St. John Fisher University Athletics

St. John Fisher College’s Portia Velasco (Carondelet/Vallejo, Ca.) of the women’s basketball team has been named as the College’s Female Athlete of the Week for the week ending February 19, 2012. 

            In Fisher’s lone game of the week, Velasco scored a team-high 17 points in a 70-61 loss to East Avenue rival Nazareth College.  Six of her points also came from behind the 3-point line, where the rookie shot 50% in the game.  The freshman point guard, who has been honored by both Fisher and the Empire 8 Conference multiple times this season, also recorded three assists and two steals in the game. 

            Velasco leads the Cardinals in nearly every offensive category this season.  She leads the team in total points scored (357) as well as points per game average (14.3).  Velasco also leads in free throw percentage, shooting 80.2% from the charity stripe and she has totaled 100 assists on the season, 63 more than the next closest teammate.

The Cardinals (11-14, 7-7) have earned a bid to the Empire 8 Conference Championship as the No. 4 team in the tournament.  At 6 p.m. on Friday, Fisher will face-off with the No. 1 seeded and host Ithaca College Bombers in the semifinals of the tournament.  The winner will advance to the championship game which will take place on Saturday.