By: Patrick Louer
BROCKPORT, N.Y - After a half of action, the Brockport Golden Eagles women's basketball team trailed St. John Fisher by six. An offensive explosion helped Brockport tie things up at 50 after three quarters of action. However, the team couldn't get over the hump and fell 70-67 on their home floor for the first time this season on Senior Day.
Before tip-off, the Golden Eagle seniors were celebrated. These leaders pushed Brockport to its best start in program history and have been quintessential to Golden Eagle's success this year. Recognized were senior guards Anna Lee, Shannon Blankenship, Kaileigh Hunt, Cameron Tooley and Harmony Philo. Lee replaced freshman guard Peyton Maneri in the starting lineup on this special day.
"This team is incredible," Lee said. "We're hungry, we want to win. I couldn't ask for a better group to play with."
Brockport opened up the scoring with a second chance putback by Blakenship, followed by junior guard Stephanie Jean-Baptiste's back-to-back buckets. Jean-Baptiste didn't skip a beat coming off Friday's 85-72 win over Nazareth, where she eclipsed the 1,000-point milestone, helping Brockport get out to an early 7-2 lead. She finished with 12 points on the evening.
Putting a halt on Brockport's run was junior guard Presleigh Brunner. The Hamburg product knocked down a triple and a runner in the lane to put her over her season-scoring average (4.6) in the first quarter. She helped bring the Cardinals back and tie it up at 16 apiece after the first.
The Cardinals stayed hot into the second quarter thanks to reigning Empire 8 Player of the Year senior guard Sidney Tomasso. Tomasso was everywhere on the glass for Fisher, helping grab three of the team's eight offensive rebounds in the first half. The Cardinals capitalized, leading to nine second-chance points in the first half.
"It's just heart," Brockport head coach Corrine Jones said. "We got to go get the ball."
The Cardinals shared the ball well on the perimeter, leading to 11 first half assists. The Cardinals are one of four teams with an assist-to-turnover ratio over one (1.07). Tomasso also headlined the three-point attack for St. John Fisher, knocking down two first-half trey balls. She would go on to have four threes, a part of her 32-point career-high day. A strong second saw the Cardinals hold on to a 34-28 lead heading into halftime.
Coming into the third quarter, Brockport only had gotten five bench points and was in desperate need of a spark off their bench. Sophomore guard Mandy Brink came to the rescue. A timely three followed by a transition layup switched the momentum to Brockport's favor, forcing a St. John Fisher timeout.
"I came out and played my game, no matter the situation," Brink said. "I was just trusting the process."
Brink also provided unbelievable energy at the top of the Golden Eagle zone pressure. Brink got in the passing lanes alongside Maneri, creating 20 points in transition for Brockport in the second half and forcing four steals in the third quarter alone. Their efforts contributed to Brockport winning the third quarter 22-16 and tying things back up a 50 apiece. Brink finished the day with nine points, all in the third.
"I just said go get it, go get some buckets," Jones said. "She knows exactly what that means and she was able to rise to the challenge."
Into the fourth quarter, St. John Fisher continued to rely on their rebounding to extend possessions and dominate control of the game. Sidney Tomasso and senior guard Katie Moravec combined for 29 rebounds, helping the Cardinals outrebound the Golden Eagles 58-to-37.
Brockport never went away despite their losing efforts on the glass. The Golden Eagles came out hot, getting threes from Maneri and Jean-Baptiste early in the fourth. The tandem each had five fourth-quarter points. The Cardinals began over-contesting, which led to a wide open three-point hit from Tooley. She knocked down her lone three of the game when it mattered most, tying things up at 65 with 2:11 to go.
Brunner would have an answer of her own coming down the other end of the court. She hit her lone three of the second half with 1:41 to go to put Fisher up 68-65. Brunner finished with 18 points.
Lee quickly answered with a layup to cut the lead to one with just over a minute left. Trying to answer was Moravec, but she was cut off by Tooley. Moravec was called for the charge, and Brockport called a timeout with a chance to take the lead with 37 seconds to go.
Coach Jones drew up a play with Jean-Baptiste running off a double screen and getting the ball. She got to her spot in the mid-range off two from the right wing but couldn't knock it down. Brockport played the foul game, sending Moravec to the line. She would go one-for-two on that trip, one-for-four overall on the day. St. John Fisher shot 11-for-17 (64.7 percent), well below their season average (77 percent).
Brockport saw themselves down two with 18 seconds left. The Golden Eagles got a great look from Hunt with her back to the basket, but it was no good. Despite two late misses, Brockport got a late steal from Jean-Baptiste with just nine seconds to go. In transition, Brockport found Tooley leading the break, but she couldn't find paydirt on the try. The Cardinals would go on to knock down another free throw and win the game 70-67.
"We got awesome looks, we just didn't hit them," Jones said.
Brockport moved to 19-3 overall and 12-1 in conference play after the loss. They remain in first in the Empire 8.
As for St. John Fisher, the win improved its record to 17-5 and 12-1 in conference play. They sit in third behind Geneseo and Brockport in the Empire 8.
The Golden Eagles will try to bounce back next Friday at Alfred. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
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