Women's Basketball 3/19/2026 12:00:00 PM

Women’s basketball to battle Michigan in NCAA First Round

OPENING TIP:

The No. 15 seed Holy Cross women's basketball team will face off against No. 2 seed Michigan in the First Round of the 2026 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament on Friday, Mar. 20.
Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. and will be nationally televised on ESPN2.
Tickets can be purchased on the Holy Cross Ticket Office website or by calling 1-844-GO-CROSS.

HOLY CROSS NOTES:

Holy Cross returns to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2024, when it defeated No. 16 Tennessee-Martin, 72-45, in the First Four before facing No. 1 Iowa in the First Round.
The Crusaders won their third conference tournament title in the last four seasons after defeating Lehigh 77-70 in the title game; the Crusaders claimed their 14th overall championship, adding to their Patriot League-leading total.
Five different players tallied double figures for Holy Cross in the win, including Tournament Most Valuable Player Kaitlyn Flanagan who posted 16 points, nine assists, and two rebounds in the win.
Senior forward Meg Cahalan joined Flanagan on the All-Tournament Team leading the Crusaders in scoring over three games. In the Championship she went 4-of-6 from the field with 16 points, adding five rebounds, two assists, a block, and a steal.
Senior guard Simone Foreman tallied her 10th career double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Senior guard Mary-Elizabeth Donnelly scored 12 points on 5-of-10 from the field to go along with five rebounds, three blocks, two steals, and an assist.
Junior guard Kendall Eddy notched 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting and 2-of-5 from deep. She also had three rebounds and an assist.
The Crusaders enter Friday having won nine-straight games and 13 of their last 14 over the past two months.
Holy Cross has won 20 or more games in four of the last five seasons and currently sits at 23-9 overall.

GOING GREEN:

Candice Green advances to her second NCAA Tournament with the Crusaders and her first as head coach.
Green served as an assistant coach for Holy Cross in 2023-24, helping guide the program to a tournament berth and First Four victory.
She was named interim head coach entering the 2024-25 season before being elevated to permanent head coach on Feb. 24, 2025.
Through two seasons at the helm, the Crusaders have won 42 games and reached at least the Patriot League semifinals each year.

SENIOR STANDOUTS:

Holy Cross' senior class of Cahalan, Donnelly, Flanagan and Foreman have been outstanding in their final season donning the purple and white.
The seniors have collectively averaged 40.7 points per game this season.
Over their four year careers, Cahalan (881), Donnelly (587), Flanagan (1,053) and Foreman (914) have combined for 3,435 points.
Since first suiting up on The Hill the group is 87-43 overall and 49-23 in Patriot League play.
On Feb. 7 at Lehigh, Flanagan eclipsed 500 career assists, becoming just the seventh player in school history to achieve the feat.
On Feb. 18 at Lafayette, she became the 37th player in program history to surpass 1,000 career points, doing so with a nine-point outing against the Leopards. Flanagan currently ranks 30th in all-time scoring with 1,053 career points.
Flanagan is only the third player in program history with 1,000+ points and 500+ assists, joining Alex Smith (2010-2014; 1,644 points, 568 assists) and Anna Kinne (1996-00; 1,234 points, 532 assists).
Flanagan's final major milestone of the regular season came on Feb. 28 at Loyola (Md.), where she made her 126th career start to set a new program record. She has played in 130 career games, starting all of them.
Foreman grabbed 12 rebounds on Sunday, bringing her career total to 788. She ranks sixth all-time in program history, surpassing Phyllis Townsend '84 (762) and Maggie Fontana '05 (768).

SCOUTING MICHIGAN:

No. 2 seed Michigan enters Friday with a 25-6 overall record and a 15-3 mark in Big Ten play during the regular season.
Michigan is currently ranked ninth in the AP Top 25 Poll and eighth in the Coaches Poll.
Michigan posted a 14-1 home record and earned the highest seed in program history.
The Wolverines will make their 14th NCAA Tournament appearance and eighth in the last nine seasons.
The Wolverines last played on Mar. 7, falling to No. 9 Iowa, 59-42, in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals
Michigan is led by three double-figure scorers, Olivia Olson (19.2 points per game), Syla Swords (14.5 points per game) and Mila Holloway (12.4 points per game).
They are anchored defensively by 2025 Patriot League Women's Basketball Player of the Year Ashley Sofilkanich (1.1 blocks per game).
Sofilkanich was high school teammates with Cahlan and junior guard Janie Bachmann at Saint John Vianney in Holmdel, New Jersey.
Michigan is second in the Big Ten in team offense, averaging 83.6 points per game.
The Wolverines get to the line more than any other team in the Big Ten, averaging 20.52 free throw attempts per game.
The Maize and Blue are also the leading team in their league in forced turnovers, averaging 21.87 per game.
Michigan is coached by Kim Barnes Arico, who is in her 14th year at the helm.
Barnes Arico is the winningest coach in program history with 309 career victories. She has won more games at Michigan than any other basketball coach, men or women.

THE HC-MICHIGAN SERIES:

Friday marks the fourth all-time meeting between the Crusaders and Wolverines and the first matchup in over 25 years.
Holy Cross leads the all-time series against Michigan, 2-1.
In the last meeting on Feb. 8, 2001, Holy Cross came away with a 62-56 over Michigan at the Hart Center.
Jeanette Paukert and Amanda Abraham led the Crusaders in scoring with 16 points each in the win. Abraham finished the game 6-of-12 from the field and added five steals, four assists, and two rebounds.
Paukert made 6-of-12 from the floor to go along with six assists, two rebounds, and a steal.
Katie O'Keefe added 14 points on 7-of-11 shooting as well as six rebounds, three assists, and a steal.
The 2001 Crusaders would go on to win the Patriot League title with a 94-68 victory over Lehigh in the only other championship game meeting between the two schools.
Holy Cross' second win over U-M came on Nov. 25, 1985, when the Crusaders earned a 71-63 victory in Ann Arbor.

DOWN THE STRETCH:

The Crusaders are 13-1 since picking up a road win at American on Jan. 24, 70-58. Holy Cross started that stretch with three consecutive wins and bounced back from the one loss to Lehigh (Feb. 7) with a win at Colgate (Feb. 11). They closed the regular season with six-straight wins to earn the No. 2 seed.
Holy Cross defeated No. 10 Colgate by a score of 72-36 in the league quarterfinals and earned a gritty 61-55 win over No. 3 Army in the semifinals. The Crusaders closed the Patriot League Tournament with a 77-70 win over Lehigh in the title game.
The Crusaders are outscoring opponents 64.9-52.2 over the past two months and have dominated the fourth quarter and overtime; outscoring the opposition 267-192.
Holy Cross has held its opponents to a 34.8 field-goal percentage, while shooting 43.3 percent in that stretch.
Cahalan (16.4) and Donnelly (11.1) have emerged as the primary scoring options for the Crusaders. Flanagan has averaged 9.5 points, 4.4 assists, and 3.1 rebounds over that stretch.

FOLLOW THE CRUSADERS
Be sure to follow the Holy Cross women's basketball team — and all things Crusader Athletics — on social media!
X - @HCrossWBB | @goholycross
Instagram - @hcrosswbb | @goholycross
Facebook - Holy Cross Women's Basketball | Holy Cross Athletics
YouTube - GoHolyCross

Print Friendly Version