LANGHORNE, PA—Highlanders hosted the Nittany Lions of Penn State Hazleton on Friday. A close contest ended with a 63-54 loss for the Highlanders 

 Junior Forward Dezaray Bright (Keystone Heights, FL / Keystone Heights) got the scoring started with a two-point jumper in the paint. Fifth year guard Kailee Sobrino (Vail, AZ Empire) followed up with a three-pointer and a layup as Cairn (0-3, United East) took a solid lead. Penn State Hazleton (2-1, PSUAC) looked to crawl back as they closed the lead to only a point, 9-8. Junior Forward Laryssa Robinson said no and gave the Highlanders momentum again after draining both free throws and then following up with a layup. The first quarter ended 13-8 in Cairn's favor. 

The second quarter started with freshman guard Lily Welsh (Mount Laurel, NJ / King's Christian) draining a free throw to give Cairn momentum as Sobrino sunk a three to give Cairn a 17-10 lead. Both teams exchanged back and forth as the score developed into a 19-16 lead for Cairn before Sobrino sunk another three. Hazleton found their footing and pushed for the comeback, getting basket after basket until the score was tied at 23 a-piece. Sobrino took the lead back for Cairn with the final 4 points of the half to make it 29-25. 

After the break, Bright immediately got the scoring going with a mid-range jumper, before Hazleton was able to take the momentum to close the lead to only two points. Jumpers from Robinson and junior forward Emily Brittin (Winslow, NJ / Pilgrim Academy) gave Cairn a bigger lead before Hazleton stormed ahead and took the lead for the first time since the middle of the 2nd quarter. Bright rallied Cairn back with 2 layups and a free throw before Brittin secured the lead back to end the half with a one-point lead. 

The start of the fourth was all Nittany lions as they went on a 9-2 run. Brittin got a layup followed by a three from Robinson to give Cairn hope as it neared the end of the game. Cairn's efforts were not enough as Hazleton drained free throw after free throw and shut out Cairn in the final 2 minutes of the game. Hazleton took the win 63-54. 

Sobrino lead the team in points with 19 as 12 of them were from behind the arch. Brittin put on a defensive masterclass with 9 rebounds and 4 steals. Bright managed to go 7-11 with 15 points on the night. 

The Highlanders will remain at home in their next matchup of the season as they take on Trinity Washington on November 17th at 7pm.