LANGHORNE, PA – The Cairn Women's Basketball team secured their first conference victory of the season, defeating Skye Division foe, Valley Forge, 86-41.
On the first conference win of the season, Head Coach Allen Kuiper remarked: "[I'm] proud of the women for their hard work up to this point. They have the potential to be a good basketball team. They have sacrificed and learned to compete. I believe that our recent run of results shot that our success is driven by 'team' and unity. Everyone has a hand in the action."
Cairn (5-1 / 1-0 United East Skye Division) got moving on a 7-0 run in the first five minutes of the quarter. Valley Forge (0-5 / 0-1 United East Skye Division) got on the board at the hallway point as the Highlanders found themselves in foul trouble, leading to 5 of the 7 Patriot first quarter points coming in free throws. A layup from junior forward Favor Okpali (Prince George's County, MD / Hagerstown Community College) in the closing seconds put Cairn ahead 13-7 as the first period came to a close.
The Highlander offense got ignited in the second quarter with nine unanswered points, pushing the lead to 15. Junior forward Taylor Hinson (Carney's Point, NJ / Collingswood HS) went on a 5-2 run by herself before freshman guard Makayla Raines (Jonesboro, GA / St. Mary's Academy) knocked down two buckets from behind the arc, separated by a triple from freshman guard Crystal Jones (Orlando, FL / Foundation Academy), assisted by Raines. Freshman forward Laryssa Robinson (Willingboro, NJ / Life Center Academy) closed the half with a fast break layup, putting Cairn up by 20 going into the halftime break, 36-16.
Out of the intermission, freshman forward Amalia Vamvakitis (Waterford, MI / Mount Dora Christian Academy) made an and-one layup with the free throw to put the lead back to 10. Vamvakitis added another layup and then assisted a freshman guard Kayden Jeselskis (Baltimore, MD / Rosedale Christian Academy) triple. Jeselskis would bury another three, leading the Highlanders to a 58-30 lead heading to the final frame. Cairn scored directly off of three forced turnovers on the Patriots to start the quarter, putting up six quick points. Jeselskis splashed three triples in-a-row to put the finishing touches on this divisional win.
Raines led the way with 17 points, 4 assists and 4 steals. Jeselskis was dangerous from deep, knocking down 5 triples on eight attempts. Hinson recorded her second double-double on the young season, scoring 14 and collecting 10 boards. Freshman forward Dezaray Bright (Keystone Heights, FL / Keystone Heights High School) was also a dominate force on the board, picking up 10 rebounds as well.
As a team, the Highlanders shot 42.9% (33-77) from the floor to the Patriots' 20.5% (9-44), going 37% from deep and 10-12 from the free throw line. Cairn had 42 points in the paint, in addition to ten threes, 33 points off of turnovers, and found a way to share the wealth, scoring 64 points off the bench.
The Highlanders head up north to take on the Defenders of Clarks Summit University on Saturday afternoon, live from Clarks Summit, PA at 1 p.m.