By Justin Clear-Vekinis, News Correspondent
The women’s basketball team dropped conference games to Georgia State last Thursday and Drexel University Sunday, falling to 2-9 in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA).
The Huskies faced the Drexel Dragons on Solomon Court, dropping a 63-41 decision with their second-lowest output this season. The Dragons previously held the squad to a season low of 39 points Jan. 19 in Philadelphia.
“It was a combination of both bad offense and good defense,” associate head coach Tom Blake said. “We couldn’t make a shot to save our lives.”
The Dragons started hot and never cooled off, taking a 14-4 lead to open the game.
Northeastern struggled with three-pointers all afternoon, hitting just 15 percent of attempts. The team also struggled with shots from within the arc making less than 30 percent of total attempts.
“Their defense didn’t affect our play, we just rushed things and weren’t patient with our offense,” sophomore forward Jewel Tunstull said.
The Dragons, on the other hand, knocked down almost 50 percent of total shots and nearly 60 percent of three-pointers.
“We had a couple of times where we lacked communication,” Blake said. “That let us leave [their] players open.”
The Dragons led 35-18 at the half with what would prove to be an insurmountable 17 point lead.
Tunstull carried the team with 12 points, followed by freshman guard A’lece Mark, who scored 9. Junior guard Deanna Kerkhof, recent standout, was held off the leading scorers list for the second time in nine games, with just five points.
Senior guard Kamile Nacickaite led Drexel with 18 points and 11 rebounds to record her first double-double of the year.
Last Thursday in Atlanta, the Huskies granted the win-less Panthers from Georgia State their first CAA victory, 81-74.
“Georgia out-toughed us,” Blake said. “It was a very physically tough game.”
The game was close until the very end, with many lead changes throughout.
Going into halftime beak the Huskies were down two, 39-37. The close battle continued for most of the second half, but Northeastern never managed to get more than three points ahead.
It wasn’t until there were four minutes left in the game that the Panthers stretched their lead to a large, unbeatable nine-point Husky deficit that eventually became the final 13 point differential.
“I made some errors myself,” Tunstull said. “Some of us were in it [the game] and some weren’t, so that scrambled our play.”
The Huskies did manage to block seven shots for a season-high, and several Huskies scored in double figures.
Kerkhof led the team with 20 on the day, followed closely by Tunstull, who had 19 points. Senior guard Jamie Conroy added 15 points, along with a team-leading five assists.
“When some people are having an off game, it causes everyone to be a little off,” Tunstull said. “It let the little things cause problems for us.”
The Huskies, are tied for 10th with William & Mary, are looking for a win as they hit the road for two additional CAA games. Tonight, the team will be in Virginia to take on the George Mason Patriots at 7 p.m. The Patriots are currently sitting in seventh, with a 5-6 CAA record.
Sunday, the Huskies will be at Towson University for a 2 p.m. tipoff. The Tigers are 4-7 in the CAA and take on William & Mary tonight in Virginia at 7 p.m.
