The Misericordia women's basketball team hosted DeSales in the team's first conference match-up as part of the Middle Atlantic Conference Saturday. The Cougars' conference debut ended in a 58-49 loss to the Bulldogs.

 

The Cougars were able to keep it close in the first 20 minutes but were down 29-26 at the halftime buzzer. Lacey DeGraw led with 15 points in the first half. She played a large role in an early 8-0 run that brought the Cougars back from a 10-point deficit and later scored seven in the final five minutes of the half.

 

But the Bulldogs quieted DeGraw in the second half and held her to nine. No other Cougar would reach double digits in the loss.

 

The Bulldogs doubled their score in the second half with another 29 points, but the Cougars were getting rebounds. They totaled 33 defensive boards in the game.

 

Were it not for their 23 turnovers, the Cougars could have won the game. They out-shot the Bulldogs by five percentage points (34 to 29 percent) but committed nine more turnovers (23 to 14).

 

DeGraw finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds—team highs in both stats. Christine Marks and Courtney Sykes added six points, and Lindsey Sykes grabbed 10 boards.

 

Kim Rarick led the Bulldogs with 13 points, followed by LeighAnn Burke and Caitlin Millerwith 12 and 10, respectively. Miller led the defense with 10 rebounds.

 

The Cougars host conference rival King's Wednesday, Dec. 17, at 6:00 p.m.