PITTSFORD, N.Y. – The St. John Fisher University women's basketball team dropped the regular season finale on Saturday, 73-65, to arch-rival Nazareth in the "Battle of the Beaks."
The Cardinals took an early 7-0 lead thanks to a layup by freshman forward Joleen Lusk followed by a three from junior guard Sidney Tomasso and two free throws by junior guard Katie Moravec. The Golden Flyers stormed back, though, outscoring Fisher 38-19 the rest of the first half to take a 38-26 lead.
Fisher came back in the third quarter, narrowing the deficit to three points, 51-48, with 10 minutes left to play and then cutting it to just two early in the fourth quarter on a Tomasso three-pointer. The Cardinals could never complete the comeback, however, ultimately falling by by eight points.
The loss was Fisher's second conference defeat of the season, and the first conference defeat at home of the year. It was their first loss of any kind at home since a 69-55 defeat to Ithaca on Nov. 28.
Tomasso led the Cardinals with a game-high 21 points, followed up by Lusk and freshman Madeline Ramsgard's 11 points. Senior Claire Kruszka, who celebrated her Senior Day on Saturday, had 10 points, as did Moravec.
Kruszka and fellow senior Lauren Nawojski were honored pregame by friends, family, and teammates.
Despite the loss, Fisher likely holds the tiebreaker against Nazareth for the top seed in the Empire 8 tournament due to a tougher strength of schedule, but this will not be official until the NCAA updates the strength of schedule rankings on Sunday.
Regardless of whether they are the one or two seed, the Cardinals will have home court on Thursday, Feb. 22, when they host the Empire 8 semi-finals. Gametime is 6:30 p.m. at Manning & Napier Varsity Gym.
Stay up to date with the latest news, scores, highlights and more by downloading the official mobile app for Fisher Athletics. Just search SJF Athletics in the App Store or on Google Play and download today for free. Follow the Cardinals on social media for more! Twitter | Instagram
