WASHINGTON – The Holy Cross women's basketball team suffered their first Patriot League loss of the season dropping a 52-39 decision to American Wednesday night at the Bender Arena.
Senior
Avery LaBarbera was the driving force for the Crusaders (8-6, 2-1 PL) in the setback. She tallied her fifth straight double-double with game-highs of 19 points and 13 rebounds. Two players reached double figures for the Eagles (9-4, 2-1 PL). Taylor Brown produced 12 points while Emily Fisher chipped in 10 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- With the team behind 6-2, senior Oluchi Ezemma came away with a theft which resulted in a sophomore Janelle Allen to Ezemma connection in the post to pull the squad within one possession. A Bailey Garbee layup pushed the hosts ahead two scores, 13-8, however, LaBarbera drained a three at the top of the point to drop the deficit to four at the end of the first.
- The Crusaders kept trading buckets with the Eagles and were deadlocked 17-17 through the first three minutes of the new period. American manufactured the next five points then Ezemma picked off a pass and scored in the post on the other end making it a 22-19 contest. From there, American went on a 6-2 mini spurt to open up a 28-21 margin until sophomore Cara McCormack buried a jumper from the left corner for the final points of the half.
- Both programs struggled with their shots in the third, but American expanded their lead to nine, 34-25 when Maddie Doring split a pair of freebies after the media timeout. Holy Cross only put home four points, a LaBarbera pull-up jumper to start the period and a McCormack reverse layup as the team trailed 37-27 at the end of three quarters.
- A Jade Edwards pull-up jumper expanded the margin to a high of 16, with 6:27 left to play. Holy Cross kept fighting coming within 10 thanks to a LaBarbera triple, but the lead was too much to overcome.
OUTSIDE THE BOX:
- LaBarbera paced the team in scoring and rebounding for the ninth time this season. Her double-double was her seventh of the campaign.
- American held Holy Cross to a season-low in scoring (39), field goal (28.6), and three-point (5.3) percentage.
UP NEXT:
- Holy Cross will begin a three game home stand this coming Saturday when they welcome conference foe Colgate to campus for a noon tip-off.
