Brendan Grudberg ’28
Sports Editor
The Holy Cross Women’s Basketball team is having a very strong 2025-26 season, sitting 14-9 overall and 8-4 within the conference with 6 games left to play as of Tuesday, Feb. 10. I spoke with Head Coach Candice Green earlier this school year about her expectations for the upcoming season, and many of her high expectations have come to fruition, with the ultimate goal–a Patriot League championship – still very much in the realm of possibilities.
When I spoke with Coach Green in September, I asked her about the graduation of All-Patriot forward and team captain Lindsay Berger and how she expected her role to be filled. Green put all her trust in current senior forward Meg Cahalan to fill her role, and through 22 games, Cahalan has certainly delivered.
Cahalan ranks fifth in the Patriot League in points per game, and sixth in conference-only games. Putting up 15 points a night, Cahalan has drastically modified her game to fill in Berger’s post-heavy role within the offense.
Her three point attempt rate has plummeted from .487 in 2024-25 (meaning 48.7% of her shots were threes) to just .186 in 2025-26, dropping even lower to .125 in conference play. This is consistent with what Green told me in September. She had affirmed Cahalan’s status as “one of the best post players in the Patriot League,” and with the paint now freed up, she’s established herself as, indeed, one of the best post scorers in the conference, ranking third in the league in two-point field goals per game.
One of the questions Coach Green had about her squad was its ability to play at a high level defensively, and those concerns have been lifted at this point in the year. The Crusaders rank second in the Patriot League in defensive rating (85.7 – meaning they give up 85.7 points PER 100 defensive possessions), and they’ve proved to be great at causing havoc on the defensive end, ranking first in STOCKS (Steals + Blocks; 11.1/game), a good indicator of high defensive activity and playmaking ability.
Junior guard Kendall Eddy has been especially remarkable in this area, averaging 2.3 steals per game, and 2.9 in conference play – leading the league. Senior guard Mary-Elizabeth Donnelly also ranks in the top ten in blocks per game (conference play, 1.0/game), utilizing her great positional size (6’0”) to alter shots on defense.
It’s been the offensive end where the Crusaders have seen more struggles. They rank sixth in the league in offensive rating (86.9 – meaning they score 86.9 points per 100 offensive possessions), which is down 3.4 from last season. The main culprit of these offensive struggles is their three-point shooting – the Crusaders rank dead last in the Patriot League at just 25.3% from deep. This is a confusing outcome, as it’s a decline of six whole percentage points from last year, despite the fact that none of Holy Cross’s graduating seniors were prolific three-point shooters.
They’ve improved a bit in conference play, shooting 27.1% through 12 games, but it’s still their main drawback on the offensive end. Their most impressive shooter has been the aforementioned Eddy, who’s averaging over one deep ball a game at a team-best 32.9% clip (min. 10 attempts).
Looking past the three-point shooting woes, the Crusaders’ offense is being dominated by more or less the same familiar faces as last year. Meg Cahalan is the only player averaging double figures, but seniors Kaitlyn Flanagan and Simone Foreman, and Junior Kendall Eddy, are all putting up over eight points a night.
Flanagan, a 2025 All-Patriot honoree, is also averaging four assists per game, good for second in the conference for the whole season.
Simone Foreman has carried on her steady performance from an injury riddled, but majorly improved, junior season last year. Foreman stands out especially in the rebounding department. Standing at just 5’9”, she has led the team in rebounds per game for a third straight season so far, bringing in 7.8 total and 2.2 on the offensive end.
Juniors Janie Bachmann and Hannah Griffin have also stepped up for the Crusaders, each averaging career highs in minutes and points per game. Bachmann has been very efficient and productive on a per-minute basis, trailing only Cahalan in points per 40 minutes and leading the team in field goal percentage (50.5%, min. 10 attempts).
The total experience of the Crusaders’ roster has left little room for first-year impact, but first-year guard Asia Wilson has been the most notable contributor of the team’s 2025 recruiting class thus far.
Wilson has appeared in 18 of 23 games so far, playing 14 minutes per game. Her production on the offensive end hasn’t been remarkable, but Coach Green has been very complimentary of her defensive impact and it has allowed her to become a mainstay in the rotation.
The Crusaders currently sit in a tie for third place in the Patriot League standings, but finish the season with a favorable schedule, playing five different opponents in six games who all have conference win percentages of .500 or lower. This stretch will be very important for Holy Cross who is one game within second place and 2.5 games back of first place Navy (who the Crusaders dealt their only conference loss to at this point).
The Crusaders should be expected to host at least one playoff game in the Patriot League tournament come March, with a legitimate opportunity to come out of the bracket and punch their ticket to another NCAA tournament.
Featured image courtesy of Holy Cross Athletics
Leave a Reply