Score: St. John Fisher College 82, Elmira College 60
Records: St. John Fisher (19-3, 12-1 E8), Elmira (7-16, 4-10 E8)
Location: Manning and Napier Varsity Gym – Rochester, NY

Rochester, NY -- The Elmira College women's basketball team was defeated 82-60 by St. John Fisher College on the road Friday night.

The Soaring Eagles held their only lead of the game, 4-3, early in the first quarter, scoring four unanswered points on a Danielle Cleary '18 three-pointer and a made free throw from Rachel Vespucci '19. From there, the Cardinals used a 19-2 run to close the opening quarter with a 16-point lead.

Fisher, who is ranked fifth in the East Region in the first edition of the NCAA Division III regional rankings, led by 21 at the half and maintained a 20-plus point lead throughout the second half. Elmira outscored the Cardinals in the fourth quarter, 16-14, with five points from Lindsey Heaton '19 and four from Jessica Brooks '16 in the final period.

Turning Point
In the early moments of the first quarter, it appeared the Soaring Eagles would go blow-for-blow with the Cardinals, as Cleary answered an Emily Piacentini trey with one of her own. While both teams went scoreless over the next three minutes, Vespucci was awarded three free throws after being fouled by Fisher's Jessica Rhone. Vespucci made one foul shot to take the lead, 4-3, but the Cardinals wiped away any hope of an Elmira upset with a 14-0 run to take an insurmountable lead.

Inside the Box

• Elmira finished with a 44.0 field-goal percentage (22-for-50) and a 40.0 three-point field-goal percentage (4-for-10).
• St. John Fisher shot 50.8-percent from the field (31-for-61) and 36.8-percent (7-for-19) from beyond the arc.
• EC was out-rebounded 34-to-30.
• The Cardinals dished out 18 assists, while Elmira recorded only seven.
• Heaton led EC with 15 points off of 5-for-9 shooting. She was light-out from deep, shooting 3-for-4 from three-point range.
• Emily Green '18 scored 12 points and was an efficient 5-for-7 from the floor.
• Meghan Loya '16 finished with 11 points and was tied with Heaton for the team lead with two steals.
• Vespucci led EC with seven rebounds.
• Four Cardinals scored double-digit points, led by Mary Kate Cusack with a game-high 18. Cusack also registered five steals and three assists.

News and Notes

• With the win, St. John Fisher earned a sweep of the two-game season series.
• Heaton's three made treys marked a career high, while she scored double figures for the third time in the last five games.
• Green's 71.4 field-goal percentage is a season high. She also tallied double-digit points in back-to-back games for the first time this season.
• Vespucci's seven boards are one shy of tying her season high.
• Cleary fouled out for the first time this season after playing only 17 minutes.
• The Elmira offense recorded a field-goal percentage above 40.0 in back-to-back games for the first time in 2015-16.

Up Next
The Elmira women will take on Nazareth College on Saturday, February 13th, at 4:00 p.m. to conclude EC's weekend of back-to-back games in Rochester.