Holy Cross Advances To Semifinals With 74-61 Win :: Crusaders match-up with Navy on Saturday.

March 3, 2005

Worcester, Mass. - Maggie Fontana went for her third double-double of the season with 17 points and 10 rebounds and Lisa Andrews added 12 points to lead Holy Cross to a 74-61 win over Lafayette in the first round of the Patriot League Tournament Thursday night at the Hart Center. The Crusaders (18-10) will face #5 Navy (11-17) Saturday afternoon, while Lafayette ends its season at 5-23 overall.

The Crusaders took a 38-15 lead into the break after ending the first half on an 18-0 run. At the 5:57 mark, HC led 20-15 before exploding for 18 unanswered points. During that span, five different players scored for HC as the Crusaders forced nine Lafayette turnovers and held the Leopards to just 19% from the field. The Crusaders shot 50% from the floor.

Holy Cross never backed down in the second and led by as much as 26 points (49-23) with 14:24 remaining. Lafayette fought back and cut the lead to nine (59-50) with 5:06 left, but would not get any closer.

Sarah Placek added 10 points and four rebounds while Laura Aloisi recorded seven points, seven assists and a career-high seven steals for the Crusaders. Brittany Keil and Kaitlin Foley both tallied six points, and Andrews tied a season-high with four blocks on the night.

Lafayette was led by Vanessa VanDeVenter with a game-high 22 points. Val Gomez added 17 points and Lindsay Myers chipped in 10 points and a team-high seven rebounds.

Holy Cross and Navy match-up at 1:00 on Saturday in Patriot League semifinal action on at the Hart Center. Navy defeated #4 American, 62-40 in the first quarterfinal game.