ROCHESTER, NY – Hartwick women's basketball came up short at St. John Fisher College (12-12, 7-6 E8) 68-57 on Friday night at Bobby Wanzer Court to slip to 17-7 overall and 9-4 in the Empire 8. Despite the setback, the Hawks still clinch the second seed and right to host next weekend's Empire 8 Women's Basketball Tournament as Utica fell to Ithaca, 75-68, earlier in the evening.
            The Hawks received 44 points from freshman Brittney Dumas (Easton, CT/Joel Barlow) and junior Maria Foglia (Rensselaer, NY/Catholic Central) in the game. The Hawks, however, could not overcome a 34-point performance from Fisher guard Portia Velasco, who netted 34 points and shot 10-for-10 from the floor.
            Dumas hit 11 of her 20 shots from the field for 24 points and grabbed a team-best seven rebounds. Foglia shot 7-of-10 from the line on the night and finished with 20 points.
            Hartwick was forced to play from behind throughout the contest although the game was close for 40 minutes. The Hawks trailed in the first half by a 13-12 margin after roughly eight minutes but a 9-2 Fisher run over the next four minutes would open up a nine-point Fisher advantage, 23-14.
            A 9-4 Hartwick spurt would close the gap to four, 27-23, at the intermission. Dumas, Foglia, Kait Veit (Easthampton, MA/Holyoke Catholic), and Lee Arduini (Albany, NY/Academy of the Holy Names) each contributed in the late run for 'Wick.
            In the second half, 'Wick pulled to within one, 30-29, after close to four minutes on Foglia's two free throws, but it would be as close as it would get the rest of the way. The Fisher edge never grew to more than five until a Velasco basket and subsequent free throw pushed the advantage to six, 39-33, with 9:53 left.
            Two Dumas free throws cut the deficit to four, 39-35, but Velasco answered with her second three-pointer of the night to answer 48 second later to make it a 42-35 game.
              A three from Foglia narrowed the gap to four again at the 7:28 mark and the Hawks stayed within six for the next 3:38. A Foglia jumper at 4:46 made it 46-42, but a huge 9-0 run for the hosts over the next two minutes put the game out of reach. Consecutive three-pointers from Mary Kate Cusack and Sydney Bloomstein did much of the damage.
            The Hawks tried to extend the game by forcing the Cardinals to the line. They got as close as nine with 30 seconds left but it was too late. Over the final 1:45, the Cardinals made 13-of-14 free throws, including their final 10.
            The Hawks shot 36% (21-for-58) as a team for the game. The Cardinals made 49% (21-for-43) as a group. Fisher held the edge in rebounds, 35-31.
            Velasco ended the game making 12 of her 14 shots from the free-throw line. Buckner contributed 12 points with Bloomstein adding 11.
            The Hawks will close out the regular season tomorrow afternoon at Alfred University. The Hawks and Saxons are set to begin at 4 p.m.