By Sarah Metcalf
No one expected them to be there, except themselves.
The No. 7 seed Northeastern women’s basketball team made a terrific run in the America East Tournament last week, taking down No. 10 seed University of Maryland-Baltimore County 55-30, upsetting No. 2 seed Binghamton 63-53, before falling short of the title game, ending their season with a loss to cross-town rival No. 3 seed Boston University in the semifinals Friday night at the Chase Family Arena in West Hartford, Conn.
“I think our expectations were to win it,” said Coach Willette White. “We got to the semi’s, we played well against Binghamton, we played well against UMBC, and we played well for 30 minutes against BU. We just kind of ran out of gas.”
The Huskies finish their season at 15-15 overall and a 7-11 America East record. This was the third time NU lost to BU this season, and the Terriers will face No. 1 seed Maine in the championship game on Saturday.
Northeastern managed to stay with BU throughout the first half, never trailing by more than five and heading into the locker rooms with a four-point deficit, 31-27. The Huskies turned the ball over 15 times in the first half, but stayed tight on defense and allowed only six points off of turnovers.
Both teams came out energized in the second half, and with 14:09 left in regulation, sophomore Michelle Decerbo swished a layup and tied the score, 37-37.
It was the Terriers’ game from there, however, as a 17-6 run put BU up by 11 with seven minutes left. With 3:30 remaining, BU was holding fast to a 16-point lead, and the game was out of reach for the Huskies. Second-half shooting made a big difference, as BU shot 53.8 percent from the floor, and the Huskies’ field goal percentage was 26.7, leaving the final score at 71-53, BU.
Decerbo had a career night, scoring a personal-best 18 points and grabbing eight rebounds. Junior Francesca Vanin contributed 10 in the effort.
BU had four players in double figures, led by Becky Bonner with 16. Adreinne Norris scored 14, while Nadia Bibbs and Larissa Parr both had 10.
“It was our third game in three days, and that was the difference,” White said. “So I think the moral of that story is that you don’t want to have to play on the first day. If it had been two games in two days, I think we could have beat them.”
Before the BU game, the Huskies faced a test of conditioning, as less than 24 hours after winning against UMBC in the first round, they took the court again to face heavily-favored Binghamton. NU managed to thwart several comeback attempts by the Bearcats in the second half with solid 52.9 field goal percentage and clutch free-throw shooting, especially from senior Joi Jefferson, who went 8-10 from the line.
Jefferson finished with a team-high 16 points and eight rebounds, and Vanin scored 14 and had eight rebounds of her own. Sophomore Maralene Zwarich finished with 14.
On Binghamton’s side, Rachel Laws had 16 points and 10 rebounds to post the double-double. Kate Townley rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10.
“Everyone on this team knew we could beat them,” White said. “We dominated them, and that was the best part about that game. Binghamton is kind of turning into a rivalry, I think.”
In the first round, the Huskies sailed over America East newcomer UMBC with ease and confidence. After having their mainly double-digit lead cut to nine with 15:21 left in the contest, the Huskies extended their lead to 20 with seven minutes remaining and never looked back.
Zwarich led Husky scoring with 14, Decerbo had 10, and senior Melissa Kowalski also had 10, going 3-9 from three-point land. Freshman Jody Burrows contributed nine rebounds.
Sharri Rhode was UMBC’s only double-digit scorer, with 10. The Retriever’s leading scorer, Anastasia Goncharova, was held to just two points.
White said while the loss to BU was disappointing, she is looking forward to what next year’s team has to offer.
“[The loss to BU] was definitely disappointing, there’s no doubt about that, but we’re proud of what we have done,” White said. “We’re going to miss our seniors and what they brought to our program, but I’m excited about our returning kids and kids we’re bringing in. There’s a lot of excitement, and we’re definitely hopeful thinking about next year.”
