WORCESTER, Mass. – Holy Cross senior Avery LaBarbera posted a monster stat line with 30 points and a career-high 17 rebounds as the Crusaders defeated the defending Patriot League tournament champions Lehigh 64-53 Saturday afternoon at the Hart Center Arena.

LaBarbera recorded the second 30-point game in her collegiate career matching the personal-best 30 markers she dropped as a freshman versus Brown on November 18, 2018. The double-double was her fourth straight, sixth of the season and ninth in her career.

Classmate Oluchi Ezemma also double-doubled in the win for Holy Cross (8-5, 2-0 PL). She recorded 11 points and 10 rebounds -  five offensive for her fifth career double-double. Emma Grothaus racked up a team-best 15 points and seven rebounds in the setback for collegeinsider.com mid-major no. 22 Lehigh (10-4, 2-1 PL).
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Holy Cross began the game on a 16-5 spurt to open up an 11 point edge. From there Lehigh outscored the Crusaders 13-to-5 to pull within three, 21-18 in the second quarter. Junior Addisyn Cross stopped the scoring binge using a nifty spin move to the rack for two. A Maddie Albrecht triple temporarily tied the game at 23 all, but six consecutive from the home team capped off by a LaBarbera three put them ahead 29-23 with 5:20 left. Holy Cross could only muster two more points over the final half of the quarter to head into the intermission down one, 32-31.
• LaBarbera came out of the locker room on fire scoring 14 points in the period helping Holy Cross to a 15-3 run which turned a three point deficit into a nine point, 50-41 lead after a senior Madison Demski second-chance layup. A Meghan O'Brien trifecta brought it to a two possession game, but the Crusaders regained the multiple possession edge at 52-45 after three quarter.
• In the fourth, the closest Lehigh would come would be four points, 53-49 via two freebies from Clair Steele. From there Holy Cross closed out their counterparts out producing them 11-4 to wrap up the contest.

OUTSIDE THE BOX:

• LaBarbera was two rebounds shy of a double-double in the first half.
• Holy Cross held Lehigh below their scoring average of 75.4 points per game and forced them into their lowest scoring output of the season (53).
• The Crusaders are 8-1 this season when their opponent scores less than 60 points.
• Sophomore Janelle Allen earned the start, played 16 minutes and was a contest best +23 when she was on the court.
• LaBarbera has made 25 consecutive free throws dating back to November 28, 2021 at Bryant.

UP NEXT:

• The Crusaders travel to Washington, D.C. for a 6:00 p.m. showdown on Wednesday, January 12th against American.