WORCESTER, Mass
. – The Holy Cross women's basketball team suffered a 66-49 defeat to Patriot League opponent Bucknell Saturday afternoon at the Hart Center Arena.
The Crusaders (16-8, 10-3 PL) never led in the contest and trailed 12-0 early as they could not get their shots to fall shooting 28.3% (17-for-60) in the contest. Sophomore guard
Cara McCormack paced the home team with 11 points while senior
Avery LaBarbera scored 10. Senior
Oluchi Ezemma came down with a season-high 14 rebounds while sophomore
Janelle Allen scored nine points, grabbed six rebounds and blocked three shots.
For Bucknell (17-7, 8-5 PL), Taylor O'Brien poured in a contest-best 17 points with six boards and three steals. Carly Krsul came off the bench and shot 8-for-12 (66.7%) for 16 points and seven rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Bucknell started the game fast with a 12-0 run getting back to back left corner threes. LaBarbera connected on the Crusaders' first points, a three-pointer on the left wing with 4:18 left in the first. An Ezemma layup at the 2:21 mark put them down by two scores, 16-10 as they trailed 20-12 after one.
- Holy Cross struggled in the second quarter scoring only five points on 2-for-17 (11.8%) shooting as they were behind by 20, 37-17 at the intermission.
- In the third, Bucknell went on a 13-5 bust to take a 50-22 edge with 4:03 left in the period. Allen scored on an and1 during that stretch using an impressive post-spin on the lower left block. Trailing by 30, McCormack took a charge and on the ensuing possession drained a mid-range shot at the elbow while being fouled.
- In the fourth, the Crusaders started on a 9-2 burst to drop the deficit to 20, 57-37 as Allen banged home two layups and senior Madison Demski hit a wing three-ball. A LaBarbera three with 1:40 left pulled Holy Cross within 14, but the clock ran out.
OUTSIDE THE BOX:
- The Crusaders' 28.3% shooting efficiency was their lowest of the season.
- Holy Cross was outscored 40-to-16 in the paint by Bucknell.
UP NEXT:
- Holy Cross hits the road next Wednesday for an away game at Boston University with tip-off set for 6:00 p.m.
