BC Women's Basketball Drops Season Opener to Holy Cross on Game-Winning Layup
BC women's basketball opened up its 2025-26 season on Monday night, falling to Holy Cross by a score of 72-71. Simone Foreman's game winning layup with one second remaining gave the Crusaders the victory.
The Eagles started the opener out hot from the field, quickly taking a 7-0 lead. The Crusaders responded with an 8-2 surge to make it a 9-8 game with 6:32 remaining in the opening frame.
BC answered with a 9-2 run to take an eight-point lead on a three-pointer from Erin Houpt. The Eagles ended the first quarter by maintaining their eight-point lead, holding a 26-18 advantage. Athena Tomlinson played all of the opening period, posting five points, three rebounds, and three assists. Tomlinson is one of two returners for BC alongside senior Ava McGee.
The scoring slowed down for BC in the second frame, scoring just seven points throughout the quarter. Holy Cross picked up its effort, cutting the deficit to four points going into the break. The Eagles led 33-29 at halftime, paced by Jocelyne Grier's 11 points. Grier is a freshman guard from Charlotte, N.C.
Holy Cross opened the second half on a tear, taking a 36-33 advantage with 8:17 left in the third quarter. The Eagles answered the Crusaders' 7-0 run and tied the game at 42 points apiece with 5:07 left on a three-pointer from Erin Houpt. Houpt is a redshirt senior who was previously at San Diego State.
BC held a 52-50 lead after three quarters, led by Rolph and Grier with 13 points each.
Lily Carmody opened the final period with five points of her own. Tomlinson's driving layup with 6:27 left forced the Crusaders to call timeout, trailing 59-52.
Tomlinson picked up her fourth foul of the game with 3:00 remaining as the Eagles led 65-60.
The Crusaders cut the deficit to two points on a three-pointer from Mary Donnelly with 1:36 left and forced BC to call timeout. With the game tied at 69 points apiece with 30.1 seconds remaining, BC held possession of the ball after a Holy Cross layup. Teionni McDaniel's layup through traffic put the Eagles back on top by two points with 7.1 seconds left.
After Holy Cross split a pair of free throws, Rolph headed to the line. After a stellar performance with a team-high 15 points, Rolph couldn't come through in the clutch. She missed both free throws before Foreman broke the Eagles' hearts.
"We've gotta get better," BC head coach Joanna Bernabei-McNamee said. "We've got a lot of good film to watch and improve from."
Brendan Mogan is studying communication and journalism at Boston College. He has worked as a staff writer for The Heights, the independent student newspaper, since spring 2023. There, he has covered women’s basketball, baseball, volleyball, and more. Brendan works as a writer in the USA Basketball Writing Program, covering its youth teams in tournaments such as the FIBA U19 Men’s World Cup. He joined Boston College Eagles On SI in 2025.