The Lehigh women’s basketball fell to the College of the Holy Cross 77-70 on Sunday afternoon, ending its season in the Patriot League Championship.
The Mountain Hawks and Holy Cross met on Jan. 7 and Feb. 7 during the regular season, with Lehigh winning both matchups. However, the third meeting resulted in Holy Cross’ third title in the last four years.
Sophomore guard and forward Belle Bramer led the Mountain Hawks (17-14, 11-7 Patriot League) with 24 points and four rebounds. First-year guard and forward Leia Edwards followed with a double-double off the bench, finishing with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
For Holy Cross (23-9, 14-4 Patriot League), senior guard Simone Foreman recorded a double-double, tallying 16 points and 12 rebounds. Senior guard Kaitlyn Flanagan tallied 14 points and nine assists, while senior guard Mary-Elizabeth Donnelly added 14 points and three blocks.
The Crusaders won the possession in the tipoff, and both teams came out firing.
Junior guard and captain Gracyn Lovette scored first for Lehigh, but the Mountain Hawks couldn’t maintain the momentum. With five minutes remaining in the first quarter, Holy Cross scored nine points while Lehigh converted just one 3-pointer from Bramer.
Throughout the first half, both teams played aggressively but committed costly mistakes, turning the ball over five times in the half. The Mountain Hawks turned those five turnovers into 12 points.
However, Lehigh failed to keep Holy Cross off the offensive glass, allowing the Crusaders to collect ten second-chance points. In the game, Holy Cross grabbed 13 offensive rebounds.
The Crusaders led 32-27 at halftime. Lehigh shot 42.3% from the field, while Holy Cross shot 45.5%.
The Mountain Hawks opened the second half looking to narrow the lead.
With a pair of free throws and a layup from Bramer, along with layups from junior Whitney Lind and senior Katie Hurt, Lehigh took a 35-34 lead.
Flanagan responded with a free throw, and senior forward Meg Cahalan converted an and-one, giving Holy Cross a 38-35 lead again.
The teams exchanged layups before Lovette hit two 3-pointers to narrow the lead to 45-42. The three-point deficit would be the closest the Mountain Hawks would get to erasing the Crusaders’ lead for the remainder of the game.
Holy Cross maintained its lead at the end of the third quarter, 54-48.
Foreman collected her own and-one, but failed to convert the free throw, adding two points for the Crusaders.
Bramer responded with a 3-pointer, tallying her 20th point of the game.
Lind followed up with a layup, closing the lead at 56-53.
Foreman and Flanagan each scored two points apiece, allowing Holy Cross to pull ahead 60-53.
Junior guard Kendall Eddy sank a 3-pointer for the Crusaders to extend the lead to double-digits.
However, on the ensuing possession, Edwards cancelled out the shot with a three of her own.
At the five minute mark of the fourth quarter, Holy Cross led 63-56.
Junior guard Hannah Griffin scored a layup of her own, before Bramer was whistled for an offensive foul on the next possession.
Foreman scored a layup and Lind responded with a 3-pointer, while Bramer followed up with a layup. Bramer’s layup narrowed the score to 67-61, in favor of Holy Cross.
Eddy scored a mid-range jumper to add two points for the Crusaders, and Lehigh called a timeout with 44 seconds to play.
With 40 seconds on the clock, the Mountain Hawks began intentionally fouling. Down that stretch, the Crusaders went a perfect 8-8 from the free-throw line.
Lind fouled Donnelly, who converted a pair of free throws. Cahalan followed up with two free throws of her own to give Holy Cross a 73-65 lead.
Fandre scored a layup, but Cahalan added two more free throws to keep the deficit within eight points, 75-67.
The Crusaders secured the victory after Cahalan scored two more free throws.
Coach Addie Micir praised the seniors for stepping up during a season full of injuries and adversity.
“Our seniors have led a really tough season with such toughness and grace,” Micir said. “You can tend to hear their voices in the huddle and there’s a big legacy there that they’re leaving.”
Lehigh players declined to be interviewed after the game.
Holy Cross will receive its NCAA March Madness Tournament seed during Selection Sunday at 6 p.m.
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