GWYNEDD VALLEY, Pa. – Despite a valiant second-half effort, Immaculata could not overcome its first-half deficit, falling to Gwynedd-Mercy College, 74-61, in a Pennsylvania Athletic Conference women's basketball game Monday evening.

The Griffins improve their mark to 16-4 overall and 11-0 in the league, while the Mighty Macs drop to 4-15 overall, 2-8 in the PAC.

Juniors Stephanie Stripe and Kasey Hicks led the Mighty Macs in the scoring column with 13 points apiece. Stripe added five rebounds, two assists and two steals. Hicks also led Immaculata with nine rebounds, four assists and recorded one blocked shot. Senior Nina Cammarano was the only other Mighty Mac in double-figures, chipping in 11 points.

The Mighty Macs trailed 41-26 at halftime, and the Griffins continued to extend their advantage during the first four minutes of the second half, going on a 14-5 run to begin the stanza. Gwynedd-Mercy's 55-31 lead at the 16:31 mark was the largest of the contest.

Immaculata still trailed by 22, 64-42, with 7:51 remaining in the game, when the Mighty Macs exploded on a 17-3 spurt, cutting the margin to eight (67-59) with 1:17 still to play. However, Gwynedd-Mercy was able to convert 5-of-6 free throws during the closing 1:10 of the game to secure the victory for the Griffins.

Immaculata was able to limit Gwynedd-Mercy to just one basket from the field during the contest's final seven minutes, a layup by Jackie Dooley with 48 seconds remaining.

Kristy Cramp led all scorers with 21 points, while Karen Tierney added 13 points and five rebounds for Gwynedd-Mercy. Dooley finished the game with 12 points. Beccie Strohecker led the Griffins on the glass with seven rebounds.

Immaculata will return to the confines of Alumnae Hall on Thursday, Feb. 7 when the Mighty Macs host visiting Cabrini College at 7 p.m.