WASHINGTON, D.C. – Led by juniors
Bronagh Power-Cassidy and
Janelle Allen, the Holy Cross women's basketball team picked up their third straight win, a 62-45 victory at American Thursday evening in Bender Arena.
Power-Cassidy scored a game-high 23 points shooting 7-of-11 (63.6%) from the floor and 5-of-8 (62.5%) from beyond the arc leading the Crusaders (11-3, 3-0 PL) offense. Allen feasted in the paint scoring 16 points and tallying 10 rebounds for her second career double-double. Freshman guard
Kaitlyn Flanagan had six of the Crusaders 15 assists while classmate
Simone Foreman chipped in a team-best two steals.
For the Eagles (3-11, 2-1 PL) Molly Lavin paced all players with 15 points in 23 minutes off the bench.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Holy Cross produced the opening seven points, Power-Cassidy went 1-of-2 at the line then sank a corner triple off a nifty feed by junior Cara McCormack. Allen went to work in the paint for the second chance bucket and McCormack split freebies. Riley DeRubbo stopped the run draining a mid-range pull up. The Crusader spurt expanded to 14-2 as they built an early 12 point margin via an Allen layup. American closed the stanza on a 9-2 burst getting two three pointers to trail 16-11 through one.
- The American run reached 11-2 to bring their deficit to one possession, 16-13. Another Allen post score and McCormack wing trifecta that rattled home pushed the score to 22-13. The opening half of runs continued as the Eagles dumped in 13 straight points to take their first lead at 26-22. The Crusaders halted the burst, but American led at the intermission 28-26.
- Holy Cross came out of the locker room strong on a 15-4 run on the strength of the three-pointer. McCormack hit the first three-ball and Power-Cassidy knocked down two straight as Holy Cross led by nine 41-32. The Crusaders had the lead 43-36 through three.
- In the fourth quarter, the Crusaders pulled away using a 16-2 burst to rebuild the multiple score lead. Allen secured an offensive board for the double-double effort and Power-Cassidy tallied an and1.
OUTSIDE THE BOX:
- Holy Cross has started 3-0 in league play for the second time in four seasons (2019-20) and for the 14th time overall.
- Power-Cassidy has gone 12-of-20 (60.0%) from three point range the last three games.
- 16 of Power-Cassidy's 23 points came in the second half.
- The Crusader defense locked down the Eagles in the second half holding them to 6-of-28 (21.4%) shooting. They outscored their counterparts 36-to-17 over the final 20 minutes.
- Allen matched a career-high with 10 rebounds.
- 22 of the Eagles' 28 points in the first half were scored by their bench. The American bench outscored the Crusader reserves 29-8.
POSTGAME THOUGHTS:
UP NEXT:
- Holy Cross travels to Baltimore to battle Loyola (Md.) on Sunday, Jan. 8.
- 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
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