Let the dancing begin — Holy Cross women's hoop faces Maryland in 1st round of NCAAs after topping BU for PL title

BOSTON — A memory from March 12, 2016, popped up on former Army women’s basketball coach Dave Magarity’s Facebook Sunday morning from the Black Knights’ Patriot League Tournament final victory over Loyola that season.

Magarity is high on a ladder delightedly waving the net after snipping it down. Below, in the triumphant swarm, is his daughter, Maureen Magarity, and her daughters, Charlotte and Caroline.

Dave shared the photo with Maureen before she led Holy Cross into this year’s Patriot League Tournament final Sunday afternoon at Boston University.

“We all thought it was a sign,” Maureen said.

The No. 2 seed Crusaders rolled into BU, the top seed, on a five-game winning streak and as the only league team to have defeated the Terriers this season.

Behind junior guard Bronagh Power-Cassidy’s game-high 21 points, and critical contributions from junior forward Janelle Allen and sophomore forward Lindsay Berger, the Crusaders beat the Terriers, 66-61, to capture their first Patriot League championship since 2007 before a raucous crowd at Case Gymnasium.

Holy Cross (24-8) earned the league’s automatic NCAA Tournament berth, and HC was awarded a 15th seed in the Greenville I Region. The Crusaders play at second-seeded Maryland (25-6) on Friday. Defending national champion South Carolina (32-0), led by former Worcester Academy standout Aliyah Boston, is the region and national top seed.

The Crusaders are the only team in Massachusetts, men or women, in an NCAA Division 1 basketball tournament field.

“It’s just an incredible day for our program,” Magarity, in her third season at Holy Cross, said. “I can’t say enough about this team. From the minute we stepped foot on campus last summer, I knew we had a special group. To get to the championship is obviously an amazing thing to celebrate. Obviously, we wanted to win, and to find a way to win on BU’s home court against an amazing team, we really had to play our best basketball, and we really did.”

HC’s 24 wins are tied for the second most in program history. The PL title is No. 12 for the Crusaders.

Dave Magarity, who was at the Hart Center for HC’s quarterfinal and semifinal games last week, sat a few rows behind the HC bench at BU. As the final seconds ticked off the clock, and, later, when Maureen stepped up the ladder to cut down the net, he was emotional and so proud of his daughter and her players.

“You want to make your parents really proud,” said Maureen, who guided Holy Cross to the regular-season PL title last year, “and I hope I did that today.”

The Crusaders, who were shooting 70% from the field through three quarters, led by as many as 22 and by 19 after three, but BU senior guard Sydney Johnson sparked a furious rally in the fourth, and the Terriers closed to within a point with 2:21 left.

During a timeout, Magarity’s message did not change.

“We reiterated throughout the game to stay composed but stay hungry,” Power-Cassidy said. ‘“You can’t settle at all. You just have to keep fighting and be aggressive every possession.”

Power-Cassidy sank a critical jumper with 2:01 left and a pair of three throws with 2 seconds to play.

Power-Cassidy, the tournament MVP, shot 58% over the three tourney games. She scored a career-high 27 points in the semifinal win over Lehigh.

“It’s my team helping me get open,” Power-Cassidy said. “They find me and get me the ball, and the least I can do is put it in the basket. Our whole team, anyone can step up, so it makes everyone’s job so much easier when anyone can be a threat.”

Power-Cassidy was 6 for 6 for 15 points in the first half.

“She had an amazing tournament,” Magarity said. “Coming off the last game, when she was unstoppable, it’s tough to follow up, especially when the game plan is to take her away. Bronagh has been so locked in.”

Allen (16 points) and Berger (11) also scored in double figures and clamped down on BU’s frontcourt stars Cailtin Weimer and Maren Durant.

Weimer finished with 10 points and Durant six. Holy Cross outrebounded BU, 35-19.

“They are not the easiest posts to guard,” Allen said, “but Lindsay and (freshman forward) Callie (Wright) and I practiced all week to guard them and figure out what we wanted to do. They didn’t make it easy for us, but at the end of the day, we figured it out. Our guards helped us, our coaches helped us and everyone bought in to our game plan.”

Junior guard Cara McCormack added 11 points for HC. Johnson led BU with 19 points.

The Crusaders, who were 16 of 16 from the free-throw line, led, 39-30, at halftime. Berger scored the first seven points of the third quarter, with a pair of jumpers, a putback and free throw, and HC built its lead from there.

“She took some tough shots,” Magarity said, “and it just shows how much she’s from from last year when she didn’t play much as a freshman. Every game she has become more and more confident, and it’s awesome to see that.”

Sunday’s game marked just the second time in PL tourney history that a No. 2 seed has beat a No. 1 seed in the title game.

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

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: HC women's hoop tops BU for NCAA berth, faces Maryland in 1st round