WORCESTER, Mass. – The Holy Cross women's basketball team won its third game in a row with a 68-42 victory over Merrimack on Saturday, Nov. 23.
Four players were in double figures for the Crusaders (3-1), led by sophomore guard
Avery LaBarbera, who had a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds, along with six assists and four steals. Senior forward
Lauren Manis had 15 points to go with 20 rebounds and five assists, and senior center
Megan Swords added in 17 points and eight rebounds. Junior guard
Jenay Faulkner added in 11 points.
Merrimack (3-3) was led by a 14-point performance from Kate Mager. Denia Davis-Stewart had nine points and five blocked shots.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- In a low-scoring first, the Crusaders trailed 6-4 early, thanks in part to four blocked shots in the first 5:15 by Davis-Stewart. A 3-pointer from senior guard Madalyn Smith put Holy Cross on top, and LaBarbera had a three followed by a jumper by Swords to push the Crusaders' advantage to 12-6.
- Merrimack was able to cut within two points by the end of the quarter, but the Crusaders began to build a comfortable lead in the second, as Swords had three straight field goals to push the advantage to 18-10. That lead grew to 10, 25-15, after Swords converted on an and-one with 4:05 to go in the half. Holy Cross held the Warriors to just five points in the quarter, pushing their advantage to 30-15 at the half after Manis converted on a layup in the final minute.
- The Crusaders opened the second half on an 11-2 run over the first five minutes of the third quarter. The Warriors were able to cut within 18 after a three by Mager; after senior guard Kathryn Pedi responded with a 3-pointer of her own, Holy Cross led by at least 20 points the rest of the way.
- Holy Cross' lead grew as high as 32 with 8:14 remaining after LaBarbera made a layup to push the Crusaders ahead 62-30. LaBarbera had eight points in the fourth quarter, including a three with 2:39 left for the final points of the evening.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
- The Crusaders have had at least four players in double figures in every game this season.
- Holy Cross last had two players record a double-double in the same game on Mar. 2, 2019 at Colgate, when Manis had 24 points and 13 rebounds and Swords had 10 points and 10 rebounds.
- This was the second double-double of LaBarbera's career; she previously had a double-double of 13 points and 13 rebounds on Dec. 5, 2018 against Hofstra.
- While the Crusaders actually scored a season-low 68 points, this was still their largest margin of victory since Nov. 18, 2017 when they beat Rider by a score of 83-56.
- Holy Cross has won 16 of its last 20 home games.
UP NEXT:
- Holy Cross resumes action with a matchup at Brown on Dec. 1 to kick off a four-game road stretch.
- Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. in Providence, R.I.
