By Sarah Metcalf
At the start of the Northeastern women’s basketball game against America East rival Vermont on Saturday, it looked as though the Huskies were in danger of losing their sixth straight game, and dropping below .500 for the first time this season. NU rallied from a 13-point deficit in the first half, however, to beat the Catamounts 61-53 and stop the losing streak at five.
The most recent of the losses came last Wednesday to America East foe Stony Brook, 79-70. The win at UVM (9-9, 3-7 AE) brings the Huskies’ record to 10-9 overall and to 4-6 in the America East Conference.
“We weren’t doing anything consistently, otherwise we wouldn’t have been losing,” said coach Willette White. “We weren’t consistent in taking care of the ball, and we weren’t consistent in our work ethic.”
Things weren’t looking up for the Huskies on Saturday when UVM opened the game with a 9-0 run, and NU was held scoreless for almost six minutes of play, when junior Francesca Vanin’s lay up put them on the board.
The Catamounts didn’t let up, as they piled on a 26-13 lead with less than five minutes left in the first half. The Huskies weren’t done, however, and went on a 10-4 run in the waning minutes of the half and cut the lead to seven, 30-23, going to into the break.
NU came out fired up in the second half, going 16-25 from the field and going on a 15-2 run to claim the lead for the first time, 44-39, with 5:36 left in the game.
Vermont wasn’t going away that easily, either, and tied it up at 44 with four minutes to play. NU outscored the Catamounts 7-2 in the next minute and a half to take the lead 51-46 for good. Sophomore Maralene Zwarich sealed the victory with an offensive board and bucket off of Jody Burrows’ missed free throw with 51 seconds to play, giving the Huskies only their second win in the past eight games.
Zwarich led all scorers with 18, and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. Vanin also scored in double digits, finishing with 10 points and a season-high four assists. Burrows racked up nine points, eight assists, six rebounds and had only one turnover. NU shot 50.9 percent from the field — the third time this season they’ve shot more than 50 percent. The Huskies also forced 25 UVM tunovers, with senior Joi Jefferson leading the way with six steals.
For the Catamounts, America East leading scorer Aaron Yantzi finished with 16 points and nine rebounds. Chrissy Battram also had 10 points of her own — the only other player from UVM to score in double digits.
“I think at the UVM game we had everyone show up,” White said. “We made a change in the lineup, and I think maybe it sparked some people to give a little more than what they had been giving, and that was the key. We really had some people step up.”
Last Wednesday, however, the Huskies’ troubles continued as they fell to Stony Brook (3-15, 2-7 AE), who ended a seven-game losing streak of their own.
Despite controlling much of the half and leading 25-16, the Seawolves went on a 13-1 run to take a 29-26 lead with 2:30 left in the half. Stony Brook continued their hot streak, taking a 35-31 lead into break.
The Huskies started slow, but came back to tie the game at 64 with 3:31 left after Zwarich converted two free throws. SBU went on a 6-0 run, however, and never looked back.
Zwarich led the Huskeis with 15 points, and had seven boards. Vanin also had 14 points, and Burrows added 13 of her own, 10 of those coming in the first half.
For Stony Brook, Kelly Watson finished with a career-high 24 points, going 4-4 from the three-point line. Freshman Mykeema Ford also added 18, and Jessica Smith had 11 points and nine rebounds. Turnovers were a major factor in the game, with NU finishing with 23 and SBU coughing up 24.
White said she hopes the win will help her team to climb out of their recent slump.
“Well the win obviously helped us snap out of it, because it was a win instead of a loss,” she said. “Hopefully it gave everyone the confidence to win on the road, and showed them that if everyone brings it on every night, we can be very successful.”
