PITTSFORD, N.Y. – Sophomore Claire Kruszka hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 45 seconds to play to lift the St. John Fisher College women's basketball team to a 56-53 win over the University of Rochester on Saturday night to conclude the fifth annual Mark's Pizzeria Crosstown Shootout inside Manning and Napier Varsity Gymnasium on Bobby Wanzer Court.  With the victory, the Cardinals, who are receiving votes in the latest D3hoops.com national poll, climbed to 4-0 while the Yellowjackets closed out the weekend at 4-2.

Kruszka, who was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player, finished with a game-high 18 points on 8-of-16 shooting to go along with two rebounds and a pair of steals.  Kaitlyn Walker, who was also named to the All-Tournament Team, added 12 points and a team-leading nine boards in the win while Katie Moravec provided a big spark off the bench with seven points and three key steals.  Amy Gardner produced six points and seven rebounds in 29 minutes while Sidney Tomasso chipped in with five points in all.

After holding a 14-8 lead following the first 10 minutes of play, Fisher looked to push the tempo to begin the second quarter, but the Yellowjackets had other ideas as Rochester rattled off an 8-2 run over the first five minutes of play to knot things up at 16-16.
With momentum beginning to shift, Fisher worked its offense and regained control as a lay-up by Kaitlyn Walker sparked a 9-0 surge that included five points from Kruszka to open up a nine-point advantage, 25-16.

With just over a minute remaining before the break, Rochester put together one final push and closed out the period with back-to-back buckets in the paint to cut the gap to five, 25-20, heading into halftime.

Coming out of intermission, both teams looked sharp to begin the third with the Cardinals maintaining a two-possession lead.  Rochester would pull to within two with three minutes gone by, but head coach Melissa Kuberka's squad continued to pound the ball inside with Moravec closing out the quarter with an old-fashioned 3-point play to stake the home team to a 45-39 edge with 10 minutes to go in the game.

As the fourth quarter got underway, the Yellowjackets would use an 8-1 run to claim their first lead since the 7:49 mark of the first quarter.  The advantage would be short-lived, however, as Walker kicked it out to Tomasso who buried a 3-pointer from the wing to make it 49-47 in Fisher's favor.

Clinging to a two-point edge with under five minutes to play, Fisher would see its advantage slip away as the game wore on with Rochester overtaking the lead, 53-51, and 2:28 still showing on the clock.

From there, Fisher came up with a big stop on the defensive end of the floor with Walker blocking a lay-up before the Cardinals grabbed the rebound.  After pushing the ball up the floor, Fisher called a timeout before Kruszka found space in the corner and drilled a shot from downtown to put the Cardinals up by a point. 

Facing a one-possession deficit, Rochester worked the ball inside, but was unable to find its mark as Gardner came away with the loose ball to all but seal the win.

The Cardinals will enjoy a short break for Thanksgiving before returning to action at 7 p.m. on Saturday when they travel to Middletown, Pa. to take on Widener University as part of the Penn State Harrisburg Tournament.