Guard Sydney Johnson (CAS’23) drives to the hoop in BU’s 65-61 loss to Holy Cross Sunday, March 12. Johnson was named a member of the Patriot League All-Tournament Team. Photo by Jackie Ricciardi

Patriot League

Women’s Basketball’s Comeback Falls Short in Patriot League Final

Top-seeded Terriers fall 65-61 to Holy Cross after program’s best season in Patriot League

In the 2022–23 Patriot League women’s basketball season, Holy Cross was the only team that beat Boston University—and they managed to do it twice.

Every great conference season must come to an end. For the BU women Terriers, their best regular season finish in 10 years of Patriot League play ended with a disappointing finish: a 65-61 loss to Holy Cross on Sunday in the Patriot League Championship at Case Gym. 

The game was just the second time BU has played in the Patriot League tournament final—and the second time in three years—and both times they lost their chance to play in the NCAA March Madness tournament at home. Instead, the team, courtesy of winning the regular season title, will play in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT).

The Terriers finished the regular season with a 17-1 conference record, surpassing their previous single-season high of 12 wins. They also named three players to the All-Patriot League teams. Caitlin Weimar (CAS’24) and Sydney Johnson (CAS’23) were named to the All-Patriot League First Team, and guard Alex Giannaros (CAS’25) was named to the Third Team. Maren Durant (Sargent’23) was named to the Patriot League All-Defensive Team alongside Johnson and Weimer. 

Coach Melissa Graves earned Patriot League Coach of the Year in her second season at BU. 

“It doesn’t negate what we’ve done all year, which is break a ton of records, set a tremendous legacy here, especially for our five seniors,” Graves says. “Obviously, it’s disappointing, but we still have basketball to play in the WNIT.” 

Sunday’s Crusaders victory became the third instant-classic matchup between BU and Holy Cross this season. The Terriers overcame a 15-point deficit on February 15 to beat the Crusaders 66-59 in Worcester in their first season matchup. In the regular season finale on March 1, Holy Cross notched the only mark in BU’s loss column, beating the Terriers 57-53. 

BU opened Sunday’s game, firing on all cylinders. Weimar’s opening tip led to a Durant lay-in to put BU on the board. BU led the majority of the quarter before Holy Cross began to seemingly score at will.

The Crusaders shot 65 percent from the field, leading the Terriers 39-30 at halftime. Holy Cross seemed to neutralize BU’s marquee three-point shooting, keeping BU to 2-6 from beyond the arc. 

Entering the tournament, BU owned the third-best three-point shooting percentage in Division I (39.37 percent) and Alex Giannaros was the nation’s best three-point shooter.

“I didn’t think we gave up,” Graves says. “We just started slow. If we could have started the way we played at the end, it would have been better for us, but I can’t be upset with the fight in the team.” 

For the Terriers, the third quarter saw the game go from bad to worse as the Crusaders extended their lead to 22. Terriers All-Defensive selection Durant notched her fifth personal foul, relegating her to the bench. 

Yet something changed inside the Terriers huddle at the end of the third quarter, which BU ended on an 8-0 run. When BU emerged from their time-out, they maintained the momentum, and in a matter of minutes the 22-point deficit was down to 6 points, 58-52. 

“I continued to encourage them that we weren’t defeated,” Graves says. “We’d been down by 15 to them earlier in the year, and we came back and won it. That’s the character of this team, and they’ve done that all year.” 

The Crusaders finally broke through on a Cara McCormack layup—and by that time Case Gym was rocking and no fans were sitting. 

The Terriers trimmed the Crusaders lead all the way down to one, 62-61, on a Johnson three-pointer with 2:25 left in the fourth quarter, capping a 25-4 run. 

“That’s been our MO, especially in the postseason—getting down and finding a way to come back,” Johnson said. “The game isn’t over until the clock runs out. That’s something that I mentioned to the team during halftime. We’ve done crazier things before, we’ve come back on them and won a game. Anything is possible.” 

But Holy Cross did not fold. Down the stretch, the Crusaders managed to keep the game out of reach for the Terriers. BU had a shot to tie the game at 64, but Giannaros’ game-tying shot came up short. 

An obligatory foul against Holy Cross sent tournament MVP Bronagh Power-Cassidy to the free throw line—and she sealed the game with two seconds remaining. The Terriers fell at home 65-61. 

“It’s tough because of all the work we’ve put in,” Johnson says. “I’m really proud of this team, but it’s definitely just disappointing to end on that note. I’m proud of everything that we’ve accomplished this year as a team, you know, excited for the team going forward.”

Johnson, alongside Durant and Weimar, was named a member of the 2023 Patriot League All-Tournament Team.