The Holy Cross Crusaders women's basketball team heads to Bucknell for their Patriot League opener on December 31, riding momentum from three straight non-conference wins. They recently dominated UMass Lowell 78-56, showcasing strong shooting and playmaking. Bucknell, meanwhile, snapped a four-game skid with a 102-26 rout of Gwynedd Mercy.
Holy Cross enters conference play on a high note after closing non-conference action with victories, including a decisive 78-56 win over UMass Lowell on December 21 at the Hart Center Arena. The game was tied at 19 after the first quarter, but the Crusaders pulled away with a 40-20 advantage in the second and third periods. Junior guard Kendall Eddy led the charge with 14 points on 4-of-5 three-point shooting, including buzzer-beaters to end the second and third quarters, and a career-high eight assists. Senior forward Meg Cahalan matched her with 14 points, while Simone Foreman added 11 and Janie Bachmann 10, giving four players in double figures.
The team shot a season-high 55.7% from the floor, making 34 of 61 attempts, and recorded 28 assists—its most since 30 against Connecticut College on December 7, 2023. Senior guard Kaitlyn Flanagan contributed seven assists and leads the Patriot League with 4.1 per game, ranking second in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.6. Defensively, Holy Cross has held opponents to 65 points or fewer in six consecutive games, topping the league in defensive rebounds at 27.5 per game and placing second in total rebounds at 36.4.
Junior Hannah Griffin chipped in a career-best eight points with two threes. Last season, Holy Cross swept Bucknell, winning 63-37 on January 15 in Worcester and 67-60 on March 1 in Lewisburg, where Lindsay Berger scored 22 points. The Crusaders have taken seven straight meetings and hold a 54-26 all-time edge.
Bucknell comes off a 102-26 blowout of Division III Gwynedd Mercy on December 20, its first 100-point game since 2002 and first win in five tries. Tuana Coskun tied a program record with eight threes for 33 points, while Isabella Casey had a career-high 17. Coskun averages 12.4 points per game, Reese Zemaitis 11.6, and Casey leads in rebounds at 4.4. The Bison rank second in the league defensively, allowing 57.5 points per game and 65 or fewer in nine straight.
