KINGSTON, R.I. – The Holy Cross women's basketball team continued on the road, traveling to Rhode Island for a midweek non-conference game at the Thomas M. Ryan Center. A strong 25-point effort from senior captain Meg Cahalan fell short with the Rams taking the 73-59 win over the Crusaders.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• A very close opening quarter came to a close with the Crusaders just ahead 15-14, thanks to a three-point buzzer beater hit by junior guard Kendall Eddy (7 pts., 1 ast.). Cahalan picked up four points for the Crusaders while Rhode Island had three players put up four after 10 minutes of play.
• The Rams went on a 8-0 run to take the lead the second quarter before junior guard Janie Bachmann finally broke through for the Crusaders. Bachmann dropped six of her eight points in the last five minutes of the half but Rhode Island continued on the attack to end the second with the 31-23 advantage.
• At half, Rhode Island's Palmire Mbu led the team with seven points, four rebounds and one block. The Rams also had strong performances from Brooklyn Gray (6 pts., 2 ast., 1 stl.) and Albina Syla (6 pts., 7 reb., 1 ast.) to add to Rhode Islands eight point lead. Holy Cross's leading rebounder in the first half was senior guard Simone Foreman with seven.
• Foreman and Cahalan made efforts to help the Crusaders catch up but the Rams kept their foot on the gas, creating an 14-point gap, and forcing Holy Cross to take a timeout at the 5:20 mark in the third quarter. Rhode Island's Vanessa Harris put up six of the Rams 10 points to open the third. Rhode Island took over in the third but Bachmann and Cahalan cut the Rams lead down to 16-points in the last minute of action before heading into the final frame.
• Rhode Island started the fourth quarter out with a 52-36 lead over the Crusaders. Holy Cross held the Rams to seven points in the first five minutes of the final period. The Crusaders then went on a 6-0 run, led by Cahalan and junior guard Hannah Griffin, to gain some momentum before the final media timeout. Eddy and Griffin had back-to-back buckets to get the Crusaders within 12. A huge 13-point, three-rebound fourth quarter for Cahalan brought Holy Cross back into the game but the Rams ultimately prevailed 73-59.
• The Rams were 25-for-55 from the field while the Crusaders shot 38.5%. Harris led Rhode Island with 17 points while Cahalan was Holy Cross's leading scorer, tying her career-high with 25 points. Bachmann hit a new career-high of 12 points.

UP NEXT:

• The Crusaders (2-3) return to action on Tuesday, Nov. 25, for a 6:00 pm tip-off against UMass (4-0) in Worcester, Mass., at the Hart Center Arena.

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