PITTSFORD, N.Y. – Liga Astra Kalnina notched her first career double-double and Erin Hulbert finished with her fifth of the season as the St. John Fisher College women's basketball team moved to 4-1 in the Empire 8 standings with a 63-50 win over visiting Nazareth College on Friday in the annual Battle of the Beaks.  The win moved the Cardinals to 9-5 on the season and marked the team's sixth win in its last seven games.  The Golden Flyers slipped to 6-7 overall and 2-3 in Empire 8 play.

Kalnina poured in a career-best 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting to go along with a game-high 14 boards while Hulbert finished with 12 points, 11 rebounds, five steals and three assists in the win.  Senior Caroline Robertson added 13 points, four boards and three helpers of her own for Fisher and Alex Reigle contributed seven points and four steals overall.

The Cardinals controlled the tempo throughout the first quarter as Nazareth found itself playing defense for much of the frame.  With the game tied at 6-6, Fisher knocked down five of its next seven attempts and scored 13 unanswered points capped by a 3-pointer from Olivia Baumann to hold a 19-6 advantage. 

The lead would balloon to 16 points heading into the second frame, but as the quarter changed over, Fisher's momentum stalled as Nazareth scored 20 straight points and held its host scoreless for over nine minutes before a jumper from Reigle stopped the bleeding at 28-26 in Nazareth's favor heading into intermission.

The break in action seemed to reenergize Fisher as the Cardinals returned the favor to start the third period by scoring eight unanswered points of their own while forcing Nazareth into four turnovers to reclaim the lead, 34-28.  The Golden Flyers cut the deficit to three points after converting an old-fashioned 3-point play, but Fisher countered with six quick points led by a Hulbert who sank one from downtown to give her team a nine-point lead, 40-31, midway through the third.

After swapping baskets over the next several minutes, Fisher began to pull away in the fourth as the Cardinals used a 7-0 run to build a double-digit cushion, 56-42.  Nazareth got the deficit down to 10 points, but that was as close as it would get as Fisher closed out the contest with three straight free throws to nail down the 13-point win.

As a team, the Cardinals were 25-for-60 from the field and held their opponent to just 22 points in the second half.  Head coach Melissa Kuberka's team crashed the glass and out-rebounded Nazareth 43-31 including 16 boards on the offensive end of the court.

Fisher will now embark on a three-game road trip beginning with an 8 p.m. matchup on Friday against Hartwick College in Oneonta.  From there, the team travels to Hoboken, N.J. the following day for a pairing with Stevens Institute of Technology.