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D&C STORYROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Seventh-seeded Nazareth knocked off its second straight higher-seeded women's basketball opponent Thursday in the semifinals of the JPMorgan Chase Scholarship Tournament as the Golden Flyers defeated Empire 8 rival St. John Fisher, 59-56, at the University of Rochester's Palestra.
Nazareth, which upset second-seeded Brockport in Tuesday's opening round, improved to 5-7 overall and advanced to its first women's Chase Tournament final since 2001 with its second straight upset win. The Golden Flyers will play top-seeded Rochester for the championship Saturday at 5:30 p.m. The Yellowjackets routed Roberts Wesleyan, 88-53, in the other semifinal. St. John Fisher, seeded third, dropped to 7-4 overall.
Against the Cardinals, Nazareth overcame a one-point halftime disadvantage to lead by as many as six points in the second half. Fisher went up one, 56-55, on a basket by Kristen Taliento with 1:04 left. On the ensuing possession, sophomore guard Kelly Dunne fed senior forward Ali Sharpe for an uncontested layup to give Nazareth the lead for good with 50 seconds left.
Sharpe forced a turnover on Fisher's next possession and Dunne drilled two free throws with :15 left to give Nazareth the three-point margin, 59-56. After a timeout, Fisher set up for a game-tying three-pointer, but senior Allison Boehm misfired from long range and Sharpe grabbed the rebound as time expired.
"It wasn't the prettiest of games, but we're proud and excited to be playing in the Chase finals," said Nazareth Coach Devin Gotham. "We got some key defensive stops when we needed them and Ali and Kelly stepped up for us offensively."
Sharpe paced the Golden Flyers with 19 points and 12 rebounds and Dunne contributed 14 points and three assists. Fisher's Boehm had game highs in points (22) and rebounds (15).
Boehm had 14 points and 11 rebounds in the first half as Fisher led 33-32. A 6-1 scoring run to open the second half lifted Nazareth to a 40-34 lead, capped by Dunne's three-pointer with 16:07 left.
After Fisher tied the score again, Nazareth regained its six-point advantage, 52-46, on a basket by Sharpe with 5:21 left. Fisher rallied again and tied the score at 54-54 on a basket by Mary Kate Comfort with 2:03 left.
Sharpe made one of two free throws with 1:35 to go to put Nazareth back in front, 55-54.Then Taliento scored for Fisher on a driving layup to set the stage for Nazareth's last-minute heroics.
Sophomore Rachel Pirozzolo finished with nine points and sophomore Jamie Malloy had eight. Freshman Mary Holland combined seven points with eight rebounds. In winning, Nazareth became the lowest seed to advance to the Chase final in the tournament's 15-year history. Nazareth will be shooting for its second Chase title. The Golden Flyers defeated Fisher in the 2001 final.