La Plume, Pa. – Misericordia University outscored host Keystone College 20-8 in the second quarter of Saturday afternoon's non-conference women's basketball game to pull away with a 74-46 victory.  The Cougars boost their record to 6-4 on the season while extending their winning streak to five games.  The Giants will head into 2018 with a 2-7 mark after suffering their fourth consecutive defeat.
 
Misericordia scored the first seven points of Saturday's contest and built a 12-4 advantage before Autum Kitajima (Williamsport, Pa./Wellsboro Area) connected on a three-pointer to cut Keystone's deficit to five points.  The Cougars answered with a trey of their own in the closing seconds of the first quarter to hold a 15-7 lead at the end of the period.
 
The visitors hit a field goal to opening the scoring in the second stanza before Sydney Craig (Waterbury, Conn./W.F. Kaynor Technical) converted from long range to make it a 17-10 game.  Misericordia countered by outscoring the hosts 18-5 over the final nine minutes of the period to hold a 35-15 lead at halftime.
 
The Giants opened the second half with a 7-2 burst, pulling to within 15 points on a Bre Moore (Charleston, W.Va./Pennwood) layup with 7:21 remaining in the third quarter, but the Cougars put the game out of reach by scoring eight of the next 10 points to go up 49-25. 
 
Misericordia led by as many as 29 points before taking a 55-30 lead into the final period and maintained a lead of 20 or more points the rest of the way after outscoring Keystone 19-16 in the fourth quarter.
 
Quintessa Zamolyi led the Cougars with 12 points while Japriya Carroll netted 10 points.  Paige Wampole pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds for the visitors, who held a 55-38 advantage on the glass for the game.
 
Misericordia shot 37 percent from the field for the game including a 23.1 percent effort from three-point land while going 73.7 percent from the free throw line.
 
Moore finished with a game-high 17 points for Keystone to go along with three assists while Samy Farah (Sterling, Va./Potomac Falls) netted eight points in the loss.  Maddy Moro (Danville, Pa./Danville Area) added nine boards, six points, three assists, and two steals while Kitajima chipped in with six points and a trio of helpers.
 
The Giants connected on 28.3 percent of their field goal attempts on the afternoon including a 27.8 percent showing from beyond the arc while going 63.6 percent from the line.
 
Keystone will resume Colonial States Athletic Conference play on Wednesday afternoon when it welcomes Cedar Crest College to the Gambal Athletic Center.  Opening tipoff between the Giants and Falcons is set for 2:00 p.m. in La Plume.