Women’s Basketball Burns Rival Nazareth From Three In 83-72 Win

PITTSFORD, N.Y. – The St. John Fisher women’s basketball team burned crosstown rival Nazareth from the 3-point line in an 83-72 victory on Tuesday night inside a packed Manning and Napier Varsity Gym. 

The Cardinals remained unbeaten (9-0) in Empire 8 Conference play and improved to 14-4 overall, while the Golden Flyers suffered their first conference loss, falling to 14-4 overall (8-1 E8). Fisher has won eight of the last nine games in the Battle of the Beaks series. 

Senior guard Sidney Tomasso led the Cardinals with 23 points to go along with nine rebounds, finishing just shy of her seventh double-double of the season and third in a row. Fellow senior guard Katie Moravec stuffed the stat sheet with 21 points, eight assists, five rebounds and three steals. 

The Cardinals buried a season-high 11 threes (25 attempts, 44%), including six in the second half. Nazareth shot just 2 of 17 from deep (11.8%). 

How It Happened

• As they have in almost every conference game this season, the Cardinals got off to a strong start, ending the first quarter on a 9-0 run to take a 23-12 lead. Tomasso scored four points in that stretch, which lasted about three minutes. 
• The Cardinals outscored Nazareth 7-1 in the first four minutes of the second quarter to push their lead to a game-high 16 points (29-13). Nazareth used a 5-0 run just before halftime to trim its deficit back to single digits (40-31). 
• Nazareth pulled within four (41-37) early in the second half, but Tomasso promptly pushed the Cardinals’ lead back to double digits (47-37), drilling 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions.
• The Cardinals led by nine to 14 points the rest of the way as they closed out their ninth consecutive win. 

Game Notes

• Tomasso, who shot 7 of 15 overall and 5 of 6 from the foul line, tied her season high for 3-pointers made (4 of 9). She tied her career high with five assists. 
• Tomasso has played in 17 of Fisher’s 18 games this season and has scored more than 15 points in all but one. Tuesday marked her eighth game with 20-plus points. 
• Moravec, who scored nine of Fisher’s first 14 points, shot 7 of 15 overall (1 of 4 from three) and 6 of 9 from the free-throw line. Her eight assists tied career high. 
• Moravec has scored 15 or more points in 11 of the Cardinals’ 18 games. She has amassed 20 or more eight times, including in three of the last five games. 
• Moravec has tallied six or more assists in five games (she’s had eight in three contests). 
• Senior guard Kelly Moravec provided 13 points in 18 minutes off the bench. She shot 4 of 10 from the field, including 3 of 5 from three. 
• Junior guard Presleigh Brunner scored 10 points while shooting 4 of 9 overall and 2 of 2 from three. She had eight rebounds. 
• The Cardinals’ 83 points marked their second most in a game this season. They have scored 80 or more in six games. 
• The Cardinals improved to 76-24 all-time against the Golden Flyers. 

Up Next

The Cardinals face Utica at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 31, in Utica, New York.