PITTSFORD, N.Y. – The No.1 seed St. John Fisher University women's basketball team hosted No. 2 Nazareth College, on Saturday, for an Empire 8 Championship Final matchup. A strong second quarter helped the Cardinals secure a 78-55 victory over the Golden Flyers. With this victory, Fisher advances to the NCAA Tournament.
 
The first quarter started out fast, with Kaitlyn Walker scoring a layup, 13 seconds in. Less than a minute later, Sidney Tomasso scored a jumper. Over the next couple of minutes, both Walker and Katie Moravec scored free-throws. Nazareth then scored five points, with Emilia Johnson scoring a jumper, the Cardinals leading 10-7. Shortly after, Claire Kruszka scored a layup, with the quarter ending with Presleigh Brunner scoring a jumper, Fisher leading 14-12. The second quarter started out just as fast as the first did, with Johnson scoring a layup. Shortly after, Walker scored two layups of her own. The two teams went back and forth, highlighted by Kruszka's good three-pointer. Shortly after, Brunner scored a jumper, with the half ending and the Cardinal's leading 35-23.
 
The Cardinal's first points of the second half came from a free-throw made by Walker. Shortly after, Kruszka made a three-pointer. Both teams then scored, followed by Ka. Moravec making a good jumper, the score 43-32. The quarter ended with Kruszka making two good free-throws, making the score 55-36. The final quarter began with Brunner making a layup. Nazareth responded with four points, followed by a seven-point Fisher run started by Kruszka's two free-throws. The teams spent the next couple minutes going back and forth, but the Cardinals walked away winning 78-55.
 
Leading for the Cardinals was Kruszka, scoring 20 points, nine assists, and six rebounds. She was honored with the Torchbearer Award after the game. Tomasso had a stellar game, scoring 18 points, eight rebounds, and shooting 7-for-9. Walker also scored 18 points, while collecting 11 rebounds and three assists. She was named Tournament MVP with her performance for the Cardinals. Brunner scored 12 points, and collected seven rebounds, and two assists.
 
The Cardinals will await their next opponent as the NCAA has their selection show on Monday, Feb. 27 at 2:30 p.m.
 
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