PITTSFORD, N.Y. – The top-seeded St. John Fisher College women's basketball team came into the weekend the team to beat and it didn't disappoint as the Cardinals thumped The Sage Colleges, 74-53, on Saturday to capture the Empire 8 Championship and an automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Championship next weekend.  With the win, Fisher, which has now won eight straight games, improved to 21-6 on the season while the Gators' year came to a close at 15-12.

Fisher, which has now won five Empire 8 Championships in its history, will await word on its NCAA fate, which will be announced at 2:30 p.m. on Monday afternoon.  Fans can tune in live and see who and where Fisher will play in the opening round by CLICKING HERE.

Miranda Lynch was named the Championship's Most Valuable Player after the sophomore finished with 21 points, four rebounds, five assists and two steals in the title game.  Amy Gardner netted a game-high 27 points to go along with four helpers while Ella Eckert added 11 points and six boards in all.  Mallory Wood chipped in with five points, seven rebounds and four dimes off the bench.

It was all Fisher from the opening whistle as Lynch moved the ball to Gardner who buried a 3-pointer as part of an 11-0 run over the first two minutes of play.  Sage would call a timeout to try and cool Fisher's hot shooting, but the home team continued to up the tempo.  Ahead 13-4 midway through the first, Fisher worked the ball inside and scored six quick points to open up a 15-point cushion.

Ahead 24-9 to begin the second period, the Cardinals would see their lead shrink to 12 after the Gators pounded the ball inside, but the basket did little to slow Fisher's momentum.  Holding a double-digit lead, the Cardinals' offense roared back with an 18-4 run that featured four from downtown and 10 points from Lynch to open up a 42-16 edge.

The Gators countered with a modest 4-0 run of their own, but were unable to keep Fisher at bay as Gardner scored the final five points of the quarter including the team's ninth 3-pointer of the first half to send the Cardinals into the locker room with a 47-20 advantage.

Coming out of halftime, the lead would swell to as many as 36 points before the Gators closed out the third quarter with a 16-2 run to pull to within 63-41. 

As the fourth quarter got underway, Sage would make it a 20-point affair, but the Cardinals pushed their lead back up to 27 after reeling off seven unanswered points.  With just two minutes to go before the final horn sounded, Sage continued to play hard and closed out the game with five consecutive points, but the gap was too wide to overcome as the Cardinals hoisted their first conference crown since 2015.

As a team, Fisher was lights out from behind the arc as head coach Melissa Kuberka's squad poured in 11 3-pointers in all.  The Cardinals were 25-for-53 from the floor and converted 13-of-15 attempts from the free throw line.  Defensively, Fisher forced Sage in to 22 turnovers and accounted for six steals and two blocked shots.