BOX SCORE

Camaryn Buckner scored her 1,000^th career point as the No. 5 St. John Fisher College women's basketball team cruised to a 73-51 win over the No. 4 William Smith Herons in the opening round of the 21^st annual Wendy's College Classic at Nazareth's Kidera Gym.  The Cardinals had not beaten the Herons since a 67-52 win during the 1993-1994 season.

The win marks the 17^th time in Classic history that Fisher has won its opening round matchup.

Buckner becomes the 21^st player in Fisher women's basketball history to have reached the 1,000 point plateau and the first since Colleen Maloney in 2011.

After trailing 9-2 early in the first half, the Cardinals went on a 10-2 capped by Aliyah Parris' lay-up to reclaim the lead from William Smith at 12-11.
The Herons would regroup, however, taking a 23-19 lead after burying a deep three-pointer from the right side. 

An old-fashion three-point play by Buckner seemed to ignite a spark in the Cardinals, as they outscored the Herons 12-5 in the final six minutes of the stanza to hold a 32-28 advantage at intermission, which they would never yield.

The Cardinals dominated in the second half as Buckner registered her 1,000^th career point with 15:53 left in the frame to push Fisher's lead to 10 at 41-31.

William Smith tried to keep it close; narrowing Fisher's lead to five points, but the Cardinals defense plugged up the lane forcing the Herons into 22 turnovers while holding them to 36% shooting from the field.

Fisher controlled the tempo for the remainder of the game, outscoring the Herons 31-16 in the game's final 12 minutes.

Buckner had a game-high 22 points to go along with nine rebounds and two blocks.  Portia Velasco totaled 13 points and two steals, while Mary Kate Cusack chipped in with  nine points in the win.  The Cardinals had 11 different scorers tonight, while shooting nearly 43% from the floor.

Fisher will play top-seeded Roberts Wesleyan in the second round of the Classic at 8 p.m. on Thursday at Roberts Wesleyan.

Wendy's College Classic Site