The women’s basketball team lost its first two games of the season, to the Temple University Owls 72-58 at Solomon Court Tuesday and the season opener to Eastern Michigan University Thursday (EMU).

The Huskies looked strong at the beginning of the game against Temple, taking a 17-11 lead after eight minutes of play.

The Owls rallied back to take the lead, 34-28, as the teams went into the locker rooms at the half.

“We stopped scoring,” head coach Daynia LaForce-Mann said. “We weren’t moving the ball well down the court and we couldn’t score. We went for the first drive instead of developing offense. We got better shots later in the shot clock.”

Sophomore forward Jewel Tunstull led the Huskies with 16 points and a team-high 16 rebounds.

“[Tunstull] did a great job of establishing the inside game,” LaForce-Mann said. “We were able to get her the ball and then she made some good post moves.”

However, LaForce-Mann attributed the loss to turnovers. The Huskies turned the ball over 27 times in comparison the Owls who turned it over 11 times.

“I wish [Tunstull] would have taken care of the ball more,” LaForce-Mann said. “She turned it over eight times.”

Senior guard and co-captain Jamie Conroy added 11 points, but a team-high nine turnovers.

Transfer freshman forward Genevieve Gaboriault knocked off nine points, shooting 3-4 from beyond the arc, and pulled down five rebounds for the team.

“Genevieve is fearless with her shot,” LaForce-Mann said. “She’s constantly looking to take her shot, and doesn’t need much daylight which is key for our team.”

The team opened at home Sunday night for the first time since 2007 with a loss to EMU.

Tunstull and junior guard Deanna Kerkhof led the women’s basketball team in scoring this weekend, posting 14 points a piece in the loss to the Eastern Michigan Eagles.

LaForce-Mann said she wasn’t happy with the way the team played against EMU Friday afternoon.

“It’s an extremely disappointing loss,” LaForce-Mann said. “We didn’t exhibit any of our team goals tonight.”

Senior guard and co-captain Kashaia Cannon, who is out indefinitely after undergoing non-basketball related surgery in the off-season, agreed with LaForce-Mann and said that the team couldn’t put things together.

“Today showed us that we need to work on our confidence and handling pressure,” Cannon said. “We have to learn how to keep momentum on our side and go off of that.”

The Huskies turned the ball over 25 times and were out-rebounded by the Eagles 37-25.

“We can’t give the ball back every single possession. We’ve got to really value the basketball,” LaForce-Mann said.

Northeastern went into the break down 35-17.

The Huskies started the second half by cutting the Eagles’ lead to 15, but that would be the closest they would get to catching their opponent.

Northeastern shot just 36.7 percent in comparison to the Eastern Michigan’s 55.2 percent.

The Huskies were unable to stop Eagles guard Tavelyn James who notched 42 points, an EMU school record.

Northeastern added four new players to the team this year. Including two freshman transfers from Dawson College, forward Genevieve Gaboriault and guard Amencie Mercier.

Gaboriault and Mercier helped secure Dawson College two Canadian National Championships. The two new recruits played minor roles in their first game as a Husky.

“We definitely added a lot of kids with experience that could help us right away.” LaForce-Mann said.

“Amencie is a great point-guard and knows when to get people the ball.” Conroy said.

The Huskies will travel to Lexington, Ky.  tonight to take on the University of Kentucky Wildcats. Game time is set for 7 p.m.

The Huskies will face stiff competition. The Wildcats, who were ranked No. 16 last season, made an appearance in the second round of last year’s NCAA tournament, with a record of 26-9.

“We need to play our style of play against Kentucky,” LaForce-Mann said. “We need to be able to handle the pressure, and just get better with our game.”