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The team finished the regular season with a shaky 15-17 record. However, down in Annapolis, Md., upsets shook the tournament, bouncing favorites Bucknell (by Colgate) and Army (by Lehigh). The Crusaders breezed by Lafayette and now faced Lehigh, which had defeated them eight days earlier.
The Crusaders trailed Lehigh by two points with 10 seconds left. Here Lehigh miscalculated—as it had three fouls to give before Holy Cross would be awarded a free throw. Lehigh committed its third give-away foul a shade too early, with five ticks remaining. The Crusaders called a time out to set up a play for the always-clutch Foley, who promptly tossed in a neat hook shot. In overtime, Keil cashed in on two big free throws to provide the College with the victory and a trip home to play American in the final.
The Hart Center is a magic place for the women’s team. In 20 playoff games there, the Lady Crusaders had lost only once. The packed house included the painted men’s team and “The Sisterhood”—25 former players sitting together. The seniors provided the leadership as Foley pulled down a career-high 15 rebounds and Keil 10. Two first-year players supplied the punch. Bethany O’Dell, the tourney MVP, poured in 20, while Briana McFadden, a cool customer known as “Nana,” scored 14, dished out six assists and controlled the tempo.
The Cinderella Crusaders traipsed off to the NCAA Ball.
Only 21 other colleges sent both their men’s and women’s teams to the 2007 NCAAs. No other school boasted a stronger bond of friendship between their two teams. The teams shared the same indefatigable work ethic, the same esprit de corps, the same resiliency.
Both had snowstorm adventures getting to their destinations. The men, after a commercial flight to Columbus, Ohio, were “treated like royalty,” says Thomas—noting the siren-blaring police escorts to the arena. The women, due to flight cancellations, spent the night in Boston in the lap of luxury before flying charter to Raleigh, N.C.
Two busloads of fans drove 30 hours roundtrip along treacherous byways to get to the game in Columbus and back. Back on campus, projection screens were set up in the Hogan Ballroom and and Crossroads for boisterous students to cheer on their Crusaders.
Thomas, Simmons and their mates, decked out in new purple NIKE sneakers, went down swinging, 61-51. SIU’s tremendous defensive pressure took its toll. Recall SIU, once ranked No.11 during the season, knocked off Virginia Tech and nearly pulled off a monumental upset over Kansas (61-58) to get to the Elite Eight.
The Salukis attacked Thomas from every angle to get the ball out of his hands. Uncharacteristically, the Crusaders turned the ball over 20 times, shot 33 percent from the floor and hit just 21 of 32 from the line.
“Despite all that, we were only down four with six minutes left,” Thomas sighs.
Clearly disappointed, Thomas couldn’t sleep and paced the hotel lobby. There he found Coach Willard, unable to sleep himself even after watching the game tapes over and over again.
Later Willard would say, “Torey has the heart of a champion and he inspired me every day.” He would say how proud he was to coach Thomas and Simmons, describing them as “role models and tremendous representatives of the College.’’
Thomas and Simmons, whose plans are to take a shot at pro ball, lavished praise on Willard—especially for challenging them.
“Coach taught me to become a man and how to carry a burden,” Thomas says.
The Holy Cross women got whomped by No.1 seed Duke. Their season was nicely summed up late in the game. Keil was seven points from reaching the 1,000 point plateau. She was playing in utter agony. Gibbons pulled her out of a timeout huddle. “You’ve given your heart and soul,’’ said Gibbons, emphasizing she could come out of the game. Gibbons and Keil began to cry. “I want to try …” Keil sobbed.
She took the court. Duke fell back into a zone. Keil launched a three-pointer. Swish. She hit a free throw. Now her career point total stood at 997. With time running down, she launched another trey. Swish. A thousand, right on the nose. The refs faked a time-clock breakdown so Keil could limp off the court to a standing ovation.
Now Keil is enduring a year of surgery and recovery as cartilage is being transplanted in both knees. Thereafter she will walk, without a limp, into medical school. Forever, her courage will be emblematic of what two Holy Cross teams sacrificed to do the one-step at the Big Dance.
John W. Gearan ’65, was an award-winning reporter and columnist at the Worcester Telegram and Gazette for 36 years. He resides in Woonsocket, R.I., with his wife, Karen Maguire, and their daughter, Molly.
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