WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senior Meg Cahalan converted a three-point play with 5:10 to play and the Holy Cross women's basketball team closed out the game on a 16-3 run in a 70-58 victory over American on Saturday morning at Bender Arena.

The Crusaders trailed 55-54 when Cahalan made a layup off a feed from senior Mary-Elizabeth Donnelly and sank the ensuing free throw to spark the run.

Holy Cross improves to 11-8 (5-3 PL) with the victory, while American falls to 5-14 (3-5 PL).

Cahalan matched her career-high with 25 points on 11-of-17 shooting and Donnelly added 10 points, five rebounds and four assists. The Crusaders once again featured a balanced offensive attack as six players scored seven or more points.

Charlotte Tuhy paced the Eagles with 16 points and 11 rebounds on the day.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Holy Cross got off to a hot start by scoring the first eight points of the game including threes from Donnelly and fellow senior Kaitlyn Flanagan. Junior Hannah Griffin buried a trey of her own later in the quarter before a late American three made it a 16-13 game after one.
• Junior Kendall Eddy scored five straight points to start the second quarter and Cahalan followed with consecutive buckets to stretch the lead to double figures at 25-15. However, the Eagles then began to chip away at the deficit and the Crusaders eventually took a 32-27 advantage into the locker room.
• The two teams traded baskets for much of the third quarter and a layup by junior Janie Bachmann at the 3:01 mark gave the visitors a 48-41 advantage, but the Eagles scored the final five points of the quarter to make it a 48-46 game after three.
• After a Tuhy three that gave American a 55-52 lead with 6:02 to play, Donnelly hit a layup and Cahalan followed with the aforementioned three-point play as the Crusaders began to take control of the game. Griffin added five points during the decisive run and Holy Cross went a perfect 6-of-6 from the charity stripe over the final 1:29 to secure the victory.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• Cahalan's 25-point effort matches her career-high that had been set earlier this season in a game at Rhode Island on Nov. 19. Her 11 made field goals are the most in a game by a Crusader since Bronagh Power-Cassidy made 11 versus Lafayette on Mar. 6, 2024.
• Flanagan tallied eight points and six assists in the victory as she moved into seventh place all-time in program history with 486 career assists. The Plymouth Meeting, Pa., native surpassed Cheryl Aaron (1982-87) for seventh on Donnelly's layup with 5:44 remaining.
• As a team, Holy Cross dished out 20 assists on 25 made field goals and shot 49.0% (25-of-51) from the floor in the victory.
• The Crusaders limited American to 35.2% shooting (19-of-54) and held a 30-26 edge in the rebounding battle behind six from senior Simone Foreman.
• Head coach Candice Green's team forced 17 Eagle turnovers and the trio of Cahalan, Eddy and Foreman all registered two steals apiece.

UP NEXT:

• Holy Cross returns home to host Colgate on Wednesday, Jan. 28 at the Hart Center Arena with opening tip slated for 6 p.m.
• Wednesday is the program's annual Pride Game and it is Catholic Schools Week.
• Tickets for all remaining regular season home games are on sale through the Holy Cross ticket office.

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