WORCESTER, Mass. – The Holy Cross women's basketball team returned to the Hart Center for a Tuesday night matchup. A strong second half by the Minutewomen lifted them to a 63-40 victory over the Crusaders.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- The Crusaders started strong, going on a 7-0 run, led by seniors Mary-Elizabeth Donnelly and Meg Cahalan. The Minutewomen responded with 10 unanswered points of their own to take the lead with two and a half minutes remaining in the opening frame. UMass picked up four more points and senior captain Kaitlyn Flanagan collected two before time expired for the 13-9 result. UMass's Ayanna Franks nabbed five steals while Allie Palmieri netted five points in the quarter.
- Cahalan (6 pts.) and freshman Brianna McDermott (3 ast.) worked as a strong pair to take the lead four minutes into the second. The Minutewomen fired back to jump back in front with Megan Olbrys scoring seven points in the last three minutes of the quarter.
- At half, UMass had a 25-22 lead over Holy Cross. Cahalan led the Crusaders with 10 points while Olbrys tacked on nine for the Minutewomen. McDermott totaled four assists and UMass's Lilly Ferguson and Franks combined for 11 steals in the half.
- UMass went on a 7-0 run just three minutes into the third quarter to force Holy Cross to take a timeout. The Minutewomen pulled away with Yahmani McKayle leading the charge, putting up 10 of her 14 points in the third to give UMass a 48-33 advantage.
- A dominant final quarter by UMass led to a 63-40 final result.
- The Minutewomen were 22-for-54 from the field while the Crusaders shot 83.3% from the free-throw line.
UP NEXT:
- The Crusaders (2-4) return to action on Sunday, Nov. 30, for a 2:00 pm tip-off against New Hampshire in Worcester, Mass., at the Hart Center Arena.
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