ALFRED, N.Y. – The St. John Fisher College women's basketball team earned its fifth win of the season on Friday night as the Cardinals defeated Alfred State, 58-43, in a non-conference tilt inside the Orvis Activities Center. With the win, Fisher improved to 5-2 while the Pioneers fell to 3-5 overall.
As a team, Fisher was efficient from the free throw line as the Cardinals converted 11-of-13 opportunities. Head coach
Melissa Kuberka's squad won the rebounding battle after hauling in a season-high 53 boards while the Cardinals' scored 20 points inside the paint.
Senior
Erin Hulbert led the charge with a game-high 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting to go along with six rebounds and five assists.
Mallory Wood added 10 points and five rebounds of her own in the win while
Elle Lazore made the most of her start with nine points on three 3-pointers.
Alyssa Ballou chipped in with six points and corralled six rebounds in all and
Leah Koonmen contributed five points and four rebounds.
It was all Fisher from the get-go as the Cardinals came out of the gates strong with a 10-0 run over the first 2:16. The Cardinals' hot hand continued as the quarter wore on as Fisher built an 18-point lead heading into the second period.
The visitor's lead would grow to as many as 20 points in the second frame before the Pioneers used a 12-2 run of their own to pull to within 13 points with just over a minute still to go before intermission. The Cardinals continued to push the pace and capped the first half with a pair of free throws by
Maisy Booth to hold a 15-point cushion at halftime.
The advantage remained firmly in Fisher's hands throughout the third and ballooned to 21 points after Koonmen buried a shot from downtown, but a final second foul shot by Alfred State made it a 20-point contest with 10 minutes left to go.
As the fourth quarter got underway, both teams swapped baskets down the stretch with the Pioneers cutting the deficit to 15 points, but the gap was too great for Alfred State to overcome as the Cardinals cruised to a double-digit win, 58-43.
The Cardinals will break until 6 p.m. on Thursday when they take on the University of Rochester in the third annual Mark's Pizzeria Crosstown Shootout inside Nazareth College's Kidera Gymnasium.
