Gwynedd Valley, PA – The Cairn women's basketball team fell into an early hole on Wednesday night and was unable to comeback, falling by a 65-37 final to the Gwynedd Mercy Griffins. EJ Hartzler led the Highlanders with eight points, while Payton Emerick paced Cairn with 10 rebounds.
 
Five minutes into the contest the Highlanders fell into an early 16-4 hole. By the end of the first quarter the Griffins had pushed their lead to 21 points at 29-8. Emerick had a hand in all eight points for the Highlanders, scoring four points and assisting on two other buckets. Madelyn Brodish and Kendra Stum put through the other buckets in the first 10 minutes for the Highlanders.
 
The Highlanders opened the second quarter on a 5-2 run thanks to a three from Hartzler and a jumper from Charlotte Camp to bring the deficit under 20 points. Two layups later the Griffins pushed their lead back north of 20 points and it would stay there the rest of the game.
 
After a jumper by Emerick and a pair of free throws from Victoria Stum brought the score to 39-19 with just over a minute remaining in the half, the Griffins put through a layup to end the half and hold a 41-19 lead heading into the break.
 
After the half, Gwynedd Mercy shut out the Highlanders with an 11-0 advantage in the third-quarter to take a commanding 52-19 lead into the fourth.
 
The Highlanders regained their composure in the fourth quarter, nearly doubling their point total with 18 points in the final 10 minutes. It was not enough as the Griffins came away with the 65-37 victory.
 
The loss drops the Highlanders to 7-11 overall and snaps a three-game winning streak. The Highlanders will next take the court on Wednesday when they host Marywood University at 1:00 p.m.