Langhorne, PA – The Highlanders hosted the Patriots of the University of Valley Forge on Thursday evening where the Patriots came away victorious, 54-40. Valley Forge's Jhanel Brown led all scorers with 28 points and 18 rebounds, going 13-19 from the floor.
 
Despite the extra height and ability of Brown down low, the two teams matched up well and it wasn't until the fourth quarter that Valley Forge pulled ahead. The Patriots scored 15 points to Cairn's four in the final stanza to take the win.
 
The Patriots played solid defense around the perimeter as well as in the post, which forced the Highlanders to take a lot of mid-range jump shots. As a result, Cairn was just 26.6% from the floor and only 1-5 from three-point range.
 
Aigner Bookard led the team with 12 points, followed by Payton Emerick with 11 points. Kendra Stum led the Highlanders in rebounding with nine, while putting up eight points. Amie Eppolito finished with five points.
 
Cairn fell behind in the first quarter, 9-2, but recovered and finished out the first quarter on a 6-1 run. The Highlanders tied the game at 10-10 and 12-12 in the second quarter but could not jump ahead of the Patriots. Cairn went into the locker room with a 24-21 deficit.
 
Aigner Bookard brought the Highlanders to within one point on two occasions in the third quarter after a layup and two free throws. However, the Patriots eventually kept the lead at three points by the end of the third quarter.
 
With the loss, Cairn dropped to 5-17 overall and with the win, Valley Forge improved to 11-9 on the season. The Highlanders will return to conference play this Saturday when they host Notre Dame of Maryland University at 1 p.m.