The College of the Holy Cross women's basketball team had the daunting task of improving on a historic 17-win season.
From 2022 to 2023, the Saints went 17-13 (including 11-9 in CCAC play) before being eliminated by Indiana Northwest in the first round of the conference playoffs.
The Saints began the season with a decisive 81-69 win at home against Huntington in late October before traveling to Kansas to play in the Benedictine Classic.
When the team returned from Kansas State, they finished their non-conference schedule with losses to Bethel and Goshen, but picked up a road win against Indiana Kokomo.
The Saints started the CCAC regular season with a 69-56 win over Roosevelt, but lost at home to Indiana South Bend. The Saints bounced back with a dominant win against St. Ambrose, but lost in overtime to IU Northwest.
Even though the overtime loss was a disappointing result, it didn't bother the Saints. Instead, the team defeated Calumet 73-42 and entered the break with a CCAC record of 3-2.
After a rocky start in January, the team went 0-3, losing games to Governors State University and Roosevelt University, and losing 80-45 to Indiana South Bend University.
However, by the end of the month, the Saints seemed to be back on track, posting a five-game winning streak with wins over St. Ambrose, IU Northwest, Calumet, St. Francis, and Judson.
At McKenna Arena, Olivet Nazarene ended its winning streak with a 94-72 blowout, but Holy Cross bounced back with wins over St. Xavier and Trinity Christian. The Saints ended the regular season with an 83-74 road loss to Governors State.
The Saints finished the regular season with an overall record of 15 wins and 13 losses, just shy of last year's record. However, the team went 12-8 in CCAC play, setting a new record for total conference wins.
This new record was good enough to qualify them as a No. 6 seed into the CCAC Tournament, resulting in a rematch with the No. 3 seed St. Xavier Cougars. Both teams were incredibly close, with the Cougars leading by one point heading into the first half. Senior forward Neva Longhofer and junior forward Grace Adams combined for 16 points in the third quarter to give the team a narrow lead.
Adams finished with 31 points, scoring 11 points in the fourth quarter as the Saints came from behind to beat the Cougars 87-78. The win was the program's first CCAC playoff win since the 2018-2019 season, when the Saints defeated St. Xavier 65-60.
The Saints weren't the only team to pull off a significant upset. The seventh-seeded Olivet Nazarene University Tigers defeated the second-seeded Governors State team in a home playoff game for the Saints.
The game in the CCAC semifinals started with a low score, but the Tigers took a 12-point lead with 3:38 left in the second quarter, threatening to turn it into a close game.
The Saints were called for 27 fouls, including eight in the second quarter, helping the Tigers build and maintain the lead. Olivet made 24 of 36 total shots.
However, senior guard Lauren Morris' 3-pointer made the game a five-point lead and appeared to give the Saints momentum. Junior guard Jordyn Smith's jumper tied the score at 61 4:40 into the game, and it was tied at the end of regulation.
The Saints had several chances to win the game, including when Longhofer made a free layup but was blocked by a trailing defender and missed. Holy Cross also had the final possession of the game, but Smith fell just short of the game-winning bucket.
The team will lose Longhofer and Morris for next season. Longhofer started 21 of 29 games and averaged 6.1 points in 18.3 minutes per game. Morris started 28 of 29 games and averaged 10.8 points per game in 26.4 minutes.
However, the Saints have a number of talented senior student-athletes returning. Up-and-comers Jordyn Smith and Grace Adams have been great for this year's team. Adams averaged a team-leading 18.6 points and 10.1 rebounds in 30.1 minutes played. Smith averaged 11.4 points and 4.5 rebounds.
In addition to Adams and Smith, the Saints also have young guards in Kyliana Hammel and Lily Toppen, both of whom had great sophomore seasons. Hammel averaged 11.5 points per game, led the team in 3-point shooting percentage (40.8 percent), and averaged nearly two steals per game. Toppen appeared in 30 games for the Saints, coming off the bench in all but one game. She averaged 21.8 minutes, 6.6 points, and 1.9 rebounds.
So while the season may have ended in heartbreak, the Saints are looking to build on two successful years.