WASHINGTON – The Holy Cross women's basketball team earned a 73-58 road victory against American in Patriot League action on Saturday, Feb. 29.

Senior Lauren Manis finished with 24 points and nine rebounds for the Crusaders (17-11, 10-7 Patriot League). Sophomore Avery LaBarbera chipped in 17 points and six assists, while senior Megan Swords was also in double figures with 14 points and six rebounds. Senior Madalyn Smith added in nine assists and sophomore Oluchi Ezemma chipped in eight points.

Kaitlyn Marenyi tallied 14 points to lead American (11-16, 7-10 Patriot League). Jade Edwards had 13 points and four steals, and Emily Fisher chipped in 12 points and a team-high six rebounds.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• With the game tied at 7-7 early, Holy Cross went on a 14-4 run, capped by a jumper from Swords and a layup by LaBarbera off a pair of dishes from Smith. American was able to hang around early in the second quarter, cutting within seven points several times, but Holy Cross built its lead to 13 points after back-to-back layups by Swords and LaBarbera with 2:22 to go in the half.
• Leading by 11 points with 1:25 to go in the third quarter, Holy Cross extended its lead to 16 after Swords had a layup and LaBarbera hit a three as time expired.
• Manis hit a three to give the Crusaders a 60-43 advantage with 9:08 left in the game. After a layup from Edwards, Manis had a pair of free throws and LaBarbera hit a 3-pointer to make it a 20-point game with 6:39 left.
• The Crusaders built their lead to 23 points, 68-45, after Manis converted on an and-one with 4:32 to go in the fourth quarter. American began to chip away at the advantage, rattling off 11 unanswered points to make it a 12-point game with 1:16 to go. The Eagles would not cut any closer, though, as Manis hit a jumper and a 3-point basket to put the game out of reach.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:

• Manis has reached double figures in 102 career games, more than any other women's basketball player in Holy Cross history. She now has 1,976 points in her career.
• This is the first time since 2015-16 that the Crusaders have recorded double-figure Patriot League wins.
• This is also the first time Holy Cross has swept American since 2017, and is the Crusaders' first win in Washington since that season.

UP NEXT:

• The Crusaders will host Loyola (Md.) in the teams' regular-season finale on Wednesday, March 4.
• Tipoff at the Hart Center is set for 7 p.m.