|
The Crusaders completed their 22nd straight
winning season with a 23-8 overall record and concluded the
year with the program's 10th postseason appearance.
Holy Cross earned its sixth consecutive Patriot League Regular
Season title with a 12-2 league record. Several members of
the team garnered individual awards, including guard Maggie
Fontana '05 (Palatine, Ill.), who earned Rookie of
the Year honors.
After a double-overtime loss to Fairfield on the road to
begin the new year, the Crusaders started their Patriot League
title defense against Navy at the Hart Center. Holy Cross
knocked off the Midshipmen in overtime and won its next three
games including a non-conference game versus Hartford. The
team then lost to Lehigh and Army on the road. It was only
the second time in school history that the Crusaders have
lost back-to-back Patriot League game ('91-'92:
Lafayette and Bucknell). Holy Cross then rattled off nine
straight wins to clinch its ninth overall regular season
title.
After posting a 12-2 record in the league play, Holy Cross
received the number one-seed and a match up against the number
eight-seed Lafayette (3-25, 1-13). The Crusaders started
the game with a 14-0 run and cruised to a 23-point victory
over the Leopards. Holy Cross then faced the number five-seed
Colgate in the semifinals, who knocked off the number four-seed
American in the first round. The young Raiders squad shot
54 percent in the first half and took a 38-31 halftime lead.
Colgate led by 10 points with 11 minutes to go in the game,
before the Crusaders went on an 18-8 run to tie the game
at 65 with six minutes left. Up by just one point at 3:01
mark, Holy Cross outscored the Raiders 11-0 to advance to
the Championship game against Bucknell at the Hart Center.
After winning 61 consecutive games against Patriot League
opponents at the Hart Center, the streak ended for the Crusaders
as they fell to Bucknell, 88-74, in the title game. After
winning 23 games during the season, the team was invited
to the Women's National Invitational Tournament. Holy
Cross faced the University of Vermont in Burlington, Vt.,
in the first round. Katie O'Keefe '03 (Stratham,
N.H.) scored a career-high 24 points and Fontana recorded
her fifth double-double of the season (16 points and 10 rebounds),
but it wasn't enough as the Crusaders fell to the Catamounts,
70-63.
O'Keefe earned First Team All-Patriot League, while
guard Amanda Abraham '02 (Plymouth, Mich.) was selected
to the Second Team, and Fontana was named to the All-Rookie
Team. Guard Jeanette Paukert '02 (Chicago, Ill.) led
the backcourt and dished out a team leading 161 assists while
averaging 10.2 points per game. Forward Elisa Zawadzkas '02
(Orleans, Mass.), who came of the bench her first three seasons,
started all 31 games this year and averaged 6.7 ppg and 4.9
rpg. Redshirt Mary Rose Campbell '03 (Richmond, Va.)
has come off the bench to average 5.8 points and 5.3 rebounds.
She was third on the team in rebounds and sixth in scoring
in 20.6 minutes per game.
|
