Iowa women will face Holy Cross Saturday in NCAA Tournament
Holy Cross defeats Tennessee-Martin 72-45 in NCAA first-four game
By Susan Harman
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Iowa will see a near mirror image in its first-round NCAA game.
Holy Cross defeated the University of Tennessee at Martin, 72-45, Thursday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in an NCAA First Four game. The Crusaders will play No. 1 seed Iowa on Saturday at 2 p.m.
The Crusaders (21-12) took control early by making 10 first-half threes to take a 45-24 lead. The 10 3-point makes came on just 21 shots. The 10 threes matched the team’s best performance in an entire game.
Senior Cara McCormack lit up the Skyhawks, making 6-of-9 threes in the first half alone. She finished with a career-high 23, including seven 3-pointers (out of 10 shots). She also grabbed seven rebounds.
Holy Cross finished with 12 3-pointers and overall shot 46 percent, but when the game was being decided the Crusaders were hot.
Holy Cross showed a fast-paced offense with crisp passing and confident shooting. They beat the Skyhawk press with ease and had nice ball movement in the half court.
The Crusaders aren’t real big on the perimeter, but they have a lot of experience and are upper-class dominated. UT-Martin spent a lot of time defending Holy Cross’s best player, Bronagh Power-Cassidy and consequently other players were able to get good shots.
Janelle Allen, whose brother Brian is a defensive end on the Iowa football team, showed great versatility, scoring in and out. She’s a strong, mobile and active 5-11 forward.
Power-Cassidy finished with 15 points.
UT-Martin finished a star-crossed season 16-17. The Skyhawks had seven players out with injuries, many for the entire season.