STAFF WRITER
KRISTI BRADLEY

The St. John Fisher women’s basketball team went into the JPMorgan Chase Tournament coming off three strong wins and feeling positive about what they could accomplish.  However, they came home disappointed. 

The first game saw Fisher take on the Keuka Storm and pull off a back-and-forth 52-51 win with a eight foot runner with four seconds left shot by senior Mary Francis.  Fisher had the lead for most of the game and it wasn’t until Keuka pulled ahead with 37 seconds to go after a three-pointer.  Ashley Dean helped regain the lead at 50-49 with two free throws with 27 seconds left, but Keuka again took control with 15 seconds remaining after converting two foul shots.

 On Fisher’s final possession, Francis, who was just 1-for-11 from the floor, took the ball at the top of the key, and drove to the basket and banked in the game-winning shot with four ticks left on the clock. Keuka’s last-second shot was launched from half-court and didn’t hit the rim.

`“Even though we won, the game didn't go the way we wanted it to,”  freshman Melissa Kanalley said, “but we stuck in there and kept hustling. Mary Francis had a super shot to win the game for us. We also had a lot of help from Ashley Napoleone's little brother. He has been our inspiration to never stop fighting. We even got arm bands and ribbons in memory of him.” 

The game against the Storm marked the third straight time the Cardinals have rallied from a double-digit deficit in the second half to pull out a victory.  Ashley Dean led the Cardinals with 16 points and seven rebounds and shot 6-for-6 from the foul line.  Allison Boehm finished with 14 points, seven rebounds, four assists and four steals, while Francis added seven points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals.

After the exciting win Fisher was matched up with SUNY Brockport.  Historically the team had a 41-2 record against the Golden Eagles.  Unfortunately the baskets didn’t drop and the points didn’t add up for the Cardinals like they had before. Fouls, missed buckets and turnovers proved to be deadly for the girls as Brockport went into halftime with the lead, 35-25.

The second half proved to be the same story and Brockport pulled out to a 65-38 lead with 8:00 left in the game.  Fisher battled back but came up short when the clock ran out and the scoreboard read 68-50 in favor of Brockport, leaving the Cardinals to face SUNY Geneseo in the third place game.

“Brockport had a 13-2 run on us after the half,” said coach Phil Kahler, who is now back full force with his team, “Brockport has a veteran team, they had the strong card in this one, killing us inside.  We’re young but we’re learning.”

Fisher’s Ashley Dean finished with eleven points, Allison Boehm contributed ten points, freshman Mary Kate Comfort with nine, Francis, Napoleone and freshman Shannon Nolan each had five.

 In the third place game against SUNY Geneseo (6-5) team, a familiar trend started to take place. “We started the game pretty well,” commented junior guard Ashley Napoleone, “our defense was our downfall.”  Defense and shooting.  The shots just didn’t go in with the Lady Cardinals shooting an uncharacteristic 22.2% from the floor.  Comparing that to Geneseo’s 51% shooting percentage, things just didn’t unfold as the girls had hoped.  Fisher dropped the non-conference game to the Knights by a final score of 73-41. Francis and Comfort led the team in scoring, combining for 18 points.

“All three games were a struggle for us, our defense wasn’t strong and our shooting percentages were very low. 

“We have a young team but we’ve worked hard in practice since the tournament and I think the kids are in high spirits and looking forward to winning when it matters in our conference match ups.”

The team split a pair of Empire 8 bouts last weekend. They defeated Hartwick College, 62-59 behind Dean’s 16 points, as Francis and Boehm each had 11. Boehm also had nine rebounds for Fisher, which used a late 11-0 run to earn the win. They lost to Utica 66-59.