By: St. John Fisher Athletics
ELMIRA, NY – The St. John Fisher College women's basketball team clinched a postseason berth on Sunday as the Cardinals made quick work of Elmira College, 76-47, in an Empire 8 showdown inside Speidel Gymnasium. The win, which marked Fisher's third in a row, pushed the Cardinals' record to 16-6 on the year and 9-2 in the Empire 8 standings while Elmira finished the week at 4-18 overall and 2-9 in the conference.
Miranda Lynch led the team with 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting to go along with seven rebounds and a pair of steals. Julia Mertsock added 10 points, six boards and four steals while Ella Eckert posted nine points and pulled down four rebounds in 19 minutes of play. Amy Gardner netted eight points in the win and Mallory Wood chipped in with eight points overall.
After gaining a 14-4 advantage through the first 10 minutes of play, the Cardinals would push their lead to 20 in the second period after orchestrating a 10-0 run bookended by a pair of old-fashioned 3-point plays to make it 35-15. As the second quarter continued, Elmira would pull to within 17 before a pair of free throws from Lauren Robbins staked the visitors to a 19-point cushion at the break.
It was all Fisher in the third quarter after head coach
Melissa Kuberka's team outscored the Soaring Eagles 27-11 to open up a 35-point margin with one quarter still to go.
The Cardinals' lead would balloon to as many as 39 points in the final frame before the horn sounded on the team's ninth conference win of the year.
Fisher, which will enter the week atop the conference standings, will close out the regular season with three straight home games beginning with a Valentine's Day showdown with The Sage Colleges inside Manning and Napier Varsity Gymnasium on Bobby Wanzer Court. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.