Courtesy of Sarah Kirkpatrick, Holy Cross Athletic Communications
On Jan. 9, 2021, Maureen Magarity’s first win as head coach of the Holy Cross women’s basketball team unfolded in perhaps the most unique circumstances possible. Despite spending the previous 10 years as the head coach at the University of New Hampshire, for the first time in her head coaching career, Magarity was facing off against her father, longtime Army West Point head coach Dave Magarity. It was believed to be the first Division I basketball meeting between a father and daughter as head coaches.
The matchup drew considerable buzz and national media attention. With strict COVID-19 precautions still in effect, the win took place in a nearly empty gym (save for Maureen’s mother and Dave’s wife, Rita, who was allowed to attend). Maureen and Dave, both masked, met at midcourt for a pregame handshake and photo op — complete with an appropriately socially distanced elbow bump. Following the Crusaders’ 80-46 rout of the Black Knights, the father and daughter met with the media on Zoom, separated by a plexiglass barrier.
"It was a tough game — my head's still spinning,” Dave said during that press conference. “We had been playing decent basketball, so I give them all the credit in the world. Their kids stepped up, they played great. There's no question, I'm proud of her as a father and the fact that they were prepared."
792 days later, Dave Magarity — who retired following the 2021 season — stood behind the Crusader bench in front of a packed and roaring Case Gymnasium in Boston, leaning against a Gatorade cooler and watching intently as Holy Cross held a slim lead over Boston University in the waning minutes of 2023 Patriot League title game this past Sunday, March 12. Holy Cross led by just one point, 62-61, with 2:30 to go, before junior guard Bronagh Power-Cassidy hit a jumper and two late game-sealing free throws to help secure the eventual win for the Crusaders.
Along with the rest of the Crusader faithful, Dave basked in the jubilation of Maureen’s first conference tournament championship in 13 years as a head coach. Both Magaritys know firsthand just how much hard work it takes to win – the two have combined for 776 total career head coaching wins, and both have been at the helm of a number of talented programs. And both have watched and experienced plenty of heartbreaks, what-ifs and what-could-have-beens.
“I'm a coach's kid, so I've seen it all,” she said. “And it’s something that feels like it's been even a longer time coming, just because I've been around the game my whole life. I've lived a lot of heartbreaks. And just to finally get one and be able to cut down the nets? I can't even put it into words how proud I am, and to do it with those kids and represent those kids too — I just am so lucky.”
Holy Cross women's basketball head coach Maureen Magarity with her daughters Caroline and Charlotte.
Now-senior Addisyn Cross got a Snapchat memory this week that, as the team celebrates its NCAA Tournament berth, brought her back to a much more difficult time.
Cross is the lone member of this year’s team who played at Holy Cross during the COVID shutdown on March 12, 2020, that canceled the remainder of the Patriot League Tournament and all NCAA winter and spring championships. That morning was business as usual, with the team heading to shootaround prior to their Patriot League semifinal matchup at Bucknell. The Crusaders had been on a tear up to that point, with four straight wins after cruising to a quarterfinal win over Lafayette.
But when the team returned to the hotel, there was a sense of something bad looming, and the team gathered in the lobby to await the news. Sure enough, just hours before tipoff, they got the phone call — the tournament was canceled, and the season was suddenly over. The team was heartbroken, and left wondering — what if they could’ve kept playing? What would have happened in that tournament?
“My freshman year, we were really good, and had a chance to win the championship that year,” Cross said. “Just to have that ripped from you, and seeing how devastated all the upperclassmen were, it was definitely hard.”
Magarity was hired that offseason, amid the COVID shutdown and layers of uncertainty of when basketball would be back. She was joining a team that, just like every other team and person in the world, was trying to navigate completely uncharted territory. Magarity was hired in April of 2020, and didn’t even set foot on campus until late August.
Opportunities for in-person interaction or practices were thoroughly limited, but Magarity and her staff used that time to put extra care into getting to know the student-athletes. Constant phone calls, Zoom meetings and check-ins set the foundation for a supportive and caring environment, and allowed Magarity to bond with her entire team and entire staff.
“I was familiar with the program and the players when I coached against them at UNH, but that's just on paper and on film, and just watching them — I didn't really know their personality,” Magarity said. “But sometimes when you take a job, you're just thrown into the mix, and you have to do stuff on the court, you have to recruit, and you have to do this, and you have to do that. And it really allowed you to get to know each player as a person and not as a basketball player, even if it was over Zoom and over the phone.
“It was really a unique situation…but I think it really helped to build relationships and that foundation of trust. We were all going through something that was hard, but we all had to do it together.”
And that environment has not changed to this day.
“It was definitely nice to meet your coaches as people rather than coaches,” Cross said. “Everybody on our team has really good relationships with all of our coaches. And having that foundation, and trusting in our coaches, has definitely led to our success.”
“That relationship — the coaches caring for you as a player, but also as a person, has been really impactful,” said current rookie Simone Foreman.
Senior Addisyn Cross
After that initial COVID-interrupted year — in which Holy Cross finished with a .500 record in the regular season before falling in the quarterfinal round of the Patriot League Tournament to eventual conference champion Lehigh — the Crusaders quickly, and somewhat unexpectedly, ascended to the top of the Patriot League standings in 2021-22. Holy Cross was selected in the league’s preseason poll to finish in fifth place, but cruised to a 20-win season with a 14-4 conference record, securing an outright regular-season league title.
Things were going well in Worcester…until they suddenly weren’t.
In the quarterfinal round of the 2022 Patriot League Tournament in Worcester, eighth-seeded Navy played the top-seeded Crusaders tight the whole game. With her team trailing by six with 1:37 left, Navy’s Jennifer Coleman hit three straight threes, including an improbable buzzer-beating shot. With just one second remaining — and Holy Cross leading by two — Coleman curled into the right corner and spun around, guarded closely, but banked in a wild three-point attempt high off the glass. Navy won the game, and the Crusaders’ NCAA tournament hopes were immediately over.
“Losing the way we did was horrible,” Magarity said. “It's just horrible. There's no other word for it. It was just really, really heartbreaking.”
Another heartbreak — another year wondering, how far could they have gone? What if that shot hadn’t gone in?
“It felt like we kind of had put the pieces together, and it just got taken away,” Power-Cassidy said.
“Last year really just taught us not to take any moment for granted.”
Junior Bronagh Power-Cassidy
This year’s Holy Cross team is bonded by a universal love for one another — it’s a high-energy group, where its players shun the individual spotlight and constantly praise each other. They’re a singular unit, a true family.
“This team is just the most selfless team — no one really cares who gets the credit,” Magarity said. “It's almost like when they do get the credit, they're almost embarrassed by it sometimes. I started to see that this summer, just how close they were. As the season has gone on, that has really been our identity. Our defense and our toughness is a result of that, because they've really bought into that. They play for each other.”
The team enters the 2023 NCAA Tournament on a tear, having won six straight contests. The year as a whole has had its ups and downs — Holy Cross began the year with an 8-3 record in non-conference play, and won eight straight conference games to open Patriot League action before dropping five of its next seven contests.
After the Crusaders stumbled a bit, the players came together to refocus on what wasn’t working.
“We just needed to figure this out, because we knew how good of a team we are, but things just weren't clicking,” Power-Cassidy said. “So…let's just be ourselves, and get back to having fun. Now, we’re just going back to our principles and our core — let's just play together, play strong.
“Once that started clicking again, and we weren't putting too much pressure on it and we're just having fun with each other, that's when things just started clicking. And once we got on a roll, we got on a roll.”
Holy Cross closed out its regular season with three straight victories, including handing BU a 57-53 loss during the regular-season finale, the Terriers’ first conference loss of the season. The entire conference slate was a battle, with 11 of Holy Cross’ 18 conference games decided by 10 or fewer points.
After cruising past American and Lehigh in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively, Holy Cross seemed to be in the drivers’ seat late in the third quarter of their title tilt — before BU came charging back. The Terriers chipped away at the Crusader lead, cutting within one point with 2:30 to go.
But the Crusaders withstood the test, and emerged champions.
“It's honestly just been surreal,” Cross said. “It’s been a whirlwind of emotions and it still doesn't feel real. You dream about this — to actually have it happen is insane.”
“Having so many competitive teams just makes all of that hard work you put in feel like it's paid off so much more,” Power-Cassidy, the Patriot League Tournament MVP, said. “No game’s a blowout, we went into multiple overtime games this year…all the teams in this league are competitive, and anybody could win on any given day.
“As a team we talked about habits and how you show up every single day. You have to give it your everything every moment. So having that finally pay off when it matters most — that just makes it that much sweeter.”
Head Coach Maureen Magarity
Dave and Rita Magarity spent the week of the Patriot League Tournament with their daughter, providing advice and support when Maureen needed it most. Maureen has certainly never felt any pressure from her parents — her father, who made three trips to the NCAA Tournament as a head coach, has provided her positive encouragement and helped calm any nerves.
“But,” Maureen said, “it doesn't matter how old you are, whether you're seven, or you're 42. You just want to make your parents proud.”
Maureen says that winning a conference title isn’t so much a monkey off her back as it is a genuine, heartfelt appreciation for the hard work it took to get there. Maureen feels fortunate that the two have spent so many moments together and shared their basketball journeys.
“Playing him a few years ago, and for my parents to be there this week,” she said, “I just feel really, really lucky to experience that — like, how am I so lucky?”
Amid the post-win scramble this past Sunday — with Maureen being pulled in a million different directions for interviews, trophy presentations, photos and hugs — she paused and looked around.
“I need to go see my dad,” she said, before sprinting over near the stands to find him amid a sea of purple. The two immediately embraced, overcome with emotion. Dave’s words were unmistakable: “I’m so proud of you,” he said to her, both with tears welling up in their eyes.
#15 HOLY CROSS AT #2 MARYLAND
NCAA TOURNAMENT | FIRST ROUND | FRIDAY, MARCH 17 | 2:30 P.M.
THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE CRUSADERS:
- The surging Crusaders have won six straight games, including the 2023 Patriot League Championship following a 66-61 upset of Boston University in the title game. Four players reached double-figures for the Crusaders, including junior Bronagh Power-Cassidy, who led all players with 21 points and a career-high five assists.
- Power-Cassidy, an All-Patriot League Second Team and Academic All-Patriot League selection, was named Championship MVP. She averaged 20.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.0 steals per game, shooting 58.3 percent (21-of-36) from the floor and 50% (9-of-16) from deep.
- The Crusaders are the lone men’s or women’s basketball team to represent the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the NCAA Division I Tournament.
- The conference championship was the 12th in program history for the Crusaders and first since 2007. The victory was their 50th in the Patriot League Tournament. Both are league high marks.
- Holy Cross became only the second No. 2 seed in the history of the Patriot League to defeat the No. 1 seed at home in the conference championship game (2-10).
- The Crusaders were one of only two teams (Sacred Heart women’s basketball) to win conference title road games (men’s or women’s) against a higher seed.
- The 24 victories for the Crusaders this season tie for the second most in program history, matching the 24-8 record during the 2002-03 season. The program record for wins is 25, which happened in 1990-91 (25-6).
- Holy Cross was recently ranked No. 25 in the Collegeinsider.com Women's Mid-Major Top 25 when the final regular season poll was released on Tuesday.
- This will be the 13th appearance in the NCAA Tournament for the Crusaders and first since 2007. Holy Cross is 1-12 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
- The lone victory came on March 13, 1991 when the No. 11 Crusaders defeated No. 6 Maryland 81-74 at the Hart Center Arena. It is the only NCAA women’s basketball tournament win in Patriot League history.
- The last time Holy Cross played in the tournament was on March 18, 2007, when the Crusaders suffered an 81-44 loss to No. 1 Duke