Immaculata, PA - Cairn University's women's basketball team were defeated by host Immaculata University on Monday night, 66-34.

Box Score

Cairn's Hannah McCardle had a game-high, scoring 21 of the Highlanders 34 points on the night. McCardle went a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line and going 6-of-14 from the floor, including 2-of-5 3-point shooting. But it wasn't enough.

The Highlanders surprisingly took the lead with only 8 seconds into the game, 3-0, when McCardle hit the first of her two 3-pointers, but the lead lasted only about a minute. At 18:43, the Mighty Macs took a 4-3 lead and led for the rest of the night. For the opening 6 minutes, the game was pretty close. At the 14:24, Haley Weber scored her only basket of the night to make it an 8-6 game, with Cairn trailing by only two points. It would take little over 7 minutes before the Highlanders would put any more points up on the board. In that time span, the Mighty Macs went on a 12-0 run, opening up a 20-6 score.

Immaculata and Cairn traded scores over the next four minutes, leading to a 28-12 score with 3:57 left in the half. Immaculata would close out the first half with a 9-0 run, giving themselves a 37-12 halftime advantage.

The Highlanders struggled from the floor early, shooting only 4-of-20 in the opening 20 minutes, whereas the Mighty Macs were hitting nearly half their shots (15-of-32).

The second half saw an improvement in Cairn's marksmanship and a dip in Immaculata's, but it was too little, too late. Cairn shot 39% in the second half, compared to Immaculata's 36%. Thanks to the improved shooting from the Highlanders, the final 20 minutes saw a more even game, with Immaculata slighlty coming out on top 29-22. The final score finished 66-34.

The Mighty Macs had three players finish with more than 10 points, Sara Smith (18), Mackie Fitzgerald (15), and Chrissy Esbensen (11).

Cairn's Ruth Nelson tallied 7 points and 6 rebounds.

Cairn falls to 0-5, 0-2. Immaculata moves to 3-3, 2-0.

This Wednesday, the Highlanders are back on the road against Cedar Crest at 7pm.