ROCHESTER, NY – A repeat was not in the cards this year, as St. John Fisher's hot shooting was too much for Hartwick in the Empire 8 Semifinals on Friday night. The Cardinals fired away at 46.2% from the field and 47.1% from three en route to a 68-50 win. Fisher, now 19-6, got some measure of revenge over 'Wick for last year's championship loss and advances to this year's title game tomorrow at 4 p.m. in their own Manning & Napier Gymnasium, while the Hawks end their year at 14-11.
St. John Fisher won the tip, but the Hawks forced a tie up in the paint and Molly Kirby (Selkirk, NY/Bethlehem) hit a jumper on the other end for the game's first points. The Cardinals went on a 10-2 run from there that was punctuated by a Harper Mead three for the 10-4 advantage. Maggie Kirby (Selkirk, NY/Bethlehem) answered at the other end with a nice drive and jumper, and Molly put in a three to make it a one-point game at 10-9 with 5:14 on the clock. The hosts took control after that, however, ending the quarter on an 11-3 run to grab a 22-12 lead after one.
Things mostly held steady for a low-scoring second quarter, with just 19 combined points between the two teams. Fisher scored the stanza's initial points on a Julia Mertsock lay-up and Mary Schoenherr (Unionville, CT/Farmington) responded on the other end with a contested, banked lay-up. Mead hit another three with 3:45 showing on the scoreboard to make it a 29-18 game, but Victoria Sacramone (Queens, NY/St. Mary's) sent in a low-arcing trey in response on the other end 25 seconds later. The half's final points came from Miranda Lynch, whose left-wing three with 1:29 to go gave her a game-high ten points and her team a 32-21 lead at the break. The Cardinals handily outshot the Hawks in the first half, 44.8% to 27.6%.
Giuliana Pritchard (Amsterdam, NY/Amsterdam) picked up her third foul on Fisher's first third-quarter possession, and Ella Eckert took advantage by hitting two from the free throw line. Almost two minutes of scoring followed, broken by a slick Schoenherr feed to Maggie Kirby who converted and was fouled (she missed the free throw). Mertsock and Eckert took turns assisting each other for the next two buckets and a 38-23 lead with 6:34 on the clock. Hartwick got the next five, though, via a Maggie Kirby three from Schoenherr and two Maggie free throws after Molly deflected an inbounds pass to her.
That was the closest they would be for the rest of the evening, as Fisher showed why they earned hosting rights over the remainder of the quarter, outscoring Hartwick 16-6. Leah Koonmen starred in the early stages of that run, scoring seven straight points with two free throws, a wing three, and a falling, left-handed bank lay-up. Kelly Pine (Hoosick Falls, NY/Hoosick Falls) stopped the bleeding with a three pointer as 2:40 showed on the clock, but a wide-open Lynch three under a minute later led the Cardinals to a 54-34 lead headed into the fourth.
St. John Fisher put to bed any thought of a Hartwick comeback to start the final quarter. They extended their lead all the way out to 24 on a Koonmen three at the six-minute mark, although the Hawks responded with the next two treys from Pritchard and Pine to make it 64-46. The margin stayed steady from there, and 'Wick seniors Rhiannon Groll (Red Bank, N.J./Boonton) and Kelsey Collins (Forestburgh, NY/Eldred Central) each entered the game with 2:53 to go. Both scored in their final game as a Hawk, Groll on a nice drive and Collins on a lay-up, before the buzzer sounded.
Maggie Kirby was the lone Hawk in double digits, finishing off her impressive sophomore campaign with 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting and four rebounds. Schoenherr contributed all around, with six points, seven rebounds, seven assists, a game-high five steals, and a block. She now has 341 assists for her career, which places her sixth on the program's all-time list was a season to go. Pine had eight points and eight rebounds, while Pritchard pitched in nine points.
Empire 8 First Teamer Eckert starred for St. John Fisher with a near triple-double. She put in 14 points, grabbed a season-high 11 rebounds, and sent passes out of the paint all night for eight assists. Mertsock matched her with 14 points and had 10 boards, also picking up three assists and three steals. Lynch registered 13 points and five rebounds, while Koonmen picked up 10 points, three rebounds, three assists, a block, and a steal off the bench.
As mentioned above, Fisher had the hot hand for the night, outshooting Hartwick 46.2% to 30.0% overall, 47.1% to 28.6% from three, and a perfect 100.0% (12-of-12) to 57.1% from the free throw line. They also won the rebounding battle handily, 44 to 28, and had an 11-5 advantage in second chance points despite just 10 offensive boards to 'Wick's 11. The Hawks won the turnover battle, giving the ball up just 10 times to Fisher's 16, and had a 13-5 lead in points off of turnovers as a result.
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