Albany, NY — Russell Sage College women's basketball team hosted the Cardinals of St. John Fisher College in an Empire 98 contest in Kahl Gym on Sunday afternoon. Sage held a 30-29 lead at the break, but SJFC used a strong fourth quarter to overtake the Gators. SJFC posted the 74-67 road win to improve to 5-1 overall and 3-0 in the league. Sage drops to 1-2 overall and 1-2 in the conference.

Tied at 67-67, SJFC got a three-point basket from junior guard Miranda Lynch (Webster, NY/Webster Thomas) at 1:33 to take a 70-67 lead. With 36 seconds left, SJFC collected a layup from rookie guard Claire Kruszka (Lake View, NY/Frontier) on an inbound play pulling away from the Gators, 72-67. With the clock running down, Sage fouled Kruszka sending her to the free throw line where she made both shots to give the Cardinals a 74-67 lead with just 11 seconds left to play.  Sage's junior guard Meghan Murray (Watervliet, NY/Watervliet) had a layup attempt with just two seconds left but SJFC's junior Amy Gardner (Dryden, NY/Dryden) got the rebound to halt Sage's scoring for the game.

For the game, junior Kyra Oeffler (Green Island, NY/Heatly) had a double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds including 11 defensive boards. She added two blocks with two assists and a steal and made 11-of-13 free throws for the Gators. Senior forward Madasyn Bush (Pottersville, NY/North Warren Central) collected 14 points before fouling out. Rookie forward Savannah Sommer (Mohawk, NY/Central Valley Academy) added 12 points on the afternoon.

SJFC's Gardner finished with a game-best 20 points having made 9-of-14 shots from the floor with a pair of three's. Lynch added 15 points with three three-pointers. Sophomore guard Hannah Morse (Dundee, NY/Watkins Glen) chipped in with 13 points, while sophomore forward Kaitlyn Walker (Camillus, NY/West Genesee) added nine points with seven boards.

Sage is back in action on March 19 travelling to Nazareth College for a 7 p.m. Empire 8 road game.