'We grew today': Newcomer Colleen Phiri sparks Holy Cross comeback
· Yahoo Sports
WORCESTER – The Holy Cross women’s basketball team graduated four starters from last year’s Patriot League champion and NCAA Tournament team. Their loss was substantial in terms of leadership and production.
Visit playerbros.org for more information.
Still, the Crusaders, and coach Candice Green, believed they had the talent and the determination to keep their predecessors’ standard of success going in 2026-27.
Holy Cross proved that in its 10-point win at Boston College to start the season, and again in its comeback victory over Dartmouth in its home opener Nov. 5 at the Hart Center.
Sophomore guard Colleen Phiri drove for the go-ahead layup with 1:30 left and made 1-2 free throws with 16 seconds to go and the Crusaders overcame a tough shooting night to beat the Big Green, 49-46.
“I’m happy with our group,” Green said. “We grew today.”
Holy Cross trailed by as many as nine and by seven at the end of the third quarter.
HC scored the first six points of the fourth and held Dartmouth to seven points over the final 10 minutes. Phiri and sophomore guard Brianna McDermott sank big 3-pointers, and Phiri was clutch down the stretch.
“It shows our resilience,” said Phiri, who also had a key defensive rebound with 35 seconds left. “It’s only Game 2, but this is what we’ve been practice for since the summer. We’ve been building for moments like this.”
Phiri, who transferred to HC from George Washington, scored a game-high 21 points and had eight rebounds. As she has shown, she can shoot from 3 and take it to the rim. She scored 11 points in her Holy Cross debut at BC.
“Everyone has been super welcoming,” Phiri said. “I love my teammates and my coaches. They make it feel like home.”
Phiri’s tie-breaking layup gave Holy Cross its first lead since 7-5 in the first quarter.
“I was thinking, ‘Just go,’” Phiri said of the decisive basket. “I felt all game like head of steam and momentum, and my teammates were encouraging me so I said, ‘I’m going to take this,’ and it went in.”
Holy Cross shot just 32% from the field, but the Crusaders held Dartmouth to 26%.
“I was happy with shots we were getting,” Green said. “They just weren’t falling. That’s why we play defense because you can’t control if ball goes in, but you can control the shots we give up. That’s what we focused on.”
Dartmouth went 10-17 (1-13 Ivy League) last year. The Big Green opened 2026-27 with a 56-49 win over Boston University, one of HC’s Patriot League foes.
HC has won three straight against the Big Green.
Dartmouth turned the ball over on its first two possessions and Holy Cross continued to get stops – the Big Green started 1-9 from the field – but HC struggled to convert at the offensive end. The Crusaders made just 2 of their first 9 field-goal tries.
Dartmouth senior guard Sierra Carson buried a 3 at the first-quarter buzzer to give the Big Green a 15-11 lead.
Both teams continued to struggle to find offensive rhythm in second quarter. Phiri scored all nine of HC’s second-quarter points and junior Zeynep Ozel all nine of Dartmouth’s.
The Big Green led, 24-20, at halftime.
Holy Cross senior forward Janie Bachmann, who scored career-high 21 points at BC, played just seven minutes of first half after picking up two fouls.
Phiri’s basket underneath off a pass from Bachmann tied it at 30 with 4:10 left in the third, but senior guard Alexandra Eldredge scored seven straight points for the Big Green, and freshman Peyton Hoblock’s layup gave Dartmouth its largest lead, 39-30, with 1:32 left in the third.
“For us,” Green said, “when we get in situations like this, we try to turn it into a positive because that’s the thing that makes you better at the end. Yes, we would love to go into the fourth winning by 10 or more points, and everybody’s shots are going in, but these are the games that make you the team you become in March. I’m excited we were able to come back and put the ball in the basket at the end.”
—Contact Jennifer Toland at [email protected]. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @JenTolandTG.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: 'We grew today': Newcomer Colleen Phiri sparks Holy Cross comeback