Holy Cross women's basketball breaks for exams after 65-50 home win over Stetson

WORCESTER — Bronagh Power-Cassidy netted 11 of her 17 points in the second half Sunday, and Avery LaBarbera filled the stat sheet with 16 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists as Holy Cross turned back Stetson, 65-50, in a women's basketball game at the Hart Center.

Grace Munt posted career highs of 10 points, 6 rebounds and 20 minutes played for the Crusaders (6-4) in their final home game of 2021. After semester exams, they'll carry a two-game winning streak into their game Dec. 22 at Pittsburgh. Holy Cross' next home game is Jan. 2 against Loyola (Md.).

HC coach Maureen Magarity cited her team's balanced scoring among standouts.

"Avery really controlled the game, Bronagh hit some big shots, and Grace Munt came off the bench and gave us a lift," she said. "This is a great win, especially going into finals."

While LaBarbera came four assists short of Holy Cross' first triple double since Maggie Fontana during the 2003-04 season, she has double-doubles over three of her last four games.

Yazz Wazeerud-Din led the Hatters (6-4) with 15 points while playing all 40 minutes.

Holy Cross held Stetson of the ASUN Conference to 30.5% from the field, 18 of 59. "I'm really proud of how we defended," Magarity said. "We had a game plan to control the paint, and not allow them into the paint."

A 19-10 second quarter enabled the Crusaders to ease out to a 34-21 halftime lead, after shooting 46.7% from the field (14 of 30), while limiting the Hatters to 9 of 32.

LaBarbera and Oluchi Ezemma each had eight points at the break, with Power-Cassidy adding six. LaBarbera also led the team with four rebounds and five assists over the opening 20 minutes with only one turnover, and Ezemma hit 4 of 5 from the field.

Seven of eight HC players scored in the first half. Kelly Petro collected six rebounds and scored a field goal after halftime. All eight Crusaders played at least 17 minutes.

Power-Cassidy scored the first seven points of the third quarter to extend HC's lead to 20, on a 3-pointer and two layups. Stetson followed with the next 12 points, getting five points each from Wazeerud-Din and Ayanna Dublin to close within 41-33.

LaBarbera snapped the Hatters' run with a layup to restore Holy Cross' double-digit lead, Madison Demski hit a jumper, then LaBarbera hit two from the line, and HC led, 47-33, with 1:49 to play in the third.

In a quarter of spurts, Stetson outscored HC, 7-2, the rest of the way, and Maddie Novak's 3-pointer at the buzzer drew the Hatters within 49-40.

Kiya Turner hit 1 of 2 free throws with 7:14 left, and it was a two-possession game at 51-45, before Holy Cross pulled away.

Power-Cassidy converted a layup, and Munt nailed a 3 to spring HC's lead back to 11. The Crusaders held the Hatters scoreless over the next four minutes, and layups from LaBarbera and Petro hiked the advantage to 60-45.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Holy Cross women's basketball breaks for exams after beating Stetson 65-50