ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The Cedar Crest College basketball team was bested by Bryn Athyn College in a 70-59 final in United East Conference-Skye Division action on Saturday afternoon at Lees Gymnasium.

First-year Caylie Long (Powder Springs, Ga./Hillgrove) netted a season-high 19 points and shot 5-for-6 from the field to lead the Falcons. She also had seven rebounds, four assists, one steal, and a block. Junior Rachel Bilger (Philadelphia, Pa./Upper Dublin) added 12 points, two rebounds, and two assists. First-year Gwenyth Tsoukalas (North Port, Fla./North Port) turned in 10 points and one assist. Graduate student Nicole Sachman (Niles, Mich./Brandywine) recorded a near double-double of nine points, eight boards, three assists, and three steals.  

After the Lions got out to a 4-0 lead to start the contest, Cedar Crest went on a 9-0 run, finished off by a pair of free throws by Long with 4:57 to play in the opening quarter. The Falcons would stretch its advantage to as many as six, 18-12, following two free throws by Sachman. Bryn Athyn closed the frame with three straight points to cut the Cedar Crest margin to three, 18-15 at the end of the first quarter.

Neither team led by more than six in the second stanza, which ended with the Lions clinging to a four-point lead, 31-27. Bryn Athyn extended its margin in the third quarter with a 22-2 run to build a 53-29 advantage, capped off by a layup by junior Brittany Fils (Union, N.J.) with 2:04 left on the clock. The visitors pushed its margin to as many as 25, but Long knocked down a triple as time expired to make the score 55-34 with one quarter to play.

Just over halfway through the final frame, a triple by Tsoukalas trimmed the deficit to 14, 61-47. The Falcons made a late charge and cut the lead to 11 on two separate occasions in the late stages of the game as the contest ended with an 11-point margin, 70-59.

Junior Zhymani Smith (Hampton, Va.) paced Bryn Athyn with a game-high 33 points to go along with five rebounds, two assists, and four blocks.

Cedar Crest (0-4 overall, 0-2 United East-Skye Division) will return to the court at Saint Elizabeth University on Tuesday, December 5 at 6:00 p.m. Bryn Athyn (4-1 overall, 2-0 United East-Skye Division) will next play at home against Cairn University on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m.

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