Fourth-seeded St. John Fisher College suffered a rare opening-round in the Wendy's College Classic, losing to No. 2 Roberts Wesleyan 88-49 at Fisher's Bobby Wanzer Court on Tuesday night.
The loss marked just the second time in the 18-year history of the Wendy's College Classic that the Cardinals have lost an opening-round game. Fisher had advanced to the semifinals in each of the last 13 years, with their only previous opening-round loss coming to Brockport, 48-47, in the 1996-67 Tournament.
With the loss, Fisher (1-4) will play at 8 p.m. on Thursday at host Rochester Institute of Technology. The Tigers lost 71-55 to SUNY Geneseo. Roberts will host SUNY Geneseo at 8 p.m. on Thursday as well.
Roberts (6-2) never trailed in the game, jumping out to a 9-0 lead after the first three minutes. Colleen Maloney's layup with 7:45 left made it 17-13, but the Raiders ended the first half with a 20-7 run to take a 37-20 lead at intermission.
Fisher used an 8-0 run early in the second half to pull within 15 at 47-32 with 14:40 left, but the Raiders pulled away, thanks to a 21-3 run over the next six minutes.
Maloney led the Cardinals with 18 points, while
Stephanie Sweeney finished with 11 points. The Cardinals shot just 1-for-17 (5.9%) from 3-point range for the game, while the Raiders were 7-for-13 (58.3%).
Five players scored in double figures for Roberts, led by Brittany McMillon's 18. Bianca Jones added 15 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Brittany Williams chipped in with 14.
