By Aren LeBrun, News Correspondent
The Huskies used a balanced offensive attack and resharpened defensive focus to overcome a seven-point, second-half deficit and grind out a 60-51 victory against the George Mason University Patriots on Tuesday night to sweep the season series. The win, the Huskies’ second straight, puts them at 11-6 overall and 4-2 in the CAA.
Senior guard Kashaia Cannon followed up her season-best performance against Georgia State University on Jan. 17 with another solid game, recording 14 points, four assists and three steals. Fellow senior guard Deanna Kerkhof also posted a team high 16 points. Sophomore guard A’lece Mark had another solid night across the stat sheet, scoring nine points to go along with five assists and four steals.
The Huskies held down the paint thanks to the play of junior center Jewel Tunstull and senior forward Christine Huber. Tunstull pulled down a game high 14 boards and blocked two shots (her fifth straight game with at least two rejections). Huber chipped in 10 points to go with her seven rebounds and two blocks.
The Patriots were paced by Rahneeka Saunders’ game high 17 points, five rebounds and five steals.
The game was highly contested from tipoff to the final buzzer; neither team could secure an advantage for any large amount of time, as there were 11 lead changes throughout the contest. Kerkhof answered George Mason’s opening basket with a three-pointer. The Pirates then ripped off five straight and after an Amencie Mercier three-pointer they went on an 8-0 run.
“It’s runs,” head coach Daynia La-Force said. “Basketball is a game of runs.”
Northeastern had a run of its own coming out of the first media timeout, rattling off seven straight. After a few minutes of trading buckets, George Mason negated this with a seven-point run itself.
Huber scored on a layup and Cannon followed up with a three-pointer to trim the margin to three going into the break. The teams entered their locker rooms with George Mason enjoying a slight 33-30 lead over the Huskies.
As the second half began, George Mason jumped out to a quick seven-point lead. Saunders immediately stole the ball from Kerkhof and drew a foul on the other end, knocking down both free throws. Then, sophomore forward Talisha Watts recorded another steal on the ensuing Husky possession, which led to a made jumper from senior forward Joyous Tharrington.
With the momentum completely in the hands of the Patriots, it seemed the game could get out of hand fast. Kerkhof responded, scoring through contact and making her free throw to cut the lead to four and put some life back into her team.
“It’s tremendous,” La-Force said of Kerkhof’s leadership and overall play. “She demands a lot of attention from the opponent which opens things up for other people on the floor.”
The Huskies used this newfound energy to crank up the defensive intensity and go on a 13-0 run. A’lece Mark nailed a three-pointer off an assist from Tunstull. Cannon then heated up, scoring from the post and then from beyond the arc. The Huskies earned another possession off a steal from Mark and pounded the ball down low to Huber who scored on a layup that gave Northeastern a 43-37 advantage.
“We didn’t falter, we stayed resilient,” La-Force said. “We knew what we were doing wrong defensively, but in order to make that run it was a matter of calling timeout and getting refocused and cleaning up our mistakes.”
Saunders connected on a jumper for the Patriots, finally ending the Husky run that had spanned almost three minutes. Tharrington then hit a jumper that gave George Mason a 45-44 lead that was quickly taken back on a three-point shot from Christine Huber.
The offense began to flow for the Huskies once again. Huber’s three was followed by a Tunstull post shot, and then Cannon buried a three-pointer. A’lece Mark knocked down a jump shot and then hit a pair of free throws to give Northeastern a nine-point lead lead that they would carry until the final buzzer.
This game marks the Huskies’ second consecutive road victory against a conference opponent (they won two games away from home all of last season). Their last home game was a blowout loss at the hands of the University of Delaware. La-Force said she feels that this road trip has gotten them back on track.
“We’re a very confident team,” she said. “We know that even though we might lose some ball games that we have an opportunity to go back and to practice and clean up our mistakes.”
With another conference win, Northeastern is now 4-2 in the CAA which has them currently in fifth place and a half game under Hofstra in the standings.
The Huskies return to Solomon Court tonight to face Drexel University. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
