PITTSFORD, N.Y. – The St. John Fisher College women's basketball team put a stamp on its final regular season home game as the Cardinals ended the visiting Nazareth College Golden Flyers' year behind a 77-64 win on Saturday inside Manning and Napier Varsity Gymnasium on Bobby Wanzer Court.  With the win, Fisher, which has now won six straight and will host the Empire 8 Championship next weekend, improved to 19-6 on the year and 12-2 in the conference standings while Nazareth closed out the day at 16-9, 8-6, respectively.

The Cardinals also celebrated their senior class prior to tip-off as Alex Reigle and Abbie Tabone were each recognized for their contributions to the program. 

After a back-and-forth first half of play that saw the Golden Flyers hold a three-point lead after 20 minutes of action, the Cardinals roared to life to begin the third quarter as a lay-up by Julia Mertsock sparked a 7-2 run that pushed the home team ahead, 41-39. 

Leading by one possession with three minutes having ticked off the clock, the lead would changes hands five times of the next four minutes until a 3-pointer in the corner from sophomore Miranda Lynch ignited a stretch of seven unanswered points for Fisher to make it 56-50 with just under two minutes to go in the period.

As the quarter wore on, Nazareth cut the gap to three points, but the Cardinals controlled the pace over the final minute and scored five quick points to take a 61-53 leading into the final frame.

The momentum carried over into the fourth with Anna Milham beating her defender for a lay-up as part of a 7-1 Fisher run that gave head coach Melissa Kuberka's squad a 14-point cushion.  From there, Nazareth would come to within 10, but that was a close as the Golden Flyers would get as the Cardinals closed out the game with eight of the final 13 points to end Nazareth's season.

Ella Eckert led the way for Fisher with her ninth double-double of the year.  The sophomore scored a team-high 18 points to go along with 15 rebounds and five assists while Mertsock added 18 points of her own along with five rebounds and a steal.  Lynch netted 12 points overall and had seven rebounds while Amy Gardner tallied 10 points and handed out four assists.

The Cardinals are back in action on Friday against fourth-seeded Hartwick College as they host the semifinal round of the Empire 8 Conference Championship inside Manning and Napier Varsity Gymnasium.  Ticket information and times will be announced in the coming days.