LANGHORNE, Pa.- The Immaculata women's basketball team (3-10, 2-3 CSAC) picked up a crucial road Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) victory on Tuesday night as they pulled away in the fourth quarter by outscoring Cairn (4-7, 1-4 CSAC), 22-11, on their way to a 70-58 victory over the Highlanders.
 
The Mighty Macs had a balanced attack as they had a season-high five double figure scorers, led by sophomore Annie Kohutka with 13 points.  Junior Amber Ballinger and freshman Natalie Ayoub had 12 points each, while freshman Theresa Kearney and junior Dia Veneziano had 10 points.
 
The win moves the Macs to 2-3 in the CSAC.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
-The game was tight early with both teams struggling to score, but the Highlanders held an 8-2 lead midway through the first
-The Macs ripped off eight of the next 10 to tie the game at 10-10 behind a three from Kearney, three points from Ayoub, and a layup from junior Bailey Krewson
-Cairn held a 16-15 lead with just over a minute remaining, but a free throw tied it and Ballinger buried a three-ball to put the Macs up 19-16 through one
-The Macs ran their lead up to four several times before an Ayoub lay-up made it 30-24 midway through the second, their largest lead to that point in the game
-The Immaculata lead stayed between three and six points the remainder of the half before a Cairn bucket with nine seconds left made it 38-37 at halftime
-The game remained close throughout the third quarter as the Mighty Macs increased their advantage to four points on three occasions and five points at 48-43 on an Ayoub free throw with 3:30 to go in the third, but Cairn had an answer every time, getting the IU lead down to one at 48-47 heading to the fourth
-Nursing a 50-49 lead with 9:26 to go in the game, the Macs finally went on a decisive 20-3 run to put the game away
-Veneziano hit a jumper and Kohutka buried a three to get the lead up to six points before Cairn netted their only field goal in the run to make it a four-point contest.  Veneziano then scored four in a row before Ballinger's third triple of the game made it 62-51 with 4:24 remaining
-Following a Cairn free throw, Ballinger and Krewson hit three pointers before Veneziano scored her seventh and eighth points of the run to put the Macs in front 70-52 on their way to victory
 
KEY TEAM STATS
-Cairn was 24-for-50 (48%) and the Macs were 25-for-62 (40.3%)
-The Macs held a huge advantage behind the arc as Cairn was 1-for-8 (12.5%) and the Macs were 8-for-23 (34.8%)
-IU was more effective from the line at 12-for-17 (70.6%) while Cairn struggled shooting 9-for-22 (40.9%)
-Each team had 30 rebounds apiece
-The Macs held the lead for nearly 32 of the 40 minutes, and Cairn held their last lead in the first quarter at 16-15
-The Macs turned it over a season-low 10 times while forcing 17
 
KEY PLAYER STATS
-IU Point Leaders: Kohutka 13, Ayoub 12, Ballinger 12, Kearney 10, Veneziano 10
-IU Rebound Leaders: Ayoub 9, Kohutka 6, Kearney 5
-IU Assist Leaders: Cocci 6, Kohutka/Kearney/Ballinger/Krewson 2
-Ballinger was 4-for-8 from three-point range to account for all 12 of her points
 
WHAT THEY SAID
-Head Coach Chrissy Esbensen said: "We've been looking for a more consistent effort for the full 40 minutes, and we were much more effective at that tonight, especially with the way we finished the game.  I was very pleased with the offensive balance and we took care of the ball really well with just 10 turnovers.  Hopefully this is a performance we can build on moving forward."
 
UP NEXT
The Mighty Macs stay on the road at Rosemont on Thursday at 6 p.m. looking for their second straight victory