THE BASICS:

• Score: Holy Cross 78, UMass Lowell 63 
• Records: Holy Cross (3-8); UMass Lowell (5-6) 
• Location: Worcester, Mass. (Hart Center)
• The Lead: Holy Cross junior forward Raquel Scott (Ridgewood, N.J.) notched her sixth double-double of the season and the 25th of her career with game highs of 26 points and 10 rebounds to help lead the Crusaders to a 78-63 triumph over UMass Lowell in non-conference women's basketball action on Monday morning. The contest was the fourth annual "Get Fit with the Crusaders Game" as over 2,300 Worcester Public School students cheered on the Crusaders, and learned about fitness and eating healthy.

TURNING POINT:

• The Crusaders held the 64-62 edge with 4:30 left in regulation after leading by 13 points early in the second half. Holy Cross, however, finished the game on a 14-1 surge to earn the 15-point victory. Crusader junior guard Lisa Mifsud (Erie, Pa.) began the run with a three-pointer and led Holy Cross with five points during the stretch. UMass Lowell was 0-for-5 over the final four-plus minutes with two turnovers.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Holy Cross jumped out to the early 6-3 lead with three layups by Scott, but the River Hawks rallied with a 7-2 run to gain the 10-8 edge (15:00). UMass Lowell held the 12-11 lead (14:03), but Holy Cross pushed ahead with a 14-3 rally to go up 26-14 (8:27). Junior guard Kate Gillespie (Washington, D.C.) hit two-three pointers during the run.  
• The Crusaders increased their lead to its largest of the game (35-19) at the 4:40-mark of the first half, but the River Hawks ended the half on an 8-2 spurt, as Holy Cross went into the locker room with the 38-27 lead.
• Just over two minutes into the second half, Holy Cross held the 14-point, 46-32 lead (17:41). UMass Lowell, however, began to slowly chip away into the deficit.
• The River Hawks brought the margin to single-digits (50-41) with 14:38 left in the second, before they made it a one-possession game (60-57) at the 8:10 mark of the stanza. In all, the River Hawks went on a 25-14 run to make it a three-point game.
• The Crusaders countered with a pair of buckets by Scott and Mifsud, but five straight points by UMass Lowell made it a two-point game (64-62) at the 4:30-mark of the second half.
• Holy Cross, however, ended the game on a 14-1 surge to earn the 78-63 win. Mifsud led the Crusaders with five points during the run, as UMass Lowell was 0-for-5 over the final four minutes of the game.

INDIVIDUAL HIGHLIGHTS:

• Scott's double-double was her fifth straight, while it was her fourth consecutive game scoring over 25 points. She connected on 10-of-19 from the field and drained all six of her attempts from the free-throw line. She crossed the 800-point milestone during the game and now has 811 points in her career.
• Gillespie recorded 19 points on 7-of-15 shooing to go along with four three-pointers. She tallied all four treys in the first half with 14 total points in the stanza.
• Mifsud posted 14 points and a game-high seven assists, while freshman guard Katie Doherty (Holbrook, N.Y.) scored eight points and dished out four helpers. Freshman guard Infiniti Thomas-Waheed (Newton, Mass.) hauled in a career-high eight rebounds in the contest.
• For UMass Lowell, Jasmine McRoy (14), Brianna Rudolph (13), Lindsey Doucette (11) and Shannon Samuels (11) all recorded double-digit points.

TEAM STATISTICS:

• Holy Cross shot well from the field and connected on 29-of-61 (47.5%), while UMass Lowell was limited to 34.3 percent shooting from the floor (23-67).
• The River Hawks hit on 11-of-32 attempts from behind the arc (34.3%), while Holy Cross canned 33.3 percent from downtown (8-24). The Crusaders drained 80.0 percent from the charity stripe (12-15).
• Holy Cross held the advantages in rebounding (41-37), assists (19-17), points in the paint (38-18) and second chance points (17-6).

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• The official attendance of 2,824 was the most for a women's basketball home game since the all-time record of 4,000 was set on Feb. 11, 2006 versus Bucknell.
• Holy Cross is now 6-2 all-time against UMass Lowell and is now on a six-game winning streak versus the River Hawks. The Crusaders are 3-1 in games played at the Hart Center versus UMass Lowell.

UP NEXT:

• Holy Cross returns to action on Sunday and Monday, Dec. 28-29, when it travels to Stony Brook, N.Y. to compete in the Seawolves Invitational. On Sunday, the Crusaders will take on Norfolk State, while on Monday they will play Western Michigan. Both games tipoff at 12:00 p.m.

BE PART OF THE ACTION:

• To purchase single game tickets for the 2014-2015 Holy Cross women's basketball season, visit GoHolyCross.com/Tickets or call the ticket office at (508) 793-2573.

STAY CONNECTED:

• There are numerous ways to keep connected with the Holy Cross women's basketball team. You can follow the team on Twitter and Facebook as well as on Instagram.
• You can also get the latest news and results on the team sent directly to your e-mail. To sign up for e-mail alerts go here: http://www.goholycross.com/list-signup.