ELMIRA, N.Y. – The Elmira College Soaring Eagles women's basketball team hosted the Cardinals of St. John Fisher University for an Empire 8 conference matchup inside Speidel Gymnasium on Friday evening. The Soaring Eagles fourth quarter comeback came up just short, falling to St. John Fisher, 68-60.
 
PLAY-BY-PLAY
Cardinals opened the scoring with a layup on their first possession. A three pointer from Lauren Miller got Elmira on the scoreboard. Miller cleared space for a right-side layup to extend the advantage. Haley Mosch received a pass under the basket from Sophia Ward and made a layup as the Soaring Eagles kept momentum. That basket capped off a 15-0 run for EC that put them up by 12. The Cardinals responded with a 9-0 run of their own. The Cardinals shot 20 percent from the field in the first quarter, as the Soaring Eagles defense led the way early. Elmira was up 16-14 after one quarter of play. St. John Fisher opened the second quarter with a deep two-point jumper to even up the score. Miller hit a three-pointer from the corner to break the tie. St. John Fisher answered again, this time with an 8-3 run. Miller split defenders, dropped in a floater, part of a ten-point first half for her. The Cardinals added four points before the half concluded, taking a 31-27 lead. Both teams were 2-12 from three-point range in the first half.

St. John Fisher opened the third quarter scoring with a layup part of a 6-0 run to go up by ten. Mosch hit a three pointer from the top of the arc to cut the deficit to five. St. John Fisher countered with a 9-2 scoring run. Miller hit three-pointers on back-to-back possessions, bringing her total to four, to stop the Cardinals momentum. The Cardinals outscored EC 17-13 in the third quarter and held a 48-40 advantage heading into the fourth. Emma Ryan and Amarionah Dixon made layups to start the scoring in the fourth for EC. A jumpshot from the free throw line from Dixon cut the deficit to three with five minutes left. Ryan followed up with a three-pointer that tied the game. The Cardinals scored on three straight possessions, but EC countered with a layup from Mosch. A pair of free throws by Ryan cut the Cardinals advantage to one with a little over a minute left. The Cardinals made their free throws and closed out the contest, seeing Elmira fall short, 68-60.

LEADERS
Offensively, Ryan led the way, recording a double-double with 17 points and ten rebounds. Dixon tallied a double-double as well, scoring 15 points and grabbing ten rebounds. Miller notched 16 points including four three-pointers.

UP NEXT
The Soaring Eagles will be back home for a conference matchup with the Golden Flyers of Nazareth University on Saturday, February 14^th. Tip-off is set for 2PM.