LANGHORNE, PA – Women's Basketball began conference play on Wednesday night, hosting Keystone College and falling narrowly, 54-52.
 
After a scramble for the lead to begin the game, junior forward Dezaray Bright (Keystone Heights, FL / Keystone Heights) scored the first bucket of the game on a pair of free throws almost four minutes into the action. Senior guard Kailee Sobrino (Vail, AZ / Empire) also got to the free throw line, knocking down both before hitting a three to put Cairn (1-7 / 0-1 UNITED EAST) ahead by six. The Giants took over on a pair of layups, cutting the deficit and taking a one-point lead while Sobrino made a layup, following a steal from freshman guard Lily Welsh (Mt. Laurel, NJ / King's Christian) to end the quarter ahead 9-8.
 
Sophomore forward Lexi Cramer (Greenwood, DE / Greenwood Mennonite) and Bright hit jumpers to open the second inning. Cramer continued to push the pace with Cramer banking a three as well as five points from junior forward Emily Brittin (Winslow, NJ / Pilgrim Academy) on a layup and going three of four on free throws to get the lead to eight. Keystone (1-8 / 1-0 UNITED EAST) responded in brief with a pair of threes as junior forward Audrey Elisondo (Bethesda, MD / James I. O'Neill) ended the half with a jump shot with Cairn ahead 23-18.
 
The Giants came out strong after the break, outscoring Cairn 20-7 in the frame as the Highlanders shot just 9% from the floor. With an eight-point lead entering the fourth, Keystone added three buckets early to grow the margin to fourteen. Brittin came out of a timeout with an and-one layup, completing the three-point-play with a layup by Bright to cut the lead to single-digits. Elisondo and Welsh each hit a pair of free throws as the Keystone lead was now down to five with three and change to play.
 
Following a Giants layup, Bright found an opening for the score and Brittin knocked down another pair from the charity stripe. Bright added another layup as the game was now 48-46 with just over a minute to play. Keystone made a fadeaway three from thirty feet to put them up five, adding a layup after a Cairn turnover to extend the lead back up to seven in what would be the dagger. The Highlanders had a little more fight in them though with freshman guard Olivia Logan (Cherry Hill, NJ / Camden County College) making a three and Brittin finishing a layup and getting fouled with tenths of a second left, ending the final score at 54-50.
 
Brittin led all scorers with 15 points, adding 13 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season. Bright had 13 points, a block, and five steals. Sobrino had nine points, adding five steals as well and three assists.
 
Both squads shot 30% and below from the field, making for plenty of fastbreak and second chance opportunities with Keystone winning the turnover battle 27-31.
 
Cairn will hit the road on Saturday to close 2025 with a matchup at Wilson College at 3:30 pm.