WORCESTER, Mass.- The Holy Cross women's basketball team will host Massachusetts (UMass) on Wednesday, Nov. 25. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. at the Hart Center Arena. Fans can stream the broadcast on ESPN+. 

THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT HOLY CROSS (2-3, 0-0 PL): 

• The Crusaders traveled to Rhode Island and dropped the competition 73-59 on Nov. 19.
• 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.). Senior captain Meg 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 an 8-0 run to take the lead in 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.
• Senior guard Simone Foreman and Cahalan made efforts to help the Crusaders catch up, but the Rams kept their foot on the gas, creating a 14-point gap, and forcing Holy Cross to take a timeout at the 5:20 mark in the third quarter. 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.
• Cahalan was Holy Cross's leading scorer, tying her career-high with 25 points. Bachmann hit a new career-high of 12 points.
• Cahalan has amassed 72 points each so far this season, averaging 18.0 per game and has the most blocks on the squad with four this year. Senior captain Kaitlyn Flanagan leads the team in assists with 23, averaging 4.6 per game. Flanagan and Griffin are tied for the most steals of any Crusaders (9), while Foreman outrebounds her teammate with 42 (8.4 rpg) so far this season.

MAPPING OUT THE MINUTEWOMEN (5-0, 0-0 MAC):

• The Minutewomen ended the 2024-25 campaign with a 17-15 overall record and an 11-7 A10 record. UMass ended its run in the A10 tournament with a 67-57 loss to #10-seeded Saint Louis in the second round on Mar. 6. The Minutewomen's season came to a close in the second round of the WNIT with a tough 84-82 overtime loss to Buffalo on Mar. 23.
• UMass moved over to the Mid-American Conference (MAC) ahead of the 2025-26 season and  was tabbed to finish in third place out of 13 teams in the Preseason Poll. Senior forward Megan Olbrys and sophomore guard Yahmani McKayle earned Preseason All-MAC Second Team honors. The Minutewomen welcome six new players to the roster: four freshmen and two transfers.
• UMass have gotten off to a strong, undefeated start, taking home five straight wins to open the season. Most recently, UMass defeated Boston College, 61-52, at home on Nov. 22.
• The Minutewomen came out strong in the opening frame with Olbrys scoring 15 of UMass's 21 points for a two-point lead over the Eagles. A very low-scoring quarter followed, with both teams barely picking up 10 more points before the half. UMass held a slight 32-29 advantage over Boston College through 20 minutes of action.
• UMass went to work in the third quarter, holding the Eagles to only eight points and Olbrys and graduate guard Allie Palmieri made up a majority of the Minutewomen's 16 points to create some distance between the two teams. With an 11-point deficit going into the final period, Boston College put up a strong fight and began to make up some ground, cutting the UMass lead down to seven with three minutes remaining. Palmieri and McKayle added insurance points to secure the 61-52 win over the Eagles.
• McKayle is currently UMass's leading scorer with 81 points (16.2 ppg) and leads the squad in assists (29) and steals (13). Olbrys is 59.6% from the field and has the outrebounds her teammates with 38 so far this season. Sophomore guard Ayanna Franks and junior center Chinenye Odenigbo are tied with six blocks on the year, the most of anyone on the team.

LAST TIME THEY MET:

• The Crusaders and the Minutewomen met last year, with UMass hosting Holy Cross on Nov. 20. The Crusaders took a 75-70 victory over the Minutewomen in the Mullins Center.
• Holy Cross holds a 12-14 all-time series record against UMass.

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