Hazleton, PA - Cairn University fell to the Nittany Lions of Penn State University Hazleton Monday night by a score of 63-47 to move to 1-1 on the season. PSU Hazleton remains undefeated on the year and moved to 4-0 with the win.
Esther Adams led the Highlanders in scoring with 19 points, while
Britney Jackson collected her second double-double with 11 points and 15 rebounds.
Emily Tambussi came down with 11 rebounds and
Amie Eppolito scored 10 points.
Cairn fell short from three-point range in the game - an area that helped the team in the win against Wilson College on Saturday. The Highlanders also committed 23 turnovers in the contest that led to 18 points scored by the Nittany Lions.
The game started out slow for both teams; neither could make a basket until 1:34 into the game when Penn State made a free throw for the first point. From there, PSU built a 13-7 lead until Cairn scored the next six points to tie at 13-13.
The teams matched each other point for point until the highlanders took their only lead of the game at 19-18 thanks to one of Eppolito's three pointers. The game went scoreless for the next five minutes but the Nittany Lions took control for the remainder of the first half.
The Highlanders couldn't put up any points in the final 10:25 of the half and saw the Nittany Lions leap out to a 30-19 advantage.
The next points for Cairn came from a Jackson layup at the 16:37 mark. The assist came from Adams, who went on to score 16 of her 19 total points throughout the second half including seven from the charity stripe.
PSU kept the game at arms-length from Cairn until the final horn sounded. Alexis Daly led the Nittany Lions in scoring with 19; she was followed by Stephanie Guevara with 13. The Nittany Lions were able to stay ahead in the game with their depth on the bench, scoring 15 points from non-starters.
The Highlanders will take the setback and travel to the Valley Forge Tip-Off Tournament this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. They will face off against Valley Forge on Thursday, Johnson University (Tenn.) on Friday, and Trinity Baptist College (Fla.) on Saturday.
