BOX SCORE

The St. John Fisher College women's basketball program suffered a 71-68 loss to visiting Hartwick College on Friday night in a pivotal Empire 8 Conference matchup.

With the loss, Fisher falls to 7-5 overall and 0-2 in the Empire 8, while Hartwick moves to 9-3, 3-0.

The Hawks jumped out to an 8-2 lead early on, but Fisher went on a 19-4 run and led 21-12 midway through the first half.   Fisher led by as many as 12 points at 33-21 with 1:12 left in the half and took a 33-24 lead into the locker room.

After Portia Velasco scored on the opening possession of the second half, the Hawks went on a 13-2 run to take a two-point lead at 39-37 with 13:48 remaining.

With the game tied at 53 with just over six minutes left, Hartwick went on a 9-0 run over the next five minutes to take the lead for good. 

Hartwick led by six with 18 seconds left, but Fisher didn't give up.  Velasco hit two free throws to pull Fisher within four points and McKenzie Bezon's 3-pointer with 4.8 seconds left made it a one-point game at 69-68.  Hartwick made two free throws with 4.1 seconds left for the game's final points.  Velasco attempted a 35-foot 3-pointer as the horn sounded, but the shot was long.

Hartwick, who grabbed 10 offensive rebounds in the second half, was 22-for-23 from the foul line over the final 20 minutes. Velasco tallied 21 points and five assists, whileCamaryn Buckner added 14 points and nine boards.

Mary Kate Cusack chipped in with 12 points, four assists and four steals, while Sydney Bloomstein totaled 10 points.

Fisher returns to action at 4 p.m. on Saturday and will host Stevens Institute of Technology.   The Ducks won 71-53 at Nazareth College on Friday.