UTICA, N.Y. – The St. John Fisher College women's basketball team picked up its second straight road win on Friday night as the Cardinals overtook Utica College, 72-62, in an Empire 8 clash.  With the win, Fisher moved to 10-5 on the season and 4-2 in the conference standings while the Pioneers, who have now lost their last five games, dipped to 6-9 overall and 1-5 against Empire 8 opponents.

Overall, Fisher benefited from 31 points off the bench while on the defensive end of the floor, the Cardinals accounted for 12 steals.  As a team, Fisher shot 24-of-53 (.453) from the field and was 17-of-20 from the free throw line.

After falling behind by six leading into the second quarter, the Cardinals were able to shake off their slow start with back-to-back 3-pointers from Elle Lazore and Miranda Lynch to tie the game at 17-17.  The Pioneers countered with five unanswered points, but senior Erin Hulbert kept the Cardinals within striking distance with a 3-pointer from the wing to make it a one-score game with 6:48 to play before the break.

As the quarter wore on, the momentum favored the home team as Utica built a nine-point lead with an 8-2 run before the Cardinals scored the final three points of the half to head into the locker room trailing by six, 35-29.

The break in action seemed to be what the Cardinals needed as Fisher came out firing to the tune of a 15-2 run to turn a nine-point deficit into their first lead of the game, 51-47.  The Pioneers halted the Cardinals' progress with a bucket in the paint, but Hulbert drove to the basket with time winding down and kicked it out to Lazore who buried a shot from behind the arc to put Fisher ahead, 54-49, with one quarter left to play.

Holding a two-possession lead with 10 minutes remaining, Fisher turned to Sydney Masna as the sophomore scored six consecutive points as part of a 10-3 run that staked the visitors to a double-digit lead, 63-52.  The lead would grow to 13 points before the Pioneers cut the gap to nine, but that was as close as they would come as Fisher remained among the top teams in the conference standings with the win.    

In all, three players scored in double figures led by Hulbert who tallied 13 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals.  Freshman Ella Eckert added 12 points and eight rebounds on 5-of-7 shooting while Masna finished with 11 points, four boards and three picks.  Lazore contributed eight points in the win including two from distance along with a team-high five helpers.

Fisher will be back in action at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday when it hosts Nazareth College in the annual Battle of the Beaks inside Manning and Napier Varsity Gymnasium on Bobby Wanzer Court.