Women's Basketball | 2/29/2020 9:19:05 PM
Top-seed St. John Fisher College captured the 2019-20 Empire 8 Women’s Basketball Championship with a 74-53 win over No. 2 seed The Sage Colleges on Saturday afternoon from Manning-Napier Varsity Gym on the campus of St. John Fisher. The Cardinals received an automatic berth into the 2020 NCAA Division III Women’s Basketball Championship, which begins on March 6-7.
With the win, Fisher, which has now won eight straight games, improved to 21-6 on the season while the Gators' year came to a close at 15-12. The Cardinals won their fifth Empire 8 Championship in program history and first since 2014-15.
Miranda Lynch was named the Championship's Most Valuable Player after the sophomore finished with 21 points, four rebounds, five assists and two steals in the title game.
Amy Gardner netted a game-high 27 points to go along with four helpers while
Ella Eckert added 11 points and six boards in all.
Mallory Wood chipped in with five points, seven rebounds and four dimes off the bench.
It was all Fisher from the opening whistle as Lynch moved the ball to Gardner who buried a 3-pointer as part of an 11-0 run over the first two minutes of play. Sage would call a timeout to try and cool Fisher's hot shooting, but the home team continued to up the tempo. Ahead 13-4 midway through the first, Fisher worked the ball inside and scored six quick points to open up a 15-point cushion.
Ahead 24-9 to begin the second period, the Cardinals would see their lead shrink to 12 after the Gators pounded the ball inside, but the basket did little to slow Fisher's momentum. Holding a double-digit lead, the Cardinals' offense roared back with an 18-4 run that featured four from downtown and 10 points from Lynch to open up a 42-16 edge.
The Gators countered with a modest 4-0 run of their own, but were unable to keep Fisher at bay as Gardner scored the final five points of the quarter including the team's ninth 3-pointer of the first half to send the Cardinals into the locker room with a 47-20 advantage.
Coming out of halftime, the lead would swell to as many as 36 points before the Gators closed out the third quarter with a 16-2 run to pull to within 63-41.
As the fourth quarter got underway, Sage would make it a 20-point affair, but the Cardinals pushed their lead back up to 27 after reeling off seven unanswered points. With just two minutes to go before the final horn sounded, Sage continued to play hard and closed out the game with five consecutive points, but the gap was too wide to overcome as the Cardinals hoisted their first conference crown since 2015.
As a team, Fisher was lights out from behind the arc as head coach
Melissa Kuberka's squad poured in 11 3-pointers in all. The Cardinals were 25-for-53 from the floor and converted 13-of-15 attempts from the free throw line. Defensively, Fisher forced Sage in to 22 turnovers and accounted for six steals and two blocked shots.
Megan Flynn led the Gators with 12 points, while Gessica Patregnani added 11 and Madasyn Bush tallied 10. The Gators advanced to the championship game after a thrilling 82-75 win over No. 3 seed Utica on Friday night behind 28 points and 17 boards from Flynn.
The Cardinals now wait for the release of the NCAA Tournament bracket to find out their destination and next. The selection show will air at 2:30 p.m. on Monday March 2 on
www.ncaa.com.
2020 Empire 8 Women's Basketball Championship Schedule
Friday, February 28 – Semifinals at St. John Fisher
No. 1 St. John Fisher 68, No. 4 Hartwick 50
No. 2 Sage 82, No. 3 Utica 75
Saturday, February 29 - Championship at St. John Fisher
No. 1 St. John Fisher 74, No. 2 Sage 53
2020 Empire 8 Women’s Basketball Championship Tournament Most Outstanding Player
Miranda Lynch, So., G, St. John Fisher
ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit
www.empire8.com.
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