PITTSFORD, N.Y. – After reaching the Empire 8 Championship finale for the fourth time in the last four seasons, the St. John Fisher College women's basketball team is set to begin its quest for its fifth straight appearance in the title game at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday when it kicks off its season at Hilbert College.

The Cardinals are coming off a season where they finished second in the conference after putting together a 9-3 overall mark including six wins against Empire 8 opponents.  Head coach Melissa Kuberka's team returns a majority of last year's roster that led the conference in scoring at 75.3 points per game and field goal percentage at .441.  The Cardinals made more 3-pointers than any other team in the E8 last season with 81 and controlled the glass after ranking second in offensive and defensive rebounding. 

In all, Fisher is set to welcome back nine players from last year's team led by Women's Basketball Coaches Association Honorable Mention All-American Kaitlyn Walker who became the 43rd All-America recipient in program history and the first since 2008 after leading Fisher in scoring at 12.4 points per game and 9.0 boards on average.

Now a junior, Walker, who owned three double-doubles during the campaign, ranked second in the Empire 8 in field goal percentage after converting nearly 60 percent of her attempts.

Last season's Empire 8 Rookie of the Year, Claire Kruszka, is also set to don the Cardinal and Gold after a campaign that saw her rank third on the team and 13th overall in the conference at 10.2 points per game. 

Kruszka, who was also named Second-Team All-Conference by the league, averaged 4.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists and a steal a game.  The guard knocked down 38-of-91 (.418) shots from the floor and was among the team leaders in free throw efficiency after going 10-of-14 (.714) from the stripe overall.

The Cardinals also return a trio of talented seniors including Amy Gardner, Miranda Lynch and Leah Koonmen who returns to the roster after missing last season. 

Garnder was named First-Team All-Empire 8 last season after ranking fourth on the team at 9.3 points and 4.6 rebounds per game.  The Dryden native ranked second on the team with 28 assists and 17 steals and played in all 12 games while Lynch is set to build on a season that saw her named Second-Team All-Empire 8 after scoring 11.6 points per game over nine games. The Webster native is among the top deep threats in the region and enters the campaign with 132 3-point field goals to her credit over 64 games.

Fisher also boasts one of the deepest lineups in the conference as Anna Milham, Lauren Nawojski and Taylor Gadd will all look to help Fisher earn its 16th NCAA appearance.

Kuberka is also excited about the potential of her incoming class as Fisher is set to bring in numerous All-State and All-County honorees including Emily McLaughlin, Bryn Wormley, Lauren Petrie, Sidney Tomasso, Kelly Moravec, Katie Moravec and Carlee Elliott.

The season gets underway with a non-conference battle against Hilbert College in a mid-week showdown in Hamburg as Fisher looks to post its third straight win against the Hawks.  Four days later on November 13, the Cardinals will continue play on the road as they take on Hamilton College in a tough non-league pairing.
 
Following their duel with the Continentals, the Cardinals will open the home portion of their docket as they host the Mark's Pizzeria Crosstown Shootout beginning on November 18 with the RIT Tigers followed by the University of Rochester two days later on November 20.
 
From there, the Cardinals will make their way to Pennsylvania as part of the Penn St. Harrisburg Tournament. First, they will take on Widener University in Middletown on November 27 before wrapping things up the following day against either Penn State Harrisburg or Pitt-Bradford.
 
The squad will return home nearly two weeks later when it welcomes Clarkson University to campus and will close out the 2021 portion of its schedule the following evening at Buffalo State.
 
Fisher will jump into conference play with Alfred University at home on January 4 before taking to the road for a pair of games beginning with Russell Sage on January 7 followed by Hartwick College on January 8.

Six days later, the team will square off with the Utica College Pioneers in Manning and Napier Varsity Gymnasium before beginning another two-game road trip on January 15 at Elmira.  The travel concludes three days later on January 18 at Alfred.

Fisher will return home on January 21st against Houghton College before breaking from league play on January 25th to tussle with Ithaca College in Ithaca.  From there, the team will face off with Keuka College in Keuka Park on January 28.

On Saturday, January 29, the Cardinals will tangle with the reigning Empire 8 Champion Nazareth College Golden Flyers at home in the first rendition of the annual Battle of the Beaks and will continue their campaign on February 1 on the road at Houghton.

The team is slated to play four of its final six regular season games at home beginning with a weekend series against Hartwick on February 4 and Russell Sage the following afternoon. From there, Fisher will travel down East Avenue to pair with the Golden Flyers on February 8 before returning home to duel the Keuka Wolves on February 11.

The Cardinals will have two final tune-ups before the postseason begins including Utica on February 12 on the road.  Fisher will close out its regular season at home against the Elmira College Soaring Eagles.

The Empire 8 Championship, which is set to be played at the highest overall seed, will take place the following weekend.  

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