'Saders fade in second half; Yale comes back from 14 down.

• Position: SPORTS

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Holy Cross jumped to a 13-0 lead and held a 14-point advantage before suffering a season-opening, 66-60, loss to Yale.

"It was one of the toughest losses - maybe the toughest - in my 25 years," HC coach Bill Gibbons said.

The Crusaders were nearly perfect for the first 15 minutes, but everything they did right in the first half, they did wrong in the second, allowing Yale to come back. Gibbons was particularly upset that Yale outrebounded HC (54-41) and had a huge advantage at the free-throw line, scoring 24 points to HC's six.

"What concerns me the most is we got out-toughed in the second half," Gibbons said. "Maybe they'll learn a hard lesson."

Junior forward Whitney Fremeau led the Crusaders with 18 points. Senior guards Briana McFadden and Bethany O'Dell each added 12 points, but O'Dell had to sit out 10 minutes because of foul trouble. Tayana Carper led HC with eight...