WASHINGTON –– American women's basketball took its first lead of the game, up 55-52, with six minutes to play, before Holy Cross went on a 12-0 run late in the fourth quarter to claim the 70-58 victory over the Eagles in Bender on Saturday afternoon.
 
Inside the Box Score

• Charlotte Tuhy with her 10th double-double of the season, led American on both ends of the boards, finishing the afternoon with 16 points and 11 rebounds. She led all players on the court in rebounding.
• Madisyn Moore-Nicholson was the only other Eagle in double digits with her 10 points, going 6-of-8 from the free throw line.
• The Crusader's Meg Cahalan led all players offensively with 25 points on 11-of-17 shooting.
• Holy Cross' advantages came down low, leading the game with 36 points in the paint over AU's 16, the visitors also led 20-14 in points off turnovers, with the Eagles surrendering the ball 17 times to the Crusaders' 12 turnovers.
• American led Holy Cross in bench scoring with 18-15 points coming from reserves.

How it Happened

• Holy Cross raced into the score column first, scoring eight before American was able to put up a tally with a driving layup from Molly Driscoll three minutes into gameplay. The Crusaders led 11-4 by the media timeout midway through the first period.
• Laura Nogues with a triple over the block brought AU back to a two possession game, down 13-9 with 2:35 to play in the first. Through one, the Crusaders held the lead up three, 16-13. The visitors were 3-of-5 from deep. Kaitlyn Flanagan for HC and Nogues and Driscoll for AU each had five points apiece.
• Holy Cross extended their lead with a 7-0 run to open the second, carrying a 23-13 before making it a 25-15 lead with six minutes to play in the half. American pulled it back to a five point deficit, 25-20, with baskets from Pingree and Tuhy.
• Holy Cross wasn't relinquishing the lead without a fight, but a Lexi Salazar three with 26 seconds left in the half had American holding that five point discrepancy, down 32-27. HC shot 46.4 percent in the opening half–AU shot 36.7–and had the 16-15 edge in rebounding.
• Salazar made it a one point game, AU down 35-34 at the 7:17 mark in the third, but 18 seconds later Simone Foreman responded with a three for the visitors and it was 38-34.
• Salazar would sink another a minute later. The junior was on nine points and going 3-of-4 from three point range. Despite this, with five minutes to play in the third, Holy Cross was still clinging to its lead, up 43-37.
• Tuhy, finally finding her feet offensively, sank a three pointer in the final minute of the third to bring the Eagles within two, down 48-46; that scoreline would hold through the final minute of the third.
• Tuhy with a high-arching three-point jumper, would tie the game at 52-all with 7:24 to play for. After finishing the half on seven points, Tuhy was now holding 13 to lead the Eagles offensively. She earned yet another double-double with her 10th rebound on the other end. Two minutes later, at the six minute mark, American took the lead on a Tuhy triple, up 55-52.
• Five minutes to play, with the media timeout, the Eagles were trailing again, 57-55.
• Holy Cross extended that lead again, up seven, 62-55 with 3:19 to go in the game, on a 12-0 run over a three and a half minute period late in the fourth period.
• The 10-point deficit American found itself in, down 65-55, would prove to be too much to surmount and the Eagles would fall 70-58 to the visiting Holy Cross Crusaders.

On the Horizon
The Eagles squad is staying in the District for their next game, hosting the Greyhounds of Loyola Md. on Wednesday, Jan. 28. It will be AU's Mental Health game.

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