PITTSFORD, N.Y. – The nationally-ranked and top-seeded St. John Fisher College women's basketball team will defend its Empire 8 crown after the Cardinals defeated the visiting fifth-seeded Russell Sage Gators, 69-59, in the semifinal round of the Empire 8 Championship inside Manning and Napier Varsity Gymnasium on Bobby Wanzer Court.  With the win, Fisher, which is ranked 22nd in the latest D3hoops.com poll, improved to 24-2 on the year while the Gators had their season conclude at 13-14. 

After shaking off a slow start, the Cardinals were able to narrow the gap heading into the second period as the Gators held an 18-14 edge after the first 10 minutes of play.

Trailing by four to begin the period, the Cardinals continued to chip away until momentum swung in their favor with an 11-2 run over a span of 2:26 to claim a 30-27 lead with under three minutes to go in the half. 

Holding a one-possession advantage, the Cardinals went 0-for-5 down the stretch with the Gators closing out the first half with six unanswered points to hold a 33-30 margin at halftime.

Coming out of the break, Fisher buried back-to-back 3-pointers as part of an 8-0 run to jump in front, 43-38.  From there, a deep three by Miranda Lynch gave the home team a seven-point edge before the Gators rattled off five unanswered points to pull to within three, 50-47, with 1:23 still showing on the clock.

With the fourth quarter looming, Fisher closed out the third with five straight points of its own and carried its momentum over into the final frame after building a 13-point cushion with five minutes having ticked by.

With time winding down and the Cardinals holding a double-digit lead, the Gators would cut the deficit to nine with two minutes to play, but were unable to inch closer as Fisher controlled the pace down the stretch to punch its ticket to Saturday's championship game.

Junior Kaitlyn Walker finished with a game-high 17 points to go along with 14 rebounds while Sidney Tomasso scored 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting paired with nine boards of her own.  Katie Moravec poured in 10 points off the bench while Leah Koonmen produced seven points and three boards in 23 minutes.  Amy Gardner, who was named the Empire 8 Defensive Player of the Year on Wednesday, contributed five points, six assists, three rebounds and a season-high seven steals.

Fisher will be back in action at 3 p.m. on Saturday when it takes on third-seeded Nazareth College, which bested second-seeded Hartwick, 70-68, inside Manning and Napier Varsity Gymnasium on Bobby Wanzer Court.