Holy Cross women celebrate home opener with win over University of New Hampshire

WORCESTER — When the University of New Hampshire hired Maureen Magarity as its women’s basketball coach in 2010, she, at age 29, was the youngest Division 1 coach in the country.

“I was hired really young,” Magarity, in her third season at Holy Cross, said earlier this week, “and I’ll forever be grateful to my athletic director (Marty Scarano), who was there at the time. He just gave me a chance to be a Division 1 coach, and he was with me through a lot of growing pains. I was able to make mistakes, and learn and grow on and off the court. When the Holy Cross job was open, I felt very prepared for it because of my experience at UNH.”

Magarity, the 2021-22 Patriot League Coach of the Year after leading the Crusaders to their first regular-season PL title in 17 years, spent a decade at UNH and guided the Wildcats to two national postseason appearances and a school-record 26 wins in 2016-17. The program and its people, especially coach Kelsey Hogan, who played for Magarity at UNH, was on her staff and succeeded her, remain special to Magarity.

“I’m so proud of Kelsey and the job she has done,” Magarity said.

Holy Cross, which went 1-1 on the road to start 2022-23, faced the Wildcats in its home opener Wednesday night at the Hart Center.

While the matchup lacked the drama of last year’s HC-UNH game in Durham, when the graduated Avery LaBarbera sank a buzzer-beater to lift the Crusaders to a 50-49 win, HC was almost as happy with the final result.

Sophomore forward Lindsay Berger posted a double-double with 17 points and 14 rebounds, both career highs, and added four blocks to lead Holy Cross to a 56-49 victory.

The Crusaders overcame 24 turnovers and missed five straight free throws in the last 33 seconds − after making 13 of 14 up to that point − to give the Wildcats an opening. Junior forward Janelle Allen made a key block with 12.6 seconds left.

“It’s definitely not the game we wanted (with the turnovers),” Berger said, “but good teams find a way to win. That’s the positive part, and we’re going to learn from it.”

Freshman forward Kaitlyn Flanagan scored a career-high 12 points.

HC shot 37 percent from the field and just 4 of 18 from 3-point territory, but Flanagan’s 3 early in the fourth quarter was one of the biggest shots of the game after the Wildcats cut what was a 12-point Holy Cross lead to five.

“It felt good,” Flanagan said. “It was my teammates getting me open and just us moving the ball against their zone. The shot was the open look, and it just wasn’t falling in the first half, so it felt good to have something fall in the second half.”

The Wildcats (2-2) scored 20 points off HC’s turnovers, and each time the Crusaders built a double-digit lead, prevented them from pulling away.

“UNH did a really nice job of getting to the passing lanes in its zone,” said Magarity, who earlier this month signed a three-year contract extension, “and forced us into a lot of those turnovers. We did a better job in the second half of seeing the floor a little bit, but (the turnover number) has to go way down.”

Allen added 10 points for HC.

Freshman Breezie Williams scored 11 points and had four steals to lead UNH.

Hogan, who recently gave birth, was not at the game. Assistant Mandy Pennewell guided the Wildcats in Hogan’s absence.

Holy Cross held UNH to 27 percent from the field, including 18 percent from 3.

The 6-foot-2 Berger moved into the starting lineup this season after averaging 6.8 minutes in 17 games off the bench last season.

“Last year was definitely a learning year for me,” Berger said, “and the coaches were on me to work hard. The only way I’m going to make an impact work is to work individually, after hours, things like that. It feels good. It’s rewarding for sure.”

Berger, along with Allen, aids HC’s inside presence. Through three games, she’s averaging 9.7 points and a team-high 8 rebounds.

“I’m so happy about her development,” Magarity said. “She worked so hard in the offseason, and now it’s paying off. She’s been very steady the first three games. She’s probably been our most consistent player.”

—Contact Jennifer Toland at jennifer.toland@telegram.com. Follow her on Twitter @JenTolandTG.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Holy Cross women celebrate home opener with win over University of New Hampshire