WORCESTER, Mass. – Led by a balanced offensive attack, the Holy Cross women's basketball team rolled to their sixth straight win, a 66-50 decision against Patriot League foe Lafayette Saturday afternoon in the Hart Center Arena.
10 of 12 players who played scored for the Crusaders (14-3, 6-0 PL) and five produced eight points or more. Junior
Janelle Allen paced the offense with 11 points on 5-of-9 (55.6%) shooting. Classmate
Cara McCormack tallied 10 points going 4-of-6 (66.7%) from the floor. Sophomore
Lindsay Berger dropped nine points in 21 minutes while teammate
Callie Wright did not miss a shot from the floor or line en route to a personal-best eight markers. Freshmen
Simone Foreman (eight points, six rebounds) and Mary Elizabeth-Donnelly (six points, seven rebounds) filled the box score for Holy Cross.
For the Leopards (4-12, 1-5 PL), Abby Antognoli produced a game-best 15 points in 39 minutes of action. Makayla Andrews chipped in double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Holy Cross scored the opening four points of the contest then Lafayette countered with a 9-2 burst to lead 9-6 thanks to a Kylie Favours triple. Six straight from the hosts including a Berger second chance put back and a beautiful pick and roll Donnelly to Berger connection put Holy Cross ahead 12-9. Andrews leveled the score 12-12 for the guests, however, the Crusaders took a 17-12 lead into the second quarter.
- Another Andrews jumper brought the margin to three, 19-16 with 7:53 left. Wright responded boxing out the opposition for the offensive board and score. Foreman increased the lead to six, 24-18 driving through the right side of the lane. Sophomore Grace Munt expanded the Crusader margin to eight when she drove the baseline for the reverse layup. Holy Cross led 30-22 at the intermission.
- The Crusaders came out of the locker room notching nine straight markers getting a corner triple by McCormack and three post scores by Allen for the 39-22 edge. The score increased to 45-24 as the run improved to 15-2 thanks to two freebies by Berger. Junior Bronagh Power-Cassidy drilled a mid-range shot to move the margin back to 20+.
- Lafayette outscored the Crusaders 7-3 through the opening three minutes to bring their deficit to 14, 54-40. Holy Cross steadied the ship and won by 14.
OUTSIDE THE BOX:
- The Crusaders' 14-3 start through 17 games is their best start through 17 contests since 2001-02 when they went 12-5. Holy Cross has matched their 14-3 start to the 1996-97 season with the win Saturday.
- The six game winning streak is the longest for the team under the leadership of head coach Maureen Magarity. The last time Holy Cross won six straight games was from Nov. 8, 2013, to Dec. 4, 2013.
- Freshman Meg Cahalan matched her season and career-high with four points in only two minutes of action.
- The Crusader reserves outscored the Leopards 39-to-7.
- This was the fifth time this season Holy Cross has held an opponent under 30% shooting.
POSTGAME THOUGHTS:
UP NEXT:
- Holy Cross travels to Colgate on Wednesday, Jan. 18.
- Tip-off is scheduled for 11 a.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
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Facebook - Holy Cross Women's Basketball | Holy Cross Athletics
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