McCormack sets career highs with 23 points, 7 3s as Holy Cross women rout UT Martin in First Four

Updated Mar. 21, 2024 11:03 p.m. ET

Associated Press

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Senior Cara McCormack set career highs with 23 points and seven 3-pointers, Bronagh Power-Cassidy added 15 points and Holy Cross secured its second NCAA Tournament win in program history, routing UT Martin 72-45 on Thursday night in the First Four.

Holy Cross (21-12) has won five straight games and seven of its last nine, including the Patriot League Tournament championship for the second straight season. The Crusaders, in their 14th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, will move on and face top-seeded Iowa on Saturday on ABC.

UT Martin (16-17) was coming off a loss in the Ohio Valley Conference championship game, but received an automatic bid due to Southern Indiana's ineligibility. The Screaming Eagles are in the second year of the four-year reclassification to Division I and are ineligible to play in the tournament.

Holy Cross made 10 3-pointers in the first half — to tie its season high for an entire game. The Crusaders finished 12 of 32 from distance.

McCormack and Power-Cassidy combined to score 29 points on 10-of-19 shooting, in the first half, while UT Martin scored just 24 on 9-of-31 shooting. UT Martin shot just 28% in the first half, including 1 of 11 from 3-point range, and trailed 45-24.

UT Martin missed its first seven shots of the third quarter, and the lead for Holy Cross reached 30 points entering the fourth.

McCormack finished 7 of 10 from 3-point range and Power-Cassidy, who was voted the Patriot League championship MVP for a second straight year, made 3 of 10.

Anaya Brown led UT Martin with 15 points and Kenley McCarn, averaging a team-high 16.7 points, was held to 12 points.

The other NCAA Tournament victory for Holy Cross came on March 13, 1991, when the Crusaders defeated Maryland 81-74. It was the first women's tournament win in Patriot League history.

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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket/ and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness