By: St. John Fisher Athletics
GRANTHAM, PA - The St. John Fisher College women's basketball team fell to Eastern Connecticut State by a score of 60-43 of in the first round of the NCAA Division III Championship at Messiah College's Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena.
The Cardinals end their season with a record of 21-7 while the Warriors advance to the second round of the tournament with a record of 24-4.
Julia Mertsock earned her seventh double-double of the season with team-highs of 14 points and 10 rebounds. Amy Gardner scored eight points and grabbed five rebounds. Mallory Wood posted seven points and seven rebounds. Harper Mead and Ella Eckert tallied two assists with Eckert also grabbing seven rebounds.
The first quarter was a tight one with neither team taking a lead larger than than three. Miranda Lynch forced a steal and Mertsock hit a long jumper to give Fisher its first lead of the night at 6-5.
Mertsock put herself at 3-for-3 on the day on a later possession where the sophomore set a screen and then went inside. Leah Koonmen then found the Castile native for a layup to make it 10-8 in favor of Fisher.
Ella Eckert provided some great defense on Eastern's top scorer in the second quarter with a block and then another stop to deny the Warrior. At the other end, Mertsock nailed the jumper to make it one-point game at 15-14.
After Eastern went on a run out the second quarter media timeout, the Cardinals followed it by scoring the final three points of the half to trail by six heading to the break.
The Warriors came out strong to start the second half, pushing their lead to as high as 16. The Cardinals responded with its best run of the game with seven-straight points that included a 3-pointer from the wing by Koonmen.
Gardner made the final basket of the third quarter to make it a 10-point game going to the fourth.
Fisher was never able to cut the deficit to single digits in the final frame as the Warriors had their highest scoring period in the fourth. In the final minutes, Gardner scored four points in a row and then forced a steal, however, a Fisher shot was blocked in the paint and Eastern pulled away with some late free throws.
The Cardinals out-rebounded their opponent, 46-32, that included 16 offensive boards. Fisher shot 80 percent from the free throw line but only got there 10 times throughout the game. Mertsock finished the season with scoring in double figures in seven of her last eight games.
Head Coach
Melissa Kuberka's team graduates two members in Alex Reigle and Abbie Tabone. Kuberka has led the Cardinals to a 61-21 record over her three seasons of leading the program. St. John Fisher won the 2019-20 Empire 8 Championship.