PHOENIXVILLE, Pa. – The Cairn University women's basketball team lost, 63-60, on the road in a Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) bout against the University of Valley Forge on Saturday afternoon.
 
Cairn (8-15, 6-10 CSAC) controlled the momentum early, jetting out to a 12-2 lead before Valley Forge (6-13, 6-10 CSAC) closed the period on a 12-3 run and the Highlanders led 15-14 after one. The Patriots regained the lead on the final basket of the second quarter and took a 31-29 lead into intermission. Both clubs battled through an evenly-fought third quarter and were deadlocked at 47 a-piece after three.
 
In the fourth frame, both teams traded the lead back-and-forth and Valley Forge held its largest lead of the contest of four points (59-55) with 2:09 remaining. Cairn responded with a three-ball by freshman Kailee Sobrino (Vail, AZ / Empire HS) to trim the lead to one and grabbed the lead after two free throws from classmate Tamia Warner (Ewing, NJ / Ewing) with 1:20 to play (60-59). Needing a defensive stop to seal the win, the Highlanders tried to force a contested jumper, but Patriot senior Amaya Brown buried a three to give Valley Forge the lead and got a stop on the defensive end, leading to a Highlander foul to send Brown to the line with six seconds to play. Brown converted the first free throw (63-60) and clanked the second attempt of the iron to give the Highlanders an opportunity to tie the game in the final seconds. However, the Highlanders could go the length of the floor to get a shot off, granting Valley Forge the victory.
 
Cairn shot 37.5% (21-56) from the floor compared to a 31.3% (25-80) mark for the Patriots. Valley Forge dominated the glass (50-26) and narrowly edged the Highlanders in the assists department (16-14). Cairn shot a season-best 50% (7-14) from long range in the contest.
 
Cairn was led by senior Dakota Hitchner (Ocean City, NJ / Atlantic Christian) who poured in a game-high 22 points on 50% (8-16) shooting to go along with five assists. Hitchner was followed by Warner with 17 points and a team-high eight rebounds, while Sobrino added 12 points on four triples.
 
Cairn will be back in action on Wednesday, February 16 when it travels to La Plume to wrap up its season series with Keystone College at 6 p.m.