|
Women's Basketball
Head Coach Bill Gibbons’ Lady Crusaders have opened
their 2002-03 campaign with a 6-4 mark. Despite their record,
the Crusaders have played topnotch opponents such as TCU,
nationally ranked foe Boston College and collegiate powerhouse
Connecticut. In fact, the first five opponents the team faced
were either ranked or receiving votes in the national polls.
This strong non-conference slate has helped prepare the Crusaders
for yet another run towards the Patriot League title.
Leading the charge this season for Holy Cross has been Katie
O’Keefe ’03 (Stratham, N.H.), averaging 15.6
points per game. O’Keefe, a preseason All-Patriot
League selection, anchors the middle of the lineup. Last
season, she became just the seventh third-year student
in the women’s basketball history to top 1,000 career
points and has continued to be a major offensive force
this season.
Another big contributor is 2001-02 Patriot League Rookie
of the Year, Maggie Fontana ’05 (Palatine, Ill.),
who is shooting 31 percent from three-point range and 55
percent from the field and averaging 13.1 points per game.
Fontana led the team in rebounding and steals and ranked
second in assists last season.
With the departure of three starters, Gibbons knew that
other players needed to step up and take on a more challenging
role. Two players who have accomplished that feat in the
first 10 games are Liz O’Connor ’03 (Wethersfield,
Conn.), who is shooting roughly 45 percent from the field
and 36 percent from behind the arc, and point guard Sarah
Placek ’06 (Alexandria, Va.), who is averaging nine
points and three assists per game. O’Connor has played
the last three seasons as a scoring option off the bench,
but challenged to score more often and take on more of a
leadership role this season, O’Connor has flourished.
She is averaging 9.5 points per game after averaging just
4.0 points per game in her career entering this season. Placek
is the first first-year point guard at Holy Cross since Veronica
Jutras ’00 earned the starting nod for 19 games in 1996-97.
One of the keys to the Crusaders’ fine start has been
its ever improving defense. The team has held its opponents
to 36 percent shooting from the field through the first 10
games and is averaging nearly 10 steals per contest. This
hard-nosed defensive effort will help Holy Cross as it gets
into Patriot League action.
The Crusaders opened the season with a home victory over
reigning MAAC conference champions, St. Peter’s. Fontana
led the charge—pouring in 20 points, followed by O’Connor
and O’Keefe, who each opened their season with 17-point
outings. The 17-point effort from O’Connor matched her
career high. Holy Cross shot 48 percent from the field and
a scorching 50 percent from three-point range in picking
up the hard-fought win. The schedule did not get any easier
after that, as the 18th-ranked Eagles of Boston College came
to the Hart Center. Holy Cross battled B.C. for the first
half, tying the Eagles heading into halftime. The Eagles
then flew out of the gate in the second half, outscoring
the Crusaders, 35-16, en route to the victory. Fontana finished
the game with five assists, five steals and five rebounds
to lead the effort.
Holy Cross then headed to the WBCA Classic in West Lafayette,
Ind. The Crusaders were defeated by Conference USA contender—and
21st ranked team in the nation—Texas Christian University,
68-54. O’Keefe had 21 points and five boards in the
losing effort. The Crusaders then rebounded to defeat Savannah
State in the consolation game behind double-digit scoring
efforts from Fontana, Placek, O’Connor, and Shannon
Bush ’06 (Doylestown, Pa.), holding the Lady Tigers
to a dismal 19 percent shooting on the day.
The Crusaders then found themselves matched up with defending
National Champion, Connecticut, at the Worcester Centrum
in front of a crowd of about 4,000. Battling hard in the
first half and trailing by only two at the break, Holy Cross
fell to the Huskies in the second half despite a 23-point
outburst by O’Keefe.
The team then posted a three-game winning streak with victories
over Siena, Hartford and Maine. During this three-game stretch,
O’Keefe and Fontana paced the team, averaging 17.0 and
14.0 points per game respectively. La Salle ended the Crusaders’ run
in the championship game of the La Salle Tournament. The
Crusaders kept it close for most of the game, led by Placek’s
20 points, but stumbled late and fell by seven to the host
school.
The team began the new year with a hard-fought victory over
Northeastern. O’Keefe, Placek and O’Connor carried
much of the scoring load, with all three players reaching
double figures in the scoring column.
Holy Cross will look to continue its winning ways as it
heads into Patriot League conference play. With this very
tough, non-conference schedule almost behind them, the Lady
Crusaders look to remain as the top team in the Patriot League
and get back to the Conference Championship.
|
