Basketball season was in full swing last weekend throughout the tri-campus. Four of the five hoops teams were in action on Saturday, with only the Notre Dame women's team having some time off. The Irish men's team lost its ACC opener to Miami, and things didn't go much better for the Holy Cross men or Saint Mary's.
Holy Cross
The Holy Cross women's team continued their up-and-down season. Every win for the team has been followed by a loss, and every loss followed by a win. That trend continued on Saturday as the Saints hammered St. Ambrose 94-65. The team's best offensive performance of the season was led by a 31-point first quarter, building a double-digit lead that was never seriously threatened.Junior forward Grace Abrams delivered a stellar showing, tallying 29 points while missing just 1 of her 14 field goal attempts. Sophomore guard Kayliana Hammel and senior guard Lauren Morris also finished in double figures, registering 16 and 14 points, respectively. Abrams also recorded a double-double by hauling in 13 rebounds. The Saints outscored their opponents by a whopping 35 points off turnovers and a 58-28 margin in the paint. Holy Cross improves to 5-4 on the year and 2-1 in conference play with the win.
Things didn't go as well for the Saints men's team, however. Though the team has played in consecutive close contests, their losing streak reached six games in a 74-65 defeat to Waldorf. Holy Cross held a 57-53 lead with under seven minutes to play but made just one field goal in a six-minute span that put them behind the eight ball. Four Saints scored at least 10 points, led by junior guard Justin O'Neal's 18. Freshman guard Drew Mata also tied his career-high with 10 points coming off the bench. The Saints are 3-6 on the year and 0-3 in conference play.
Saint Mary's
The Belles' struggles in the early part of their season continued as they started conference play Saturday. Saint Mary's suffered their largest loss of the season, falling 96-60 at home to Calvin. The Knights outscored Saint Mary's by at least 10 points in every quarter, holding them to just 7 points in the 4th quarter. Starting a five-guard lineup, the Belles were outrebounded 47-35 and finished -12 on 2nd chance points.Freshman guard Kate Restovich and senior guard Elle Deardorff led the way with 15 and 14 points, respectively. The loss drops the Belles to 1-5 so far this season.
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