BALTIMORE, MD – The No. 5 seed Cairn University Women's Basketball team headed down to Baltimore, taking on the No. 1 seed Notre Dame of Maryland Gators in a United East Women's Basketball Divisional Semifinal round matchup. The Highlanders came up just short, 65-61 to the top team in the Skye Division.
 
No. 5 Cairn (16-11 /10-8 Skye Division) won the tip, taking a quick 6-2 lead, freshman forward Dezaray Bright (Keystone Heights, FL / Keystone Heights) getting the Highlanders on the board with a layup. The Gators responded, tying the game 6-6 about halfway through the period. Junior forward Taylor Hinson (Carney's Point, NJ / Collingswood) was found by freshman guard Makayla Raines (Jonesboro, GA / St. Mary's Academy for back-to-back pull up jump shots, grabbing the lead back for Cairn and extending it to four, ending the first quarter ahead 12-10.
 
No. 1 Notre Dame (20-6 / 16-2 Skye Division) would even things up to start the second quarter, then take the lead on a fast break layup. A pair of free throws and jumper put the Highlanders back in control. Raines and freshman guard Ella Quince (Morrisville, PA / Morrisville) each added a free throw to get themselves up 22-18. The Gators tied things up at 22-22 before Hinson took over again, finishing the half with another pair of jump shots to provide a 26-22 lead for Cairn heading into halftime.
 
Hinson would be right back at it in the third quarter, opening the frame with a layup. Freshman guard T'miya Bryant (Raleigh, NC / South Garner High School) would then steal the ball away from the Gators near the division line, assisting Quince on a fastbreak layup. Hinson found Bright for a midrange jumper in the paint, pushing the lead up to 32-24. As the Gators responded with a layup, Quince would be fouled on her drive to the basket, Hinson fouled on a layup, both of them knocking down their free throws. Notre Dame would mound a comeback late in the third quarter as they turned on the press, taking a 43-40 lead by way of a 13-3 run.
 
Cairn opened quarter three with a Raines free throw and Bright layup to cut the lead to two as Notre Dame found an open look for a layup. As the Gators looked to push the lead, Raines responded with a three pointer in transition, cutting the lead to one. Notre Dame went back to the well for another layup, the Highlanders came back with an and-one layup from Bright, who knocked down the layup to tie the game 49-49. The Gators would keep trying to run, this time stopped by Quince who knocked down a three. Hinson then took the lead, grabbing an offensive board and getting to the rim for a layup.
 
Notre Dame answered taking a 59-54 lead with just over two minutes to play. Quince and Bryant each scored to cut the lead to three with under one minute to play in regulation. The Gators got the ball back, using the clock to their advantage, grabbing an offensive rebound and put back layup to go up 63-58 with 24.8 to play. Quince responded with a triple, making it a two-point game with 15.6 at the last timeout. Notre Dame was put on the free throw line where they missed both but grabbed an offensive rebound, hitting both the second time around, putting the home team up 65-61. That would be all for the Highlanders as the Gators advanced by a final score of 65-61.
 
Hinson led the way one last time, scoring 23 points with 14 rebounds and three blocks. Quince added 19 points with a pair of three pointers and a career-high tying 9 steals. Bright grabbed 15 boards, scoring nine. As a team, the Highlanders shot 29.7% (22-74) from the field and 18.8% (3-16) from three.
 
The playoff journey comes to a close on the road. A new era of Cairn Women's Basketball has begun as Head Coach Allen Kuiper and his team now look ahead to 2024-25.