WORCESTER, Mass. – It was a historic afternoon at the Hart Center at the Luth Athletic Complex as five Holy Cross women's basketball jerseys were retired at halftime of a Patriot League contest between the Crusaders and Army West Point.
Lauren Maney George '96, Amy O'Brien Davagian '99, Sherry Levin '84, Kathleen Courtney MD '97 and the late Janet Hourihan Brooks '86 were honored in a pregame ceremony in front of former teammates, family members and Crusader fans in Blaney Gymnasium before the game, and officially had their jerseys retired at the intermission.
The Crusaders fell to Army by a score of 74-66. During the game, the Black Knights (8-12, 6-4 PL) outscored the Crusaders (16-5, 8-2 PL) 45 to 32 in the second half and took control of the contest with a 17-2 run in the third quarter turning a 10 point deficit into a five point lead going into the final frame.
Reese Ericson scored 18 points leading the way for Army while Sabria Hunter had a monster double-double effort scoring 17 points, securing 13 rebounds and blocking three shots.
Junior
Bronagh Power-Cassidy paced Holy Cross with 18 markers on 8-of-15 (53.3%) shooting. Sophomore
Lindsay Berger tallied 14 points and eight boards going 10-of-12 (83.3%) from the line.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Junior Cara McCormack put the Crusaders ahead 5-4 when she connected on a deep triple from the left wing. Army regained a four point lead on a Hunter lay in at the 3:08 mark. Holy Cross jumped back ahead 12-11 when freshman Kaitlyn Flanagan dished off a three quarters court pass on the break to Power-Cassidy for the easy left handed scoop. Holy Cross held a five point lead, but Hope Brown brought her team within three after one.
- Early in the second quarter, Army took a four point edge, 22-18 thanks to a 9-2 spurt. Holy Cross tied the game 26-26 as McCormack found Power-Cassidy on the right block with under three minutes to go. 45 seconds were left on the clock and the Crusaders led by five thanks to Power-Cassidy's bucket.
- In the third, the Crusaders held a 10 point, 43-33 lead as senior Addisyn Cross drained a triple from the top of the key. Army closed the stanza on a 17-2 run to take a five point, 50-45 advantage getting six points from Ericson.
- Two Flanagan free throws a couple of seconds into the fourth dropped the deficit to one, 50-49. Army reestablished a two possession lead when Ericson hit a jumper. A pair of Berger freebies made it a four point game with 5:42 left. Hunter iced the game with an and1 to make it 63-54 Black Knights with under four to play.
OUTSIDE THE BOX:
- Holy Cross fell for only the fourth time under head coach Maureen Magarity when leading at halftime (34-4 .895).
- The Crusaders shot 28.1% (9-of-32) from the field in the second half.
- Holy Cross has lost two straight contests for the first time this season.
POSTGAME THOUGHTS:
UP NEXT:
- The Crusaders will be back in action on Saturday, Feb. 4 when they travel to Navy.
- Tip-off is scheduled for 12:30 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
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