ALLENTOWN, Pa. --- The Cedar Crest Basketball squad had three Falcons finish with double figures in the scorer's column, but suffered a loss in the final seconds of a back-and-forth contest, 55-57 to Cairn University on Wednesday evening in Lees Gymnasium.
 
"This one hurts, it hurts bad," commented Head Coach Kristin Karat. "We are continuing to play great basketball and would love to be at full strength down the stretch, but my kids are stepping up against the top teams in our league."
 
The Cedar Crest College Athletic Department celebrated National Girls & Women in Sports Day during tonight's game with games in between the first and third quarters, as well as at halftime. At the conclusion of the game, all of the participants were able to meet the student-athletes of the get autographs on posters of the Falcons Basketball team.
 
"The energy that our fans brought tonight was amazing! I am so proud of how my team represented our institution for National Women and Girls in Sports Day," added Coach Karat. "The young girls, and boys, who came out tonight got to witness our team play at the highest level."
 
The Black and Yellow sit at 5-17 overall with a Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) record of 4-8. Cedar Crest started out hot, putting the Highlanders on their heels after a 12-5 lead at the end of the first. The second quarter saw the Falcons lead shrink, but maintain a 26-23 into the locker room. The game began to teeter in the third, as the Black and Yellow ended the period behind Cairn, 37-39. Back-and-forth throughout the final quarter, Cedar Crest would tie the game with 25 seconds left at 55-all. Cairn would work the ball around and get a basket with just seven ticks on the clock. The Falcons last-second shot went wide and put the final score of this battle at 55-57.
 
The leading-scorer in tonight's CSAC game was junior Mackenzie Borger (Kresgeville, Pa./Pleasant Valley), who scored 16 points to continue her double-digit scoring streak to eight consecutive games. Borger added a team-high five steals and five rebounds with an assist. Graduate student Meghan Gregory (Buckhorn, NM/Cliff ) tossed in 12 points to go with seven boards and four blocked shots, putting her season total at 52. Achieving a double-double tonight was junior Venus Cabrera (Reading,Pa./Berks Catholic), posting 12 rebounds and 10 points to go with a team-high five assists and a steal.
 
Sophomore Jada Garrett (Dallas, TX/Ranchview) put up seven points in the game, going along with her five boards and a steal, while freshman Amiyah Peters (Plainville, Conn./Plainville) hit two 3-pointers for her six points. Peters also grabbed three rebounds and an assist. Both, sophomore Khnaue Robinson (Newark, N.J./Great Oaks Legacy Charter) and freshman Tania Bryant (Willingboro, N.J./Doane Academy), contributed two points each. Robinson had two rebounds and a helper as Bryant brought down seven boards, an assist and a block.
 
Coach Karat concluded, "Even though we lost at the buzzer, I hope we inspired some little kids to pick up a ball and want to be like us some day."
 
The Falcons get ready for a three-game road trip, as they will travel to Hackettstown, New Jersey to go up against Centenary University on Saturday, February 9 for a 1:00 PM tip-off.