Rochester, NY – A five minute dry spell from the end of the third quarter to the beginning of the fourth doomed Nazareth Saturday, as it fell 68-57 to St. John Fisher College in the Battle of the Beaks.  Nazareth led 41-40 with 3:31 left in the third, before getting outscored 28-17 over the final 13:31 of the game.

Nazareth is now on the outside looking in for the Empire 8 tournament, sitting at 12-12 overall and 8-7 in conference play – the Golden Flyers travel to Alfred on Tuesday in their final regular season contest.  Stevens, who defeated Houghton Saturday night, now sits in a tie for third place with the Highlanders at 8-6.  Stevens has Elmira and Utica left on the schedule, while Houghton has Hartwick and Elmira remaining. 

As part of the Battle of the Beaks, Nazareth presented a check to the Golisano Children's Hospital Music Therapy program at halftime for $6,310.  The money was raised through t-shirt and ticket sales, along with 50-50 raffle.

It was a tightly contested first half, despite Fisher holding a large edge on the glass, 29-16.  Fisher's largest lead was six.

Kristen Simmons, who had eight points in the half on 3-for-3 from the field, gave Nazareth a brief lead at 23-22.

Fisher led 30-25 at the break.

Simmons connected on her third 3-pointer of the game to give Nazareth a 41-40 lead with 3:31 left in the third quarter before the Golden Flyers went cold.  She ended the game with a career-high 11 points.

When Nazareth hit its next bucket, an Isabella Gjonaj layup with 7:58 to play, the Golden Flyers trailed 52-43. 

The closest Nazareth would come down the stretch was eight, 62-54, on a Samantha Peebles layup with 2:15 to play.  She finished with 12 points, six rebounds and tied a career-high with eight assists on Senior Day.

Rachel Benedict was solid all game, scoring 23 points (10-for-19) and grabbing 14 rebounds for the double-double. 

Senior Lucille Dellos came in late to drain a 3-pointer for the Golden Flyers.