The St. John Fisher College women's basketball program went on a 15-2 run to start the fourth quarter, as the Cardinals rallied for a 72-63 win over host Utica College on Tuesday night.
With the win, Fisher improves to 18-3 overall and 11-1 in the Empire 8 Conference, while Utica falls to 8-14, 3-10 with the loss. It was the final road game of the regular season for the Cardinals, who will close out the season with four straight at home.
Fisher led 15-10 with three minutes left in the first quarter, but the Pioneers went on an 8-0 run to end the quarter and led 18-15 after one.
Utica would lead by as many as five points at 27-22 with 4:40 left, but Fisher ended the half with an 8-0 run, capped by two free throws from
Claire Walsh with no time left on the clock to give
Fisher a 30-27 lead going into the locker room.
Utica used a 10-2 run early in the third quarter to retake the lead and led by as many as eight points at 46-38 with 2:48 remaining in the third.
Walsh hit two 3-pointers in the final moments of the third to help trim the deficit, as the Cardinals trailed 50-46 going into the final frame.
In the fourth, Fisher came out ready to play. The Cardinals tied the game at 50-50 in the first 20 seconds of the quarter, and a layup from
Nicole Robinson off a pass from
Caroline Robertson with 8:14 left put the Cardinals up.
After Utica tied the game at 52s, Fisher went on a 9-0 run, sparked by a 3-pointer from
McKenzie Bezon.
Walsh led the Cardinals with 14 points, while
Emily Piacentini added 12 points. Bezon tallied 10 points, while Robinson finished with eight points, seven rebounds and two blocks. Robertson totaled eight points and seven rebounds, while
Erin Hulbert finished with seven points.
Bridget Carney collected six points, six rebounds and a team-high four assists.
Maria Kelleher finished with five points.
Fisher finished the game with 42-34 advantage on the glass, but committed a season-high 25 turnovers.
The Cardinals returns to action with two home games over the weekend. Fisher will host Elmira College at 8 p.m. on Friday and Houghton College at 4 p.m. on Saturday.
