Women's Basketball | 11/16/2022 2:16:00 PM

PITTSFORD, NY – The St. John Fisher University women's basketball team will play two games in the annual Mark's Pizzeria Crosstown Shootout, as they take on the University of Rochester YellowJackets on Thursday, Nov. 17 before facing the RIT Tigers on Saturday Nov. 19. Both games are set to take place at the University of Rochester, with the tip-off against the YellowJackets on Thursday set to be at 8 p.m. and at 6 p.m. on Saturday.

The Cardinals return to Rochester after winning both contests in the John Carroll Tip-Off Tournament, beating Hiram College 68-61 before overwhelming Allegheny College 70-48. With the pair of victories, the Cardinals have improved to 3-0 in the young campaign.

Last Matchups: The Cardinals outlasted the YellowJackets when these two teams met last season, in a defensively driven 56-53 win. Claire Kruszka hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 45 seconds to play to lift the team to the win. Kruszka finished with 18 points on 8-of-16 shooting to go with two rebounds and a pair of steals. Kruszka was also supported by Kailtyn Walker, who added 12 points and a team-leading nine boards in the win. Off the bench, Katie Moravec produced seven points and three crucial steals.

Fisher has beat RIT in five consecutive games, taking last year's matchup by a 65-51 score. The first half had a back-and-forth nature that let the Tigers hold a one-point edge at halftime. Looking to set the tempo in the third quarter, Kruszka scored seven straight points to push Fisher ahead 37-33. RIT would counter with five of the next six points, but a 12-1 outburst opened the lead to 50-39. The advantage grew to 13, courtesy of a 3-pointer from Sidney Tomasso. From there, RIT would chip away to bring the deficit to eight points, but Fisher was able to hold off the comeback from RIT. Fisher was 23-for-69 (.338) from the floor and buried 11 of 14 free throws.

Player to Watch: First year student Presleigh Brunner is the player of the week to watch, after going 8-18 (.444) from the field over 68 minutes. Brunner is averaging seven points a game in the early season.

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