Box Score

IMMACULATA, Pa.- Following a tough five-point defeat to Cairn on Thursday night, the Mighty Macs (2-11, 2-3 CSAC) hosted Centenary (7-6, 3-2 CSAC) at Alumnae Hall on Saturday afternoon, and after taking a 30-28 lead into the locker room at halftime, the Mighty Macs were outscored 42-20 after the break en route to a 62-50 defeat.
 
Junior transfer Tamyra Laws led the team with 15 points off the bench and added eight rebounds.  Senior Reilly Larkin had a solid overall game with 13 points, eight boards, four assists, and five steals.  Sophomore Gina Cocci had 11 points and three assists, while sophomore Theresa Walsh led the squad with nine boards.  The Mighty Macs did a good job on the glass, outrebounding the Cyclones 39-35, and adding 18 offensive boards.
 
Out of the gates, Centenary controlled the game by scoring 14 of the first 20 points to take a 14-6 lead midway through the opening period.
 
IU hung in by scoring the next four on buckets by Cocci and Laws to trim the deficit to four.  It would get as low as two at 16-14 with 2:31 left in the period after a pair of free throws by Laws, but the Cyclones scored the next four to give them a 20-14 lead at the end of the first quarter.
 
The Macs dominated the second period, outscoring Centenary 16-8 to take a lead into the locker room.  In the first five minutes, the Macs were able to trim the deficit to two on three separate occasions after baskets by freshman Dia Veneziano (2 points, 2 boards), Larkin, and Walsh, but they finally broke through and tied the game at 26-26 after a pair of free throws from Larkin at the 3:18 mark.
 
The Mighty Macs took their first lead of the game on a basket by Larkin, and she would score again with 39 seconds left to send the Macs to halftime leading, 30-28.  Larkin scored all 10 of her first half points in the final seven minutes of the period.
 
The second half was a different story as the Mighty Macs struggled on the offensive end and managed just 20 points in the two periods.  The Cyclones scored the first four out of the break, but Larkin responded with a three pointer at the other end to give the Macs a 33-32 lead, their final lead of the game.
 
Centenary then went on a 7-0 run and held the Macs scoreless for nearly five minutes to take a 39-33 advantage.  Cocci hit a three to halt the run and trim the deficit to just three points, but Centenary scored the next five in a row to grow their lead to 44-36.  The Macs would enter the fourth trailing 46-38.
 
The Cyclones would put the game out of reach early in the period by getting their lead up to 14 points, the largest of the contest at 54-40.  The Mighty Macs never got closer than 12 the rest of the way and fell, 62-50.
 
The Mighty Macs will go out of conference play again on Monday night with a 7 p.m. trip to DeSales.