By Stephen Ur
In a matchup of two women’s basketball teams from the two biggest cities in New England, Boston College hosted Holy Cross (Worcester, MA) in the season opener for both teams at Conte Forum on the campus of Boston College in Boston, MA.
The Eagles got off to a fast start in this one, going on a 7-0 run to open the game. The Crusaders would close it to a two-point game twice in the quarter, but BC built a lead as big as 10 and led 26-18 after one.
Holy Cross would keep it close, even outscoring Boston College in the second quarter, but they still trailed 33-29 at halftime. With 8:17 remaining in the third quarter, a Kaitlyn Flannigan three-pointer gave the Crusaders their first lead of the night at 36-33, capping off their own 7-0 run.
Down 71-70 with just one second left, Simone Thorman made a layup to give Holy Cross a 72-71 lead. Athena Tomlinson missed the potential game-winning three at the buzzer, and the Crusaders came away with the upset victory to open the 2025-2026 season.
They will be on the road on Sunday to take on seventh-ranked Duke. The Eagles, who picked up their first win on Thursday over New Hampshire, will be back home Saturday to take on UMass-Lowell.