THE BASICS:

• Score: Massachusetts 72; Holy Cross 61
• Records: Massachusetts (5-4); Holy Cross (2-8)
• Location: Amherst, Mass. (Mullins Center)
• Date: December 14, 2014
• The Lead: Kim Pierre-Louis and Cierra Dillard of Massachusetts scored 27 and 21 points, respectively, to help lead the Minutewomen to a 72-61 win over Holy Cross in non-conference women's basketball action on Sunday afternoon at the Mullins Center.  Holy Cross junior forward Raquel Scott (Ridgewood, N.J.) recorded her fifth double-double of the season with 25 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Crusaders.

TURNING POINT:

• With the Crusaders ahead 30-29 after the first half, the Minutewomen went on a 21-10 run over the first 10 minutes of the second half to earn the 50-40 advantage. They would not relinquish the lead for the remainder of the contest.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• UMass jumped out with the early 10-6 lead at the 13:32-mark of the first half, before the Crusaders countered with a 9-0 rally to gain the 15-10 advantage (11:11). Scott and junior guard Kate Gillespie (Washington, D.C.) both drained three-pointers to ignite the run.
• The Minutewomen responded and went on an 11-5 spurt to tie the game at 21-21 with 4:46 left in the first half. Holy Cross, however, outscored UMass 10-9 over the final minutes of the stanza to head into the locker room with the 30-29 lead. Gillespie, Scott and junior guard Lisa Mifsud (Erie, Pa.) all had three-pointers during the rally.
• UMass used a 21-10 rally over the first 10 minutes of the first half to gain the 50-40 lead. Holy Cross answered with a 13-9 run to make the score 59-53 with 4:27 left in the second half.
• The Minutewomen, however, embarked on a 9-2 surge to over the next 2:04 to grab its largest lead of the game, 68-55, at the 2:03-mark of the half. UMass would not let its advantage dip below nine points, as it would go on to claim the 72-61 victory.

INDIVIDUAL HIGHLIGHTS:

• Scott's double-double was the 24th of her career, as she now has scored 20 points in five games this season and 13 times as a Crusader.
• In addition to Scott, Gillespie recorded 12 points and four assists, while Mifsud tallied 11 points and a career-best nine assists.
• For UMass, Pierre-Louis notched a double-double with 27 points and 10 rebounds, while Dillard scored 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting to go along with six caroms.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:

• UMass shot 44.1 percent from the field (26-59), including a 15-of-27 clip from the floor in the second half (55.6%). Holy Cross connected on 34.4 percent of its shots (21-61).
• The Crusaders went 8-of-32 from behind the arc (25.0%), while the Minutewomen canned 3-of-7 from downtown (42.9%).
• Massachusetts outrebounded Holy Cross, 44-38, and outscored the Crusaders in the paint, 40-18. UMass scored 15 points off 16 Holy Cross turnovers, while the Crusaders tallied 11 points of 13 UMass miscues.
• UMass snapped the Crusaders' three-game winning streak in the series, but Holy Cross holds the all-time series lead at 11-10.

UP NEXT:

• Holy Cross returns to action on Monday, Dec. 22, when it hosts UMass Lowell at 11:15 a.m. at the Hart Center for its fourth annual "Get Fit with the Crusaders Game."