straight appearance in the Empire 8 tournament, and 22nd appearance overall. The only season they haven't made the tourney was 2006-2007. Should the Cardinals win the conference title this week, it will be their third straight and eighth overall (including titles from the pre-tournament era). 
 
Last season, the Cardinals entered the conference tournament as the number one seed and took the conference title by defeating Elmira in the semifinals and Nazareth in the finals. 
 
Time for Tomasso
Despite missing some games late in the season, Tomasso had a spectacular regular season for the Cardinals, finishing first on the team in points per game (16.0, second-best in the conference) and second in overall points (351). The Waverly graduate is third in the conference in free-throw percentage (.785) and is eighth in the conference in rebounds per game (6.9) and field goal percentage (.423).
 
Player to Watch
Lusk concluded her first college regular season as one of the best-performing players in the conference, regardless of graduating class. The 6'2'' forward leads the team in overall points (363) and is fourth in the conference in points per game (14.7) and field goal percentage (.464). Her game is far more than scoring, however: she leads the Empire 8 in rebounds per game (9.6) and is third in blocks (1.6). 
 
What Comes Next
A win on Thursday sends the Cardinals into the conference title game on Saturday, where they'd host the winner of Thursday's Nazareth/Houghton game. 
 
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