The Holy Cross women's basketball team looks to get back into the win column during a rematch of the 2023 Patriot League Championship game on Monday, Jan. 29 against Turnpike Trophy rival Boston University. The contest will be broadcast nationally on CBS Sports Network. Jason Knapp (play-by-play) and Leah Secondo (analyst) will be on the call.

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT HOLY CROSS (13-6, 7-1 PL): 

• The Crusaders nine game winning streak was snapped on Saturday following a 70-60 setback to league opponent Lehigh. Four players reached double figures for the Crusaders including sophomore guard Kaitlyn Flanagan who notched a team-best 13 points with three assists and a steal in the defeat.
• The Crusaders thrive playing in the Hart Center Arena recording a 63-20 (.759) record over their last 83 games. They have started 9-0 at home which is their best start since beginning the season 12-0 at home during the 2001-02 campaign. In 2023-24, the Crusaders have a +17.4 scoring margin in the Hart Center and are holding opponents to an average of 47.3 points per game.
• Holy Cross boasts one of the top defensive units in the country. The Crusaders rank fourth in the nation in scoring defense (52.6), fifth in field goal percentage defense (34.1), seventh in three-point percentage defense (24.9), and 13th in defensive rebounds per game (30.0) all are tops in the Patriot League.
• Per SportsReference, Holy Cross has six of the top-seven defenders in the Patriot League via defensive rating, sophomore Simone Foreman (1st, 73.6), junior Lindsay Berger (2nd, 74.7), senior Janelle Allen (3rd, 80.9), senior Bronagh Power-Cassidy 4th, 81.6), Flanagan (6th, 82.2), and senior Cara McCormack (7th, 83.7). Defensive rating or defensive efficiency is a statistic used in basketball to measure an individual player's efficiency at preventing the other team from scoring points.
• As a team in eight conference contests Holy Cross is atop the Patriot League rankings in scoring offense (68.8), scoring defense (55.0), scoring margin (13.8), rebounds per game (48.8), defensive rebounds per game (27.4), rebound margin (6.9), turnovers per game (11.5), and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.38).

SCOUTING THE TERRIERS (13-6, 4-4 PL): 

• BU picked up a 51-39 victory at home against Lafayette on Saturday. Caitlin Weimar had a monster game scoring a game-high 25 points to go with 12 boards, a career-high seven blocks and personal-best four steals.
• Weimar was voted the 2023-24 Patriot League Preseason Player and Defensive Player of the Year. The three-time league Player of the Week is the conference leader in scoring (19.1), rebounding (10.9), blocks per game (2.4), blocks (45), and is second in field goal percentage (53.4 percent) and minutes per game (35.4). Weimar has double-double doubled 14 times which ranks fourth in the NCAA.
• The Terriers' Audrey Ericksen was named the Patriot League Rookie of the Week last Monday (Jan. 22). Ericksen averaged 14.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per game on 69.2 percent (9-of-13) shooting. It was the second top rookie honor this season for the Terriers.
• BU struggles on the offensive boards as they rank 335th out of 348 teams in the NCAA in offensive rebounds per game (8.1).

LAST TIME THEY MET: 

• Holy Cross is 22-14 (.611) in the series against BU which began in 1975. The Crusaders are 11-6 at home against the Terriers.
• In their last meeting on March 12, 2023 the Crusaders captured their 12th Patriot League Tournament Championship beating the Terriers 66-61. Bronagh Power-Cassidy scored a game-high 21 points with five rebound and five assists en route to Championship MVP honors.

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