The Holy Cross women's basketball team's Patriot League tournament championship title defense continues on Thursday, March 13 at 6 p.m. against No. 1 Lehigh for a 2025 PenFed Credit Union Patriot League Women's Basketball Championship semifinal round matchup in Stabler Arena. The contest will stream live through ESPN+.

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT #5 HOLY CROSS (19-11, 11-7 PL): 

• Holy Cross is coming off a wire-to-wire win at No. 4 Navy on Monday in the quarterfinal round. Five players reached double-figures including senior forward Lindsay Berger who scored 19 points with eight boards while sophomore guard Kendall Eddy dropped 15 points and three triples in 31 minutes off the bench.
• Berger was named to the Patriot League second and all-defensive teams last Friday and academic all-league on Monday. She is the Patriot League leader in field goal percentage (53.6%), while ranking fifth in blocks per game (0.9), fifth in total blocks (25), tied for sixth in double-doubles (4), eighth in rebounding (5.9) and 10th in scoring (12.5).
• Junior guard Kaitlyn Flanagan joined Berger on the All-League second team. Flanagan has started and played in every game (97) for the Crusaders (64-33, .660) since her freshman year. She is the conference leader in assists per game (5.2) and assists (156), which rank 32nd and 37th in the NCAA respectively. Flanagan comes in second in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.2) and 10th in minutes per game (32.3). 
• Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Kit Hughes announced on Monday, Feb. 24 that Candice Green will have her interim tag removed and will serve as the permanent head coach of the Holy Cross women's basketball team. Green took over as interim head coach of the Crusaders in August, and has guided Holy Cross to a 19-11 (.633) record this season, including a 11-7 (.611) mark in league play. She has a 38-24 (.613) overall record as a head coach. 
• A victory would clinch the fourth straight 20-win season for the Crusaders and the third consecutive trip to the Patriot League Championship game.
• Holy Cross is 11-6 (.647) on the road this year. It is the third time since 2007-08 that the Crusaders have posted 11 or more wins away from Worcester.

HOLY CROSS IN THE PATRIOT LEAGUE TOURNAMENT:

• The Crusaders have won a conference-best 13 Patriot League championships and have appeared in the championship game a conference-high 21 times since the league's inception back in 1990-91. They are looking to become the first back-to-back-to-back conference champion since Navy (2011, 2012, 2013).
• Overall, Holy Cross is 54-20 (.730) in the Patriot League Championship tournament, which are the most wins by any league program. They hold a 20-4 (.844) record during the quarterfinal round. The Crusaders are 24-14 (.632) playing on the road in the conference dance.
• Holy Cross has won seven straight Patriot League tournament games with their last loss coming on March 7, 2022 versus Navy.
• In the history of the Patriot League tournament, the No. 5 seed has a 5-16 (.238) record against the No. 1 seed in the semifinal round.
• Holy Cross is 9-4 (.692) against Lehigh in the Patriot League tournament and 0-2 (.000) on the road.

SCOUTING THE #1 MOUNTAIN HAWKS (25-6, 15-3 PL): 

• Lehigh has lost two of their last four games, but advanced to the semifinal round following a 62-44 win against No. 8 Boston University on Monday. Lehigh forced BU into 20 turnovers as Maddie Albrecht scored a game-high 16 points with six boards, two steals and a pair of three-pointers.
• Maddie Albrecht, the Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year, all-league first and defensive team honoree is one of the conference's top players per SportsReference as she leads the league in offensive rating (114.6) and defensive rating (80.9). Head coach Addie Mircir was named the Patriot League Coach of the Year. In the Patriot League preseason poll, Lehigh earned no first-place votes and was projected for a third place finish. Lehigh captured the Patriot League regular-season championship, their fourth in program history.
• The Mountain Hawks excel at reaching the free throw line as per Her Hoop Stats rank 17th in the nation in free throw rate (21.0 percent). They rank third in the NCAA in free throw percentage (80.3).
• Lehigh is 15-1 (.938) at home this season with their only loss, a 70-66 setback to Colgate on Jan. 8, 2025.

LEHIGH IN THE PATRIOT LEAGUE TOURNAMENT:

• The Mountain Hawks have won four conference championships with their last coming during the 2020-21 season on March 14, 2021, a 64-54 win in Boston against Boston University.
• Overall, Lehigh is 29-29 (.500) in the league championship tournament. Lehigh is 6-10 (.375) in the semifinal round and has a 16-5 (.762) mark at home in the PLT.
• Lehigh is 4-9 (.308) against the Crusaders in the tourney. The Mountain Hawks are 2-0 (1.000) at home against the Crusaders.

LAST TIME THEY MET: 

• The Crusaders are 50-33 (.602) in the series history against the Mountain Hawks which began in 1991. Holy Cross Holy Cross is 22-20 (.524) on the road at Lehigh and has lost seven straight games in Bethlehem and have not won in Sabler Arena since Jan. 22, 2020.
• In their last meeting on Feb. 15, Lehigh earned a 69-59 overtime win. The Mountain Hawks forced the Crusaders into a season-high 27 turnovers in the game. Lindsay Berger had a 15 point and 13 rebound double-double in the defeat.  

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