St. John Fisher Women's Basketball Earns First Win
The St. John Fisher College women’s basketball program picked up its first win of the season, as the Cardinals held on for a 76-67 win over visiting University of Pittsburgh-Bradford in the opening game of the Woodcliff Hotel and Spa Invitational at Fisher’s Manning & Napier Varsity Gym.
The Panthers (2-2) jumped out to a 5-1 lead over the opening three minutes, but the Cardinals (1-2) scored the game’s next six points and never trailed again.
Fisher led 38-30 at intermission with nine different players scoring in the game’s opening 20 minutes.
The Cardinals pushed their lead to 15 points at 55-40 with 14:30 left, with freshman Portia Velasco scoring 10 of her career-high 21 point during the spurt.
Fisher led 67-47 with 8:24 left, but the Panthers went on an 18-3 run over the next five minutes, trimming Fisher’s margin to five points at 70-65 with 2:30 left. The Cardinals, however, buckled down and sealed the game at foul line, making six free throws in the closing
moments.
Velasco led all scorers with 21 points. She also finished with seven assists and four steals. Camyrn Buckner added 16 points, while Meghan Soja chipped in with 12 points and 11 boards. Ajai Young finished with eight points, while Jessica Krzemien totaled five points and four steals. Sydney Bloomstein contributed three points and three assists, while Sarah Stefanon and Avery Light each scored five.
Pitt-Bradford will play Union College at 4 p.m. on Saturday in the second game of the Woodcliff Hotel and Spa Invitational. Fisher will host Union at 1 p.m. on Sunday in the final game of the three-team tournament.