ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Points off turnovers propelled Nazareth to a 70-52 victory over the St. John Fisher women's basketball team on Wednesday night in the Battle of the Beaks inside Kidera Gymnasium.
The Cardinals (8-10 overall, 4-5 Empire 8 Conference) committed 28 turnovers, and the Golden Flyers (14-4, 8-1 Empire 8 Conference) scored a point for each one of them, cashing in for 28 points. Nazareth has won two straight games against Fisher for the first time since the 2020-21 season.
Senior guard Presleigh Brunner led the Cardinals offensively, scoring 14 points while shooting 5-of-9 overall and 3-of-5 from the foul line. Sophomore Valerosa Gambitta shot 4-of-5 from the field and 5-of-6 from the line for 13 points. Freshman Payton O'Dell grabbed a team-high eight rebounds and scored five points in 15 minutes of play off the bench.
Nazareth got 16 points from Katie MacLachlan, 12 from Kiara Anglin and 10 from Molly Benetti. MacLachlan and Anglin each pulled down a team-high nine rebounds.
How It Happened
The Golden Flyers took command late in the second quarter as Payton Littlefield drilled 3-point baskets on three straight possessions to put Fisher in a 12-point hole, 33-21. Brunner made a layup to make a 10-point game with about a minute left in the half, but Nazareth went back ahead by 12 in the final 30 seconds on a Sarina McDowell layup.
Nazareth opened the second half on a 7-1 run to push its lead to 18 points, 42-24. The Golden Flyers led by as many as 23 in the third quarter and pushed their advantage to a game-high 26 early in the fourth quarter.
Fisher shot 1-of-8 from the field (0-of-2 from three) in the third quarter, scoring nine of its 11 points in the frame from the foul line. Anglin scored nine of her 12 total points in the third quarter, while Benetti scored eight of her 10 for the game in the second half as the Golden Flyers ran away from the Cardinals. McLachlan scored 10 of her 16 in the first 20 minutes of action.
Up Next
The Cardinals face SUNY Poly at 5:30 p.m. on Friday at Manning & Napier Varsity Gym.