By Steve Svetovich

Talk about going out in style.

When Holy Cross veteran girls basketball coach Barry Fitzgerald announced he would be retiring at the end of the season, not many thought he would lead his team to a district title and a run in the state playoffs.

But his players did.

More wins give him more time with his team before retirement.

And the Lady Crusaders prevailed.

Holy Cross (10-15) upset defending champion Montrose (13-10), 22-20, Sunday, February 25, at Mohegan Sun Arena, to win the District 2, Class 2A championship under the veteran coach Fitzgerald.

It was the 11th straight game Montrose limited opponents to under 40 points, but the Holy Cross defense was just a bit better.

Holy Cross entered the district playoffs as an underdog, but rallied as a team to win one final district title for coach Fitzgerald.

Peyton Graboske led the Lady Crusaders with nine points, all on 3-pointers, in the district title game.

Graboske netted a pair of clutch 3-pointers in the third quarter as the Lady Crusaders rode the momentum to victory.

Coach Fitzgerald now leads Holy Cross as the District 2 No. 1 seed into the state playoffs. Holy Cross will face the No. 3 seed from District 4.

Trailing by two points with less than 10 seconds left in the district title game, Montrose coach Todd Smith called consecutive timeouts to set up a game-winning 3-point shot. On his first timeout he called a play, but coach Fitzgerald adjusted his defense. Smith then called another timeout to change the play.

Sadie Jones of Montrose took a pass at the left corner and shot, but was off the mark as the Lady Crusaders hauled in a rebound and dribbled until the clock ran out.

Holy Cross beat Blue Ridge, 35-24, and upset top-seeded Lackawanna Trail, 42-36, in overtime to get to the district final.

The district title win was the fourth in the last six seasons and fifth overall for the Lady Crusaders under coach Fitzgerald.

It was Coach Fitzgerald’s 646th career win.

The Lady Crusaders previously defeated Montrose, 48-44, this past December 16, with Graboske and Allison Ross scoring 12 points each. Trista Chickeletti added 11 points in that win for Holy Cross.

Ava Schmidt scored 14 points and Abby Thompson had 10 in the 42-36 win over Lackawanna Trail as the Lady Crusaders advanced to the district title game against Montrose.

The entire school staff and administration, students, team and fans had just honored coach Fitzgerald in the team’s final regular season game.

With an 8-15 record entering the district playoffs, the team knew of coach Fitzgerald’s pending retirement and played inspired basketball upsetting three opponents to capture another district championship.

Holy Cross principal Ben Tolerico acknowledged coach Fitzgerald this past February 15 at a home game against Mountain View, the top-seeded team for District 2-11 Class 1A subregion. The fired-up Lady Crusaders held the lead for much of the game before falling short, 40-36.

This marks coach Fizgerald’s 40th year of coaching. He is a member of the Northeastern Chapter of the PA Sports Hall of Fame.

The Lady Crusaders had earned coach Fitzgerald one more home game, and it was memorable. Holy Cross opened the District 2 Class 2A quarterfinals with a 35-24 win over Blue Ridge. Thompson and Schmidt scored 10 points each in the big win.

In the semifinals, Holy Cross out scored Lackawanna Trail, 15-2, in the second quarter and then withstood a second half rally to win, 42-36.

Following the 22-20 upset win over Montrose in the district title game, Fitzgerald gets to coach his team into the PIAA Class 2A first round game.

And right now the Lady Crusaders are on a roll under their retiring coach.

The Lady Crusaders are proving with a will to win anything can happen. And coach Fitzgerald is enjoying the ride.

Besides his five District 2 championships, coach Fitzgerald led Holy Cross to two Lackawanna League titles.

Coach Fitzgerald earned his 600th career win in February 2020.