WORCESTER, Mass.- The Holy Cross women's basketball team will travel to Durham, N.C., for a non-conference matchup at No. 7 Duke on Sunday, Nov. 9. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. at the Cameron Indoor Stadium. Fans can stream the broadcast on the ACC Network on ESPN+. 

THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT HOLY CROSS (1-0, 0-0 PL): 

• The Crusaders started up the year with a thrilling 72-71 victory over Boston College on Nov. 3. Holy Cross took home its first ACC win since 2019 (80-71 at home) and first victory in Conte Forum since 1997 (80-68).
• The Eagles started the game out strong with a 7-0 run in the first two minutes of the opening quarter. Boston College's Jocelyne Grier (3-4) accounted for three of the team's six triples while the Crusaders' senior forward Meg Cahalan was 3-5 from the field, collecting seven points through 10 minutes of action. 
• Senior captain Kaitlyn Flanagan kicked off the second quarter with a dime outside the arch. Holy Cross's defense surged with the Crusaders picking up two charges and two steals while holding the Eagles to only seven points to conclude the first half.
• Boston College had a 33-29 lead over the Crusaders after 20 minutes of play.
• Holy Cross came out of halftime swinging, hitting seven unanswered buckets to take its first lead of the game. Flanagan tallied seven points and junior guard Kendall Eddy picked up four points and two steals in the 10-minute outing. A back-and-forth quarter ended with Holy Cross outscoring Boston College 20-19 in the third.
• The Eagles started to pull away with the lead after the first four minutes of the final quarter. Boston College's Lily Carmody took over, dropping five points, one assist and claiming two rebounds. Holy Cross responded with a back-to-back three-pointer from senior guard Mary-Elizabeth Donnelly and a made layup by senior guard Simone Foreman to tie the game 69-69 with 30 seconds left in the game. The Eagles' Teionni McDaniel put in a layup with 7 on the clock for the two-point lead. Eddy got the Crusaders within one on a free throw attempt and Boston College's Kayla Rolph missed both of hers with 2.8 seconds remaining. Flanagan threw a perfect pass to Foreman, who fought through contact to put in the game-winner.
• Flanagan led the team with 16 points, five assists, one block, and shot 66.7% from behind the arc. Cahalan and Donnelly both picked up 13 points apiece, with Donnelly earning nine rebounds in the outing. Eddy netted 15 points, four assists and two steals against the Eagles while freshman guard Asia Wilson got in her first reps on the court, dropping seven points, a steal and an assist. Foreman had the play of the game to give the Crusaders the win while producing seven points, eight boards and one steal.

BACKGROUND ON THE BLUE DEVILS (0-1, 0-0 ACC):

• The Blue Devils ended the 2024-25 campaign with a 29-8 overall record and a 14-4 ACC record, finishing first in conference standings and taking home the ACC title (76-62 over NC State). Duke concluded its run in the NCCA tournament with a close 54-50 loss to #1-seeded South Carolina in the Elite Eight.
• Duke was tabbed to finish in first place out of 18 teams in the 2025-26 ACC preseason poll. Sophomore forward Toby Fournier and senior guard Ashlon Jackson both earned spots on the Preseason All-ACC Team, while freshman guard Emilee Skinner made the Preseason All-Freshman Team.
• The Blue Devils bring back 10 members of the 2024-25 squad, including four of the five starters. Duke welcomes only two new players to the roster: Skinner and freshman guard Anna Wikstrom.
• Duke, ranked seventh in the nation this week according to the AP Top 25 Poll, suffered a close 58-52 defeat from No. 16 Baylor at the Oui-Play Paris 2025 game on Nov. 3.
• The Blue Devils started the game out strong, putting in seven straight buckets before Baylor answered and shortened the deficit. Duke held a slight lead at the end of the first quarter (17-15), but Baylor persisted in the second period, claiming their first lead of the contest on a 10-0 run. The Bear's Taliah Scott led the charge, netting four of the 10 on her own. After a quick timeout, the Blue Devils regained control of the score thanks to back-to-back three-pointers from redshirt sophomore guard Riley Nelson. Duke headed into the half with a 33-29 advantage.
• A back-and-forth third quarter resulted in a tie game, 43-43, with Fournier having a stellar 10 minutes of play, dropping six of the team's 10 points and denying two Baylor shots. The Bears pulled ahead entering the final quarter with a 6-0 run fueled by Scott and teammate Bella Fontleroy connecting on the court. Baylor continued to stay out in front, but the Blue Devils defense, particularly from juniors Jadyn Donovan (two blocks) and Jordan Wood (one block), kept Duke within reach. With a few minutes to go, Fournier and Wood's last-ditch efforts for point scoring fell short. Baylor prevailed, maintaining a small lead to pull out the win over the Blue Devils.
• Fournier led the team with a double-double (16 points, 10 rebounds) and picked up four blocks in the outing. Jackson tallied nine points, three assists and two boards while Wood netted seven points, six blocks and four rebounds. Senior guard Taina Mair and junior forward Delaney Thomas both scored six points apiece, with Mair leading the squad in steals (3) and assists (4) to end the game. Donovan had a well-rounded performance, producing two points, three assists, five boards, three blocks and two steals in the season opener.

LAST TIME THEY MET:

• The Crusaders and the Blue Devils last met 18 years ago on Mar. 18, 2007. Duke took the 81-44 victory over Holy Cross in Raleigh, N.C., for the NCAA Tournament.
• Holy Cross holds a 0-4 all-time series record against Duke.

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