ALBANY, N.Y. – A big second half spurred Russell Sage College to a come-from-behind 52-44 victory over the St. John Fisher women's basketball team on Saturday afternoon at the Kahl Campus Center. 

The Cardinals, which had won their last four games entering the contest, dropped to 8-9 overall and 5-3 in Empire 8 Conference play. Russell Sage moved to 11-6 overall and 6-2 in the E8 with the victory, its fourth in its last five games. 

The Cardinals led by as many as 11 points in the first half before getting outscored 35-19 in the final 20 minutes, including 16-6 in the third quarter. Fisher shot 7-of-31 (22.5%), including 3-of-16 from three (18.7%), in the second half. Sage shot under 30% for the game but converted at a 40% clip over the third and fourth quarters. 

Senior guard Presleigh Brunner led the Cardinals with 18 points while shooting 9-of-20, while fellow senior guard Hannah Ferguson had 12 points while shooting 5-of-12 (2-of-7 from three) with a team-high nine rebounds. Only one other Cardinal – sophomore guard Valerosa Gambitta (7pts) – scored more than three points.

Russell Sage's Layla Acosta scored a game-high 19 points, with nine of those coming in the fourth quarter, and 10 rebounds as part of a double-double. Kyla Smith added 11 points. 

How It Happened 

Brunner scored 16 of her 18 points in the first half – eight in each quarter – as the Fisher built a double-digit lead. She scored six of those points during a 9-0 run that gave the Cardinals a 21-10 lead more than half through the second quarter. 

Russell Sage pulled within eight at the end of the first half and went on a 9-0 surge of its own early in the third quarter, taking a 26-25 lead on a jumper from Acosta less than five minutes in. The Gators ended the frame with a two-point advantage, 33-31. 

Fisher and Sage spent most of the fourth quarter trading one- or two-point leads. But after Gambitta put Fisher in front 41-40 with 2:43 left, the Gators claimed the lead for good as Acosta made a layup and drilled a 3-pointer to put Sage ahead 45-41. Ferguson made it a one-point game with a 3-pointer of her own with 58 seconds left, but Smith responded on the other end with a layup to make it 47-44. 

St. John Fisher senior guard Julia Perales missed a game-tying 3-point attempt on the subsequent possession, and Sage slammed the door shut on the Cardinals from the foul line with five makes on six attempts in the last 21 seconds. Acosta accounted for four of those points. 

Game Notes

• Ferguson has scored more than 10 points in nine straight games. 

• Brunner has scored 18 points or more in six games this season. 

• Sage has won two straight games over St. John Fisher for the first time ever. 

Up Next

The Cardinals face East Avenue rival Nazareth on Tuesday in the Battle of the Beaks. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. at Kidera Gymnasium.