(CHAMBERSBURG, Pa.) – The season came to a close for the Wilson women's basketball team as it fell to Cairn in the United East Skye Division First Round on Saturday afternoon. The No. 4 Phoenix were making their third consecutive postseason appearance and received a strong showing from
Jewels Torres (So., York, Pa. / West York), but the Blue and White couldn't stop a record-breaking performance by the No. 5 Highlanders' Makayla Raines.
The Basics
Score: No. 4 Wilson 74, No. 5 Cairn 91
Venue: Gannett Memorial Field House
Records: No. 4 Wilson 13-13, No. 5 Cairn 16-10
How It Happened
- An early 9-0 run by the Highlanders put the visitors in front 11-5 early, but Wilson was able to stick with Cairn with a pair of jumpers by Torres to stick within four. A 3-pointer by Raines gave Cairn a 20-11 lead late in the frame before Allie Cullison (Jr., Westminster, Pa. / Winters Mill) answered with a fastbreak layup and a trey of her own go get back within four. Cairn had the final say in the first, however, and went into the second up 23-16.
- In the second, the Phoenix did well to get to the free throw line with three trips in the first five minutes which translated into five points. Unfortunately, that's where the bulk of the offense came from as Wilson was limited to just one field goal in the frame. On the opposite side, Raines remained hot and the Highlanders also got some assistance from Ella Quince who scored eight points and had six rebounds in the second quarter alone as Cairn took a 47-25 lead into halftime.
- The Phoenix didn't go down quietly and made a valiant attempt to live up to their namesake in the second half. Wilson eventually cut the deficit down to 15 after Laela Robinson (So., Lancaster, Pa. / Conestoga Valley) drained a triple with 2:14 to go in the third. A Cullison layup later put the Blue and White within 13 with 30 seconds to go, but Raines added another make behind the arc to give Cairn a 66-50 lead headed to the fourth.
- Wilson remained in contention and got as close as 12 after free throws from Torres and Adrianna Stricek (So., Harrisburg, Pa. / Trinity), but Raines remained too strong and added 15 more points in the fourth alone to lead Cairn to the win.
Inside The Numbers
- Torres finished the game with a career-high 26 points with the bulk of those coming from the free throw line where she was 16-of-20. It's the third time in the last four games she has hit the 20-point plateau, and the fourth time this season. The 26 points are also one point shy of Stricek's 27 for the most in a single game this season.
- A late push by Stricek helped her get another double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds. It's her conference-best 15th of the season which puts her in a tie for 14th in Division III.
- Cullison also finished the day with a baker's dozen. It was her 12th game in double figures this season.
- The story of the game was play of Cairn's Raines who finished the game with 47 points, setting a new single-game program record for the Highlanders. It was the third-most points scored in a single game in Division III this season and tied for fifth in the entirety of the NCAA. She was 18-of-34 overall, 4-of-9 behind the arc, and 7-of-9 from the free throw line.
- The all-time series between Wilson and Cairn is deadlocked once again at 9-9. The teams have evenly split the last four games.
