WORCESTER, Mass. – The Holy Cross women's basketball team trailed by 13 points with 4:07 left in the third quarter and mounted a furious comeback to defeat Patriot League opponent Lehigh 66-64 Wednesday evening in the Hart Center Arena.
The Crusaders (13-3, 5-0 PL) trailed by 13 twice. They outscored the Mountain Hawks (7-9, 3-2 PL) 22-to-9 in the fourth quarter and 30-15 over the final 14:07 of the game. Junior
Bronagh Power-Cassidy somehow found sophomore
Lindsay Berger for the game winning basket with 1:53 to go which gave the Crusaders their only lead.
Power-Cassidy came up huge on defense for Holy Cross blocking two shot attempts including four-time Patriot League Player of the Week, Frannie Hottinger under the rack with only seconds remaining. Berger iced the contest getting her hands into the passing lane for the win clinching steal.
Power-Cassidy scored a team-high 18 points for the Crusaders matching a personal-best with four blocked shots. Juniors
Janelle Allen and
Cara McCormack produced 10 points each while freshman
Kaitlyn Flanagan scored nine points and snared a career-high eight rebounds in 35 minutes of action.
Frannie Hottinger manufactured a match-best 23 points for Lehigh on 8-of-26 (30.8%) shooting. Hottinger was stuffed six times by the swarming Crusader defense. Ella Stemmer scored a career-high 22 points with a personal-best six three-pointers for Lehigh.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Lehigh went on a 15-3 game opening run getting a rare four point play by Kaylee Van Eps. The Mountain Hawks made six of their first seven shots (85.7%) while the Crusaders 1-for-10 (10%) to start. Holy Cross responded by holding the guests scoreless over the final 5:10 of the quarter. They pulled within four, 15-11 when Power-Cassidy knocked down a three.
- Eight straight by Lehigh to start the second rebuilt the 12 point edge, 23-11. An Allen layup underneath dropped the deficit to seven, 23-16. Stemmer's hot shooting continued as she drilled a couple of triples to add to the lead. Lehigh was in front 37-24 at the half.
- The Crusaders came out of the locker room on a 12-3 run to drop the margin to two possessions, 40-36. McCormack drove through traffic twice while Allen notched two baskets and Power-Cassidy took the rock to the rack from the top of the point. Nine straight by the Mountain Hawks regained the double-digit lead mid-way through the third, 49-36.
- In the fourth a 10-1 Crusader binge put them within two points, 56-54 with 7:03 left. Power-Cassidy splashed back-to-back treys while Flanagan cleaned up a miss for the second chance bucket. Stemmer and Hottinger regained the Mountain Hawks margin to five. From there the Crusader defense held them scoreless over the final 3:05 of the game. Senior Addisyn Cross drilled a massive three-ball and Flanagan leveled the score 64-64 before Power-Cassidy took over.
OUTSIDE THE BOX:
- Lehigh came into the game as the NCAA leader in free throw percentage at 80.8%. They shot 66.7% (10-of-15) from the line.
- Holy Cross outworked Lehigh in the post. The Crusaders outscored the Mountain Hawks 42-to-22 and outrebounded them 42-to-36.
- The Crusaders shot 55.3% (21-of-38) from the paint. The Mountain Hawks shot 37.9% (11-for-29) from the paint.
- This is the largest comeback victory for the Crusaders under the leadership of head coach Maureen Magarity. Holy Cross has four come from behind wins of seven or more points this season.
- Holy Cross is 5-0 in Patriot League play for the first time since 2004-05. The Crusaders have started 5-0 in league play six times.
POSTGAME THOUGHTS:
UP NEXT:
- Holy Cross plays host to Lafayette on Saturday, Jan. 14.
- Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.
- Season tickets and single-game tickets for the 2022-23 campaign are now on sale through the Holy Cross Ticket Office.
FOLLOW THE CRUSADERS
Be sure to follow the Holy Cross women's basketball team — and all things Crusader Athletics — on social media!
Twitter - @HCrossWBB | @goholycross
Instagram - @hcrosswbb | @goholycross
Facebook - Holy Cross Women's Basketball | Holy Cross Athletics
YouTube - GoHolyCross
