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ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Visiting St. John Fisher held Nazareth to three points in the final four minutes of the game to secure its victory and defeat the Golden Flyers 57-42 in a women's Empire 8 basketball contest Tuesday evening. Junior
Katie Kollar made four three-point baskets to score 12 of Nazareth's 42 points.
Following the loss, Nazareth drops to 4-10 in conference games and 8-15 overall. The Cardinals improve to 12-4 overall and 15-10 in Empire 8 contests. After downing the Golden Flyers, Fisher has won 10 of its last 11 games. Nazareth will look to end its six-game losing streak Friday evening when the Golden Flyers travel to Alfred.
In the first half, Kollar opened the contest with a three-point basket, but Fisher scored nine straight points to take a 9-3 lead 2:46 into the game. Kollar connected from outside the arc to cut Nazareth's deficit to 21-15, however, the Cardinals were able to stretch their lead to 10 points, 26-16, after converting four free throw opportunities. Juniors Erica Shaw and Brittany TallChief recorded back-to-back baskets to trim Fisher's lead to 26-20 before the Cardinals scored the final three points of the half.
The Cardinals were 10 of 12 from the charity stripe and held a 21-14 advantage in rebounds through the first 20 minutes to build their lead. Fisher finished the game with a 39-30 advantage on the boards. The Golden Flyers had just two free throw chances in the first period and converted one opportunity.
A 9-0 run in the first 5:04 of the second half extended Fisher's lead to 38-20. Nazareth's first field goal of the second half came from freshman Rebecca Rumschik, who connected on a three-point attempt 6:30 into the second half. Kollar followed Rumchik's basket with her third three-point basket of the game to cut the Golden Flyers' deficit to 11 points, 38-27, with about 13 minutes remaining.
The Cardinals maintained their double-digit lead until consecutive baskets by Nazareth cut Fisher's lead to nine points with about seven minutes to play. Junior
Ashley Gallagher made a layup, followed by Kollar's fourth three-point basket gave the Golden Flyers a quick 5-0 run that spanned just 29 seconds. Over the next couple of minutes, however, the Cardinals answered with their own 5-0 scoring run to reclaim their 14-point lead. Fisher's stingy defense held Nazareth's offense to just three points in the final four minutes to prevent the Golden Flyers' from rallying.
Neither offense found much consistency throughout the game. Nazareth held Fisher to 39 percent (19-49) shooting from the field while the Cardinals held the Golden Flyers to 30 percent (15-50). Fisher pulled away by making 18 free throws as opposed to six free throws by Nazareth.
TallChief recorded nine points to finish as Nazareth's second-highest scorer, followed by Gallagher with five points. TallChief finished 4-5 from the field and 1-2 from the free throw line in her 14 minutes on the court. Junior
Brittany Wilson was held to just three points. Junior
Brittany Patenaude finished with a team-high seven rebounds.
Meghan Soja and Colleen Maloney tallied 14 points apiece to lead Fisher. Camaryn Buckner finished with seven rebounds and Stephanie Sweeney recorded five steals.
