St. John Fisher Outlasts Alfred in Final Minutes
For the second night in a row, the St. John Fisher College women’s basketball team had its fate decided by a last-second shot, with Saturday’s result much more favorable for the Cardinals. Down 60-58, the visiting Alfred University Saxons appeared to tie the game with a basket with 1.3 seconds remaining, but the shot was overturned by a traveling call from the officials.
Fisher’s Portia Velasco would go on to sink two free throws after an Alfred technical foul, giving the Cardinals a 62-58 victory on Bobby Wanzer Court.
Velasco came up big for the Cardinals, scoring six of her 21 points in the final four minutes, including a hard drive to the glass that put Fisher up for good. Velasco led all scorers in the game, and had support from senior Meghan Soja’s double-double at 17 points and 13 rebounds.
The second half saw six ties and five lead changes, with Fisher taking the lead at 43-42 after a steal and finish by Soja. The lead was the Cardinals first since having an 8-7 advantage early in the first half. Alfred responded with two points, but strong full-court pressure from Fisher allowed the home team to build a three-point lead at 47-44. The press resulted in steals from Soja and Velasco, who were both rewarded with baskets on their respective takeaways.
The Soaring Eagles fought back to tie the game at 47s, before Christina Jordan hit a long three-pointer to put the visitors up 50-47. Long-range shots were the weapon of choice for Alfred, who took 29 of its 57 shots from downtown.
After the score, Alfred would lead until Velasco scored consecutive baskets that tied and take the lead, with the Cardinals holding onto the advantage when it mattered most.
Despite playing from behind for most of the first half, Fisher was able rally and make the score 32-28 after the first stanza. With the score 24-20, Sarah Stefanon floated the ball down the court to Soja who was able to complete a three-point play and pull the Cardinals within a point. However, Alfred was able to build a small lead back and take to the locker room ahead by four.
Camaryn Buckner scored 14 points and grabbed six rebounds for the Cardinals while having four blocks on the defensive end. Fisher (6-9, 2-2) also held an advantage at the charity stripe, shooting 81% from the line, while Alfred (7-7, 0-4) shot just 56%.