Northeastern women’s basketball player Jewel Tunstull was last Thursday’s leading scorer against the Unviersity of North Carolina Wilmington, momentarily stealing the spotlight from junior guard Deanna Kerkhof. Kerkhof has been leading the team in the majority of this season’s games, but not without the assist of Tunstull’s assistance.
The sophomore forward’s success did not stop after last Thursday’s match up. In Sunday night’s game versus Colonial Athletic Association foes, William & Mary’s Tribe, the Huskies gained a strong win finishing the game 82-71. Tunstull played hard defense gaining 12 rebounds for the Huskies and career best of 22 points in one game, consistently widening the gap between the Huskies and the Tribe.
Although the Huskies had a hard loss against the Seahawks, Tunstull’s skills shined on the court. Her clean shots and supply of strong defense helped the Huskies lead in the beginning. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native scored 20 points t with memorable layups in the second half. By the end of the night, Tunstull, playing center, snatched up 16 rebounds for the team.
“I felt like we had a good chance in the beginning but we lost it,” Tunstull, a sophomore criminal justice major, said. “I think we learned from it in the end.”
In the past year, Tunstull said she has learned a lot since her days as a freshman through hard work and determination on the court.
“Jewel has improved tremendously since freshman year,” head coach Daynia LaForce-Mann said. “I think being a part of that offense last year and realizing how many opportunities she would have to be a contributor, really excited her drive to work hard over the summer.”
The improvements Tunstull made were exactly what the Huskies needed to strengthen their team and make her one of the leading players, both in stats and with leadership on the court.
“It’s really beneficial,” LaForce-Mann said. “It helps out this year because we are surrounding her with three-point shooters and the fact that she can get the ball on the inside and demand double-team and triple-team really helps our shooters on the perimeter.”
According to coaches, Tustall has gained status around the league even after seeing the tweaks to her game prove huge for the Huskies, she has managed to stay humble about her performance on the court.
“I don’t pay attention to how much I do, I just try to push the team, but it really felt good to have improved so much since last year,” Tunstull said with a smile. “I worked hard and it happened so fast.”
Tunstull and the Huskies will battle again tonight on Thursday night in Atlanta, Ga. against the Georgia State Panthers.
“I hope we put out the same hard work and intensity that we’ve had,” Tunstull said. “If we keep it up and play the same way, we’ll do well. We just need to be consistent.”
– Christina Bivona, News Correspondent
