Terriers Close Regular Season With 64-58 Loss to Crusaders

Wednesday, March 4

Boston, MA

6 PM

Boston University

10-19,6-12Patriot

Holy Cross

20-9,14-4Patriot

Holy Cross

Boston U.

Photo by: Dan Koerner

Terriers Close Regular Season With 64-58 Loss to Crusaders

March 4, 2026 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Highlights Postgame Audio - Melissa Graves Championship Central

BOSTON – Senior Bella McLaughlin posted a team-high 17 points, but the Boston University women's basketball program sustained a 64-58 setback to Holy Cross on Wednesday evening at Case Gym.

BU (10-19, 6-12 PL) overcame a 10-point, first-quarter deficit and led by as many as 12 points in the fourth quarter, but went scoreless for nearly seven minutes as the Crusaders (20-9, 14-4 PL) outscored the Terriers 25-10 in the final frame.

With the result, BU secures the No. 8-seed in the Patriot League Tournament and will host ninth-seeded American in the first round on Saturday (March 7) at 2 p.m.

McLaughlin registered 17 points, five assists and three rebounds. Classmate Inés Monteagudo Pardo nailed four three-pointers for 12 points while senior Anete Adler collected 10 points.

Mary-Elizabeth Donnelly tallied a 24-point, 11-rebound double-double to pace Holy Cross. Meg Cahalan scored 10 of her 18 points in the fourth quarter.

HOW IT HAPPENED

McLaughlin opened the game with an underhanded layup on a drive through the right lane, but Holy Cross utilized an 11-2 run in a 4:08 span on 3-for-4 shooting from distance for an 11-4 lead.
After Donnelly's layup extended the gap to 10 points, the Terriers capped the first quarter on a 7-0 spurt in the last 2:59. Sophomore Rose Azmoudeh canned a left-wing three, classmate Hildur Gunnsteinsdóttir hit a reverse layup and McLaughlin converted a driving layup to make it an 18-15 contest. That run ballooned to a 15-2 stretch through the second quarter.
The Terriers went in front on a pair of second-chance buckets as sophomore Taylor Williams snagged her own miss to find junior Audrey Ericksen for an open three, then freshman Kate Allard cleaned the glass for a layup plus a foul. She hit the free throw to make it 23-20 in BU's favor.
Holy Cross went back in front with help from two Janie Bachmann layups, but BU ended the first half on a 9-2 run. McLaughlin leveled the score with her own and-1 layup, then sophomore Allison Schwertner and Monteagudo drilled threes for a 32-28 halftime lead.
Adler found McLaughlin in the left corner for a three-pointer then made two shots underneath the basket to give BU a 39-32 lead at the 6:25 mark in the third quarter.
Monteagudo drilled a left-wing three-pointer to ignite a 7-0 Terrier burst that Schwertner capped with a left-block layup to hand the Terriers their largest lead of the night, 46-36, with 2:10 left in the third.
The junior nailed her third triple of the night to open the fourth quarter, but seven straight Crusader points trimmed BU's lead to 51-46 in the first two-and-a-half minutes in the stanza.
Holy Cross' run peaked at 13 straight points as Cahalan knocked down a baseline jumper at the 3:50 mark to push the Crusaders in front. Adler and Cahalan then traded baskets, the latter giving the Crusaders a 54-53 lead with 3:16 remaining.
The Crusaders stretched the gap to five points from Donnelly's driving hook and Asia Wilson's fastbreak layup. Azmoudeh dished a cross-court dime to Monteagudo for a three with 1:42 remaining to pull the Terriers within 58-56.
Cahalan missed a jumper that Monteagudo rebounded, but Adler could not connect on a jumper. Hannah Griffin then secured a Holy Cross offensive rebound to hit a layup with under 31 seconds to go in regulation to seal the decision.

STATS

BU made 41.5 percent of its shots while shooting 8-for-19 from downtown (42.1 percent). However, the Terriers made just four of their 15 fourth-quarter shots.
Holy Cross shot under 37 percent in the contest. After making their first three triples, the Crusaders went 3-for-18 from distance.
Rebounds favored Holy Cross, 37-30. The visitors turned 11 offensive rebounds in to 20 second-chance points.
The Terriers sported a 26-22 advantage in paint points.
The Terriers led for 20:02 in a game that featured four ties and seven lead changes.

NOTES

McLaughlin reached double digits for the 11th time this season and fifth in her last six appearances. In that span, she is averaging 13.6 points per game.
Monteagudo closes the regular season with a Patriot League-leading .435 three-point percentage. She is averaging 3.5 three-pointers per game in her last six appearances.
Adler scored 10 or more points in 12 of her 15 conference appearances at 16 points per game.
Holy Cross improves to 27-16 all-time against the Terriers while sweeping the regular season series for the first time since the 2018-19 campaign.

UP NEXT

No. 8-seed BU takes on No. 9-seed American in the first round of the Patriot League Tournament on Saturday (March 7). Opening tip from Case Gym is slated for 2 p.m.