The St. John Fisher College women's basketball team won its Empire 8 Conference season-opener on Saturday, as the Cardinals cruised to an 82-60 win over visiting Rochester Institute of Technology.

With the win, Fisher improves to 4-1 overall and 1-0 in the Empire 8, while RIT falls to 3-3, 0-1.

Fisher enjoyed a 44-31 lead at intermission, thanks to a 7-0 spurt over the final 67 seconds.

Three players – Colleen Maloney, Kristen Taliento and Amanda Lax – combined to score all but four of Fisher's first-half points.

Maloney scored 16 over the opening 20 minutes, shooting 3-for-4 from 3-point range and 3-for-3 from the foul line. Taliento and Lax were a combined 9-for-9 from the charity stripe and each scored 12 points in the opening half.

Fisher never relinquished its advantage, keeping at least a 17-point lead for the final 10 minutes.

Maloney led all scorers with 25 points, while Lax finished the game with a career-high 14 points, adding six rebounds and four steals as well.

Freshman Kathleen Sullivan tallied a career-high eight points and six rebounds. Kristi Jeffres added seven points, while Stephanie Sweeney led the Cardinals with six steals and six assists.

For R.I.T., Sharon Dennis registered 15 points and 15 rebounds.

Fisher will return to action at 6 p.m. on Monday and will host Medaille College.