GENESEO, N.Y. – The St. John Fisher women's basketball team squandered a strong first half in a 71-65 loss to SUNY Geneseo on Saturday afternoon at Carl Schrader Gymnasium.

The Cardinals (4-8, 1-2 Empire 8) suffered their second straight conference loss after opening E8 play with a win over Alfred on Tuesday. Geneseo (9-4, 3-0 Empire 8), which has won six of its last seven games since losing to Springfield on Nov. 15, recorded its third consecutive victory over St. John Fisher. 

Senior guard Hannah Ferguson once again paced the Cardinals offensively, scoring 18 points while drilling 6-of-8 shots from 3-point range, tied with Kelly Moravec and Claire Kruszka for the most by a Fisher player since Miranda Lynch made seven triples against Alfred in February 2020. Ferguson also led Fisher with six rebounds. 

Sophomore guard Valerosa Gambitta was the only other Fisher player who reached double figures. She scored a career-high 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting, including 1-of-3 from deep, to go with six assists. 

Four Geneseo players scored at least 11 points, led by Maggie McGrane, who finished with a game-high 23. McGrane shot 5-of-10 from the field but did most of her damage at the free-throw line, drilling 13-of-14 attempts. 

How It Happened

Geneseo led 11-2 just more than three minutes in, but Ferguson made two 3-pointers to help jumpstart the Cardinals' offense before the quarter ended with the Knights ahead 17-11. After falling behind by 10 early in the second quarter, the Cardinals, behind six points from Ferguson and five from freshman Natalie Mai, went on a 16-1 run to take a 30-24 lead. 

The Cardinals took a 32-27 lead into the break after shooting better than 46% in the quarter. Ferguson finished the first half with 12 points, while Mai had seven and Gambitta five. 

A strong Geneseo third quarter erased Fisher's first-half momentum, as the Knights quickly erased their deficit after halftime. Geneseo regained the lead, 36-35, on an Audrey Hintz layup four minutes in and led by seven entering the fourth quarter after a pair of Hintz free throws. 

McGrane scored 10 points in the fourth – she converted on all eight of her foul shots – to help the Knights gain a 10-point lead three times and secure the victory. 

Game Notes

• Ferguson has scored at least 15 points in each of the Cardinals' last four games. 

• Ferguson has been Fisher's leading scorer in each of the last three games. She had 16 against Alfred on Tuesday and a career-high 22 against SUNY Brockport on Friday. 

• The Cardinals made a season-high 11 3-pointers (26 attempts) in the contest. 

• Senior guard Julia Perales contributed a career-high nine points while shooting 3-of-7 from 3-point range. 

• Mai and senior guard Presleigh Brunner each scored seven points. 

• The Cardinals matched their season low with 16 turnovers. 

Up Next

The Cardinals face Houghton at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday in Houghton, N.Y.