SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Senior guard Kaitlyn Flanagan scored 19 of her 21 points in the fourth quarter and the Holy Cross women's basketball team rallied for a 53-41 comeback victory over the Bryant Bulldogs on Sunday afternoon at the Chace Athletic Center in Smithfield.

The Crusaders improve to 4-5 on the season, while Bryant has now dropped three straight and sits at 7-3 on the season.

Holy Cross trailed 22-14 with 8:08 to play in the third quarter before outscoring the Bulldogs by a 39-19 margin the rest of the way.

Flanagan scored 13 straight points in the fourth quarter and gave the Crusaders the lead for good on a three-point play with 3:29 to play that made it a 41-39 game.

The Plymouth Meeting, Pa., native matched her career-high with 21 points to lead the way, while senior Mary-Elizabeth Donnelly added seven points and six rebounds and classmate Meg Cahalan tallied six points to go with a career-high 15 boards.

Nia Scott paced the Bulldogs with 10 points and Mimi Rubino added nine points and nine boards.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Holy Cross trailed 7-3 just over five minutes into the game before junior Hannah Griffin buried a three to ignite a 7-0 run over the remainder of the quarter for a 10-7 advantage after one.
• Both teams battled on the defensive end throughout the second period and Bryant eventually took a slight 15-14 lead into the locker room.
• Bryant scored the first seven in the third, but four straight free throws and a layup from Donnelly whittled the deficit down to two at 22-20. From there, the Bulldogs got the lead back to six before Cahalan tallied a pair of buckets in the final two minutes to cut things to 28-27 headed to the fourth.
• In the early stages of the fourth quarter, Bryant held the lead at three until there was just over four minutes to play as a Flanagan jumper and the aforementioned three-point play gave the Crusaders the lead for good.
• Flanagan followed with a layup, two more free throws and found Griffin for a jumper as part of an 11-0 run that gave Holy Cross a 47-39 lead in the final minute.
• Holy Cross went a perfect 9-of-9 from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• Flanagan matched her career-high with 21 points that had previously been set versus Quinnipiac on Nov 4, 2024.
• Cahalan's 15 boards eclipsed her previous best of seven that had been done five times in her career.
• The Crusaders held a commanding 49-35 edge on the glass behind the 15 rebounds from Cahalan and nine from senior Simone Foreman.
• On the day, head coach Candice Green's squad shot 16-of-53 (30.2%) from the floor and 19-of-21 (90.2%) from the free throw line.
• Bryant entered the game averaging 69.2 points per game, but was held to a season-low 41 which marked the fewest they have scored since a 55-40 loss to UAlbany on Jan. 16, 2025.
• The 41 points are the fewest allowed by Holy Cross this season and the lowest total since a 53-27 victory over Loyola (Md.) on Jan. 25, 2025.
• Holy Cross is now 2-0 against America East foes this season with wins over Bryant and UNH.

UP NEXT:

• The Crusaders return home to host Vermont on Tuesday, Dec. 16 at 10:30 a.m. in a game that will be broadcast on NESN and ESPN+.

 
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