By: Justin Clear-Vekinis, News Correspondent
Two sophomores, forward Rachael Pecota and guard Afreyea Tolbert, scored 12 points to lead the women’s basketball team to their second straight win, defeating the University of Vermont 55-46 on the road last night.
With the win, the Huskies improve to 4-4 on the season.
Pecota, Tolber and junior guard Kashaia Cannon scored in double digits, and Cannon added 11 points.
Pecota also led the Huskies in rebounds, grabbing five, with junior guard Jamie Conroy finishing second with four and nine points.
Head coach Daynia La-Force Mann said it was a difficult win for her squad, but players’ intensity in the second half helped capture the win.
“Vermont came out intense, and we didn’t handle their zone too well,” La-Force Mann said. “We didn’t hit our 3-pointers too well, and we had to find other ways to win. Coming out of the second half, we played harder and went to the basket and scored some layups and field goals, and that helped us win.”
The Catamounts committed 15 fouls, and the Huskies took advantage by shooting 92 percent from the charity stripe. Vermont turned the ball over 31 times, which led to numerous points for the Huskies.
“Our focus is to remain intense and confident enough to do the things we do well,” La-Force Mann said. “We can’t allow our opponents to take us out of our game. We’re still a young team and that comes with maturity and we’ll continue to work on it and improve.”
Monday night, the Huskies pulled away with another victory, beating Boston University 67-55 at Solomon Court.
Four Huskies scored in double digits through the course of the night. Cannon led all scorers with 21 points, while Conroy added a season-high 16 points.
La-Force Mann said she was satisfied with her team’s offensive effort.
“We shared the basketball, we had four kids in double-figures,” she said. “That is how we play. That is Northeastern basketball right there.”
Cannon said she was happy with how her teammates produced on offense.
“It was very important to have others stepping up, because one person getting into double digits isn’t important, that’s not going to get us the W,” Cannon said. “We need everyone stepping up and we got four players into double digits.”
Pecota and Tolbert added 10 and 15 points, respectively. Pecota also contributed 11 rebounds throughout the game.
La-Force Mann said she was not only happy with how her team has been scoring, but is also satisfied with how the Huskies have been passing the ball.
“We’ve been working hard at our shooting,” La-Force Mann said. “But one thing we have to continue to do as a young team is share the basketball and be unselfish, and that’s something we’ve preached coming into this game.”
The Huskies out-rebounded the Terriers 37-34, and scored 19 points off of BU’s 21 turnovers.
“We prepared well for BU because we knew that they couldn’t handle the pressure,” La-Force Mann said. “The defense that we have been working on has been our staple defense for the entire year and it finally paid off in a good way for us.”
Cannon said her team’s pressure on defense is contributing to the success of the squad.
“We’re going to continue to press, I feel that’s key,” Cannon said. “We’re going to just keep working hard as well.”
The Huskies resume action Dec. 19 when they welcome the University of Miami (Ohio) to Solomon Court.
