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ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Host St. John Fisher held Nazareth to 18 percent (6-33) shooting in the first half to put the Golden Flyers into an overwhelming 18-point deficit at halftime. Fisher went on to defeat Nazareth 62-50 in an Empire 8 women's basketball game on Tuesday evening. Freshman Lindsey Kelly amassed a game-high 21 points in the loss. The Golden Flyers outscored the Cardinals 36-30 in the second half but were unable to cut their deficit to single digits.

Following the loss, Nazareth slides to 4-11 overall and 1-5 in conference games. Fisher improves to 6-10 overall and 3-4 in Empire 8 games with the victory.

To open the game, Fisher's Clarie Walsh connected on her first four shots, including two three-pointers to provide the Cardinals with a 10-0 lead in the first 2:08 of the game. Fisher connected on another shot from beyond the arc on its next possession before senior Erica Shaw's free throws put Nazareth on the board. The Cardinals' tenacious defense and the Golden Flyers' initial shooting struggles allowed Fisher to take control of the contest in the opening minutes. Kelly had the Golden Flyers' first field goal of the game 6:30 into the period to bring Nazareth back to within 13 points.

Through the first 20 minutes, Nazareth's offense connected on about 18 percent of their field goals, and the Golden Flyers finished 0-13 on their three-point attempts. Fisher, meanwhile, connected on 46 percent (12-26) of its field goal attempts to maintain its lead. Walsh finished the half with 14 points on 6-9 shooting as she connected on a two-point jumper before the end of the half to stretch the Cardinals' lead to 32-14 at the break.

The Golden Flyers warmed up in the second half, connecting on 42 percent (13-31) of their shots. Kelly scored five of the period's first seven points to bring Nazareth to within 15 points just over one minute into the half. Nazareth, however, couldn't cut Fisher's lead to single digits. The Golden Flyers scored the final five points of regulation for the 62-50 final. Nazareth connected on 3-12 shots from beyond the arc to improve from the first half, but the Golden Flyers' shooters were unable to find their rhythm.

Kelly entered Tuesday's contest as Nazareth's leading scorer, averaging 13.2 points per game. Kelly has scored in double-digits in 12 of the Golden Flyers' 15 games, and she has averaged 18.2 points through the last five games to lead Nazareth's offense. Shaw finished with 11 points, followed by sophomore Hannah Runyon, who tallied eight points. Freshman Veronica Peck had a team-high six assists to set up several of Nazareth's baskets.

The Golden Flyers' defense held Walsh to only four points in the second half as she finished with a team-high 18 points for the Cardinals. Walsh did not come into the game as a leading scorer for Fisher, and her 18 points was a career-high. Following Tuesday's game, she was averaging 4.1 points per game. Portia Velasco and Sydney Bloomstein each added 11 points for the Cardinals. Nazareth held Camaryn Buckner, who averaged over 12 points per game before the contest, to five points.

Fisher finished with a 43-39 advantage in total rebounds thanks to a game-high nine rebounds by Buckner. Kelly and sophomore Melissa Reeves each had seven rebounds for Nazareth.

The Golden Flyers are in action again this weekend. Nazareth travels to Stevens on Friday, then plays at Hartwick on Saturday. Both contests are conference games.