PITTSFORD, N.Y. – The top-seeded St. John Fisher University women's basketball team came back from a halftime deficit and finished strong to beat no. 4 seed Hartwick, 62-50, in the Empire 8 semi-finals on Thursday night. 
 
The victory puts the Cardinals just one win away from an automatic berth into the NCAA Division III tournament. 
 
After initially jumping to a 12-2 lead with just over five minutes left in the first quarter, the Cardinals saw their lead slowly evaporate, with the Hawks narrowing it to 16-13 by the end of the quarter. 
 
Hartwick opened the second quarter on an 11-0 run to take the lead, 24-16. Although the Cardinals were able to narrow the Hartwick lead to four, they still entered halftime down, 28-24.
 
The Cardinals came out strong after the half, cutting the lead to one with a three-pointer by freshman Madeline Ramsgard and then taking the 30-28 lead with another three-pointer, this one from Empire 8 Player of the Year Sidney Tomasso. The Cardinals would never trail again, outscoring the Hawks 38-22 in the second half en route to a 12-point win. 
 
Junior guard Katie Moravec led the way for the Cardinals, racking up a team-high 19 points while adding eight rebounds and an assist. Tomasso also reached double-digits, with 13 points. Ramsgard scored 12 points and had a strong defensive night, making six steals and six rebounds. Empire 8 Co-Rookie of the Year Joleen Lusk led the team in rebounds, with 13, and added five assists and a block.
 
Fisher outrebounded the Hawks 42-34 on the night, and outshot them from beyond the arc, 53.8% (7-for-13) to 26.3% (5-for-19). 
 
The Cardinals will host Houghton on Saturday at 1 p.m. with a chance to send the Cardinals to their third-straight NCAA tournament.

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