Women’s Basketball: Terriers to Battle Holy Cross for Turnpike Trophy

Featured image by Jackson Shahinfar

By Avery Kreitler

Boston University Women’s Basketball (7-12, 1-7 PL) are back at home to host the Holy Cross Crusaders (14-5, 7-1) in a crucial conference game on Monday, January 27. With the Patriot League standings tightening, this game promises to be a battle.

BU enters the game after a tough stretch, having lost their last five games. But they have still shown flashes of brilliance during these games, particularly from their junior guard Alex Giannaros, who is a reliable scorer averaging 14.1 points per game. BU will need Giannaros to stay hot to take the lead, and for other players like Allison Schwertner and Bella McLaughlin to be scoring threats against the Crusaders.

The Terriers have struggled defensively, allowing opponents an average of 66.4 points per game and about 7.5 three-pointers per contest. Holy Cross has hit 6.1 three-pointers per game, which will put BU’s defense to the test. 

Holy Cross’s guard Kaitlyn Flanagan has been particularly effective from deep, scoring on 38.8% of her three-point attempts in conference play. She will be a scoring threat that the Terriers will need to target in order to obtain a lead.

With both teams relying on the three-point shooting, BU will need to shoot better from beyond the arc than they have in recent games (33.1% 3PT) in order to swing the game in their favor.

Holy Cross has been dominating in the Patriot League with their 7-1 record and 4-0 record on the road. Four of their players average double digits in scoring, with Simone Foreman in the lead averaging 16.1 points per game. 

The Terriers have also struggled with turnovers, committing 17.9 per game compared to Holy Cross’s 14.0, which could play a major role in determining the outcome. If BU continues to turn the ball over at a high rate, they could be in for a tough game.

The Boston Terriers’ faceoff against Holy Cross will take place at Case Gym and it will be streamed live on ESPN+. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET.