READING, Pa. - The Albright women's basketball team ended the 2021 season on a high note as they defeated the Misericordia Cougars 68-57 in the MAC Crossover Challenge Thursday night at the Bollman Center.
 
The Lions will conclude the 2021 season 7-4 overall while the Cougars will finish 5-4.
 
 Junior Brady Wassel tallied her fourth double-double of the season with a season high 18 points shooting 8-of-13 (61.5%) from the field, 13 rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Classmate Maggie O'Hare lead the Lions in scoring on the night with 22 points shooting 5-of-9 (55.6%) from the field, a near perfect 4-of-5 (80%) from beyond the arc, and 8-of-10 (80%) from the free throw line while also grabbing six rebounds. Juniors Abby Gaffney and Gabby Boggs also reached double figures in scoring with 13 and 10 points, respectively.
 
 
Gaffney opened up the game scoring a layup for the Lions in the first possession. The two teams got off to a slow start scoring wise, with Misericordia tying the game up at 8-8 with a pull up jumper at the 2:13-mark. The Cougars took their first lead of the game with six second left in the quarter, bringing the score to 10-8 entering the second stanza. Two free throws by O'Hare would tie the game back up at 10-10 early in the second quarter, but the Cougars did not hang their heads on that, knocking down a three pointer not even ten seconds later to give Misericordia a three-point lead. Another bucket by Misericordia would bring the score to 15-10 at the 8:33-mark in the second quarter. The Lions responded with nine unanswered points sparked by a Wassel jumper and capped with a layup by Gaffney to put Albright up 19-15 with 5:51 left in the half. As the two teams battled back and forth, the Cougars closed out the quarter scoring the last basket to claim the lead 31-28 at the half.
 
 
Misericordia came out of the half with a three pointer to put the Cougars up six. A layup by Boggs and a jumper from Senior Allison Dienes cut the Lions deficit to 34-32 at the 7:15-mark in the third quarter. The Lions went on a 11-3 run to put them up 43-37 with less than two minutes in the quarter. The Cougars closed the quarter once again with a layup to cut their deficit to 45-41 entering the fourth quarter. The Lions outscored the Cougars 17-10 and held Misericordia to just 23.5% shooting from the field in the third quarter. Albright continued to dominate in the fourth quarter, opening the stanza with an 11-0 run to give the Lions their biggest lead of the game at 56-41 with 6:11 left to play. The Cougars tried to chip away at their deficit but ultimately could not overcome the Lions.
 
 
Albright shot 44.6% (25-of-56) from the field, 38.5% (5-of-13) from beyond the arc, and 68.4% (13-of-19) from the charity stripe. In turn, Misericordia shot 36.4% (24-of-66) from the field, 30.4% (7-of-23) from beyond the arc, and 33.3% (2-of-6) from the charity stripe. The Lions held a slight 38-36 advantage in the rebound battle.
 
Elizabeth Fasti and Alyssa Bondi of Misericordia both contributed 13 points for the team, while Nora Tracey and Meaghan McCaffrey pulled 12 and 11 rebounds, respectively.