Women’s Basketball: Fourth quarter crumble leads to late-game 58-64 loss for the Terriers against the Crusaders
Jane Guay
What looked like it was going to be the breaking of a five-game win streak for the Holy Cross Crusaders Women’s Basketball team became a disappointing last regular-season game for the Boston University Women’s Basketball team. Ultimately, this game came down to the value of consistency, something the Terriers weren’t able to maintain by the time the clock was set to the fourth quarter.
The Crusaders were able to show up and out with their fast pace right off the bat, with senior guard Mary-Elizabeth Donnelly and junior guard Kendall Eddy hitting back-to-back threes to give the Crusaders an easy 8-2 lead in just under two minutes.
The Terriers slowly started to make a comeback because of the free-throw line, where junior guard Bella McLaughlin ended up scoring four points on the night, making up the team’s total of six. With McLaughlin’s second free throw attempt making it in, she cut the lead to six with over five and a half minutes to go in the first quarter.
Free throws were not going to be what brought the Terriers back into the game when Donnelly could not miss beyond the arc, as she hit another 3-pointer and her eighth point in six minutes. In the first quarter alone, the Crusaders were able to dominate by the simple fact that they are a fast team with the ability to get open easily, ultimately slowing the Terriers initially.
Coach Melissa Graves calling a timeout with just under three minutes in the first quarter is what the Terriers needed, what with a Donnelly turnover turning into sophomore guard Rose Azmoudeh’s first points of the game coming from beyond the arc. Just like that, McLaughlin was able to cut the lead to three by the end of the first quarter. With the Crusaders coming out hot offensively, the Terriers had no choice but to match it for the second quarter.
There was a competitive fire that was lit for the second 10-minute period of the game, starting with senior forward Anete Adler’s jumper to cut the Crusaders’ lead to three, followed by junior guard Audrey Ericksen’s easy look from the three-point line to tie it up 20-20 with just under eight minutes in the second quarter. Different abilities from different players are where the crowd saw the value of a team effort, rather than focusing on one or two star players, a format Coach Graves has utilized for past games.
“This was probably the best execution against Holy Cross that I’ve seen here in five years. . . the way we shared [the ball] and created open shots, that’s why everyone was able to get involved,” Coach Graves said in a post-game press conference.
This team effort continued, with freshman forward Kate Allard scoring her first points of the game with an and-1, giving the Terriers the lead since the beginning of the first quarter. For the next several minutes, the Crusaders were able to maintain a small and steady lead, where much of it came from offensive-rebound opportunities that were relied on. Second-chance opportunities weren’t nearly as relied on by the Terriers.
With sophomore forward Allison Schwertner’s first 3-pointer of the night, the Terriers were able to regain the lead that was only extended by junior guard Ines Monteagudo’s own 3-pointer, making them look like the Crusaders from a quarter ago. Going into the break, the Terriers led the Crusaders 32-28.
The third quarter looked no different for the Terriers, with McLaughlin adding on yet another 3-pointer for the team’s ongoing tally. With that being said, the Crusaders had no issue adding their own points, especially from the free-throw line, to slowly start to cut the lead. With Donnelly’s two made free throws and pull-up jumper, the Crusaders now only trailed by three with just over five minutes to go in the third quarter.
Monteagudo had no problem responding with her second 3-pointer of the night, hitting from spots she wasn’t previously hitting in. The Terriers were finding a rhythm they had once lost, and before they knew it, they were in front by 10, their biggest lead so far of the night, shortly before heading into the fourth quarter.
It was in the same blink of an eye that the Terriers’ lead growth started to crumble. Early signs in the fourth quarter were showing the Terriers’ future downfall based on Donnelly’s easy three points with just over a minute in. This was followed by the Terriers missing shot after shot while mixing in messy mistakes that slowly started taking over.
“I thought we showed we could play with them for three quarters, and we just didn’t execute, especially defensively in the fourth quarter,” Coach Graves said.
If it wasn’t Donnelly hitting, it was the Crusaders’ senior forward, Meg Cahalan, hitting her tenth point of the night, cutting the lead to five with under eight minutes to go. Along with this, the free-throw line was crucial, with senior guard Simone Foreman making two to cut the lead to a one-possession game. That same line was used moments later by Calahan to cut the lead to just one with four and a half minutes left in the quarter.
With the power dynamic of Donnelly and Calahan, before they knew it, the Crusaders were up by three with under three minutes to go. There was no one other than Monteagudo for the Terriers to rely on, so she went on to make her fourth 3-pointer of the night. As much as this fired up the crowd, it wasn’t the fire the Terriers hoped to regain the lead for the final time.
“And, you know, we’ve talked about this all season, about trying to put four quarters together,” Coach Graves said.
The Terriers ultimately fell to the Crusaders 58-64, adding on to the Crusaders’ six-game win streak. They will host the American University Eagles at 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 7th, at Case Gym. Streaming will be available on ESPN+.