LANGHORNE, Pa. – The Cairn University women's basketball team won their first Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) contest of the 2022-23 season with a 64-60 comeback triumph at home against the University of Valley Forge on Tuesday evening.
"The team showed mental fortitude tonight." remarked Head Coach Allen Kuiper. "They understood that Basketball is a game of runs and we made our run when it mattered most. It helped that Taylor Hinson was world class tonight. Down seven in the fourth quarter, I asked the team to make more winning plays then the other team and I believe we did just that."
Cairn (3-10, 1-6 CSAC) stormed out of the gates, starting the game on a 13-4 run five minutes in. Valley Forge (2-8, 0-5 CSAC) answered with a 13-point run to end the frame and took a 17-13 lead at the end of one. The second stanza swung back-and-forth and the Highlanders led 30-28 with three minutes left in the half. The Patriots closed the quarter well once again, this time to the tune of an 11-2 run a held a 39-32 lead at intermission.
Valley Forge extended its lead up to 14 at its largest point (50-36) in the third period, but Cairn closed the deficit with a seven-point run of its own and trailed by seven (50-43) after three. The Patriots led by nine (55-46) at the 8:36 mark of the fourth, before the Highlanders rattled off a 13-2 run to re-take the lead at 59-57 with 4:19 to play.
Valley Forge tied the game off of a three-pointer with 46 seconds to play (60-60), but sophomore Tamia Warner (Ewing, NJ / Ewing HS) converted a pair of chances at the charity stripe to seal the win for Cairn.
Cairn shot 45.3% (24-53) from the field and held Valley Forge to 33.3% (21-63) shooting. The Highlanders assisted 18 of their 24 buckets and controlled the paint to a 34-18 advantage.
Sophomore Taylor Hinson (Carney's Point, NJ / Collingswood HS) put forth a performance to remember, scorching the nets to the tune of 35 points (the second-most points in a game in program history) on a 68% mark from the field. Hinson added eight rebounds on the glass. Warner followed with her fifth-straight double-double, contributing 14 points and snagging a team-high 10 boards. Warner finished 10-of-11 from the free throw line. Sophomore Kailee Sobrino (Tucson, AZ / Empire HS) dished out a game-high 10 assists (her third game with 10+ assists this season) to pair with seven points.
The Highlanders will be back on the hardwood on Saturday, January 14 when they look for their second-straight victory in a conference tilt with Cedar Crest College inside the Mason Activity Center at 3 p.m.