By Aren LeBrun, News Correspondent
The Northeastern Huskies could not hand nationally ranked No. 25 University of Delaware their first conference loss of the season, falling 77-50 to the Blue Hens at the Bob Carpenter Center on Tuesday.
The loss, which drops Northeastern to the sixth spot at 4-4 in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA), was its second double-digit loss to Delaware in as many weeks. The Huskies are now 11-8 overall after dropping their last two games against top-tier conference opponents.
Head coach Daynia La-Force said she’s ready for her players to put the loss out of their minds.
“We’ve just got to get back on the winning track,” she said.
Northeastern was led by senior guard Kashaia Cannon’s 10 points. Junior center Jewel Tunstull recorded eight points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Senior forward Christine Huber chipped in nine points off the bench.
Delaware received a big boost on both ends of the floor from senior swing player Elena Delle Donne. The All-American poured in a game-high 26 points to go with her five rebounds and three steals. Senior guard Lauren Carra and junior forward Danielle Parker also scored in double figures for the Blue Hens, contributing 14 points and 10 points, respectively.
“She’s averaging 25 points per game,” La-Force said of Delle Donne. “The key is to manage the other players out there … [Delle Donne]’s a great player, she’s an All-American. Hard to stop, hard to defend.”
The Blue Hens dominated the early going, as the Huskies were not able to break through the length and speed of their zone. Delaware used this advantage to sprint out to an early 17-2 run, capped off by a transition three-pointer from Carra.
The game appeared to be getting out of hand early, with Delaware shooting nearly 54 percent and securing an eight-point advantage in points off turnovers along with a 10-point advantage in points in the paint.
Northeastern managed to stop the bleeding with its three-point shooting late in the first half. Senior guard Deanna Kerkhof and sophomore guard Amencie Mercier each hit two shots from deep in the first period, and Huber hit one to cut the margin to 11 points. Senior guard Jaquetta May answered with a jumper to extend the Blue Hen lead to 13 going into the break.
Despite the hot shooting from Northeastern late in the first, Delaware managed to clamp down and regain the momentum immediately in the second half. After a Tunstull layup brought the lead back down the 11, Delle Donne scored off a layup and a jump shot, and junior guard Akeema Richards scored a layup through contact, hitting her free throw to complete the three-point play.
Carra then drilled a three-pointer, and on the next possession Delle Donne stole the ball and pulled up for a deep three of her own, knocking it in and pushing the Blue Hen lead to 26.
“We just didn’t shoot the ball well in the second half,” La-Force said. “We were still getting the same looks as we did in the first. It wasn’t anything special they did to run away with the game, we just weren’t making out shots.”
After securing a commanding lead as well as the momentum, Delaware dominated on both ends of the court for the remainder of the contest and cruised to a 77-50 finish.
“Danielle Parker had 10 points. Lauren Carra had 14. Those are the points that we can’t give up. Those are the players that we need to worry about stopping,” La-Force said.
The game, which followed last week’s home loss to Drexel University, marked the second straight conference defeat for the Huskies. They now sit at 4-4 in the CAA which is good enough for the sixth overall spot in the conference. Northeastern will look to get back on track Sunday as they host 10th place Towson University at home.
“We need to win this game, and we need to play our game in order to do so,” La-Force said. “We need to learn from our mistakes tonight and get better, get back in the gym, watch film, do all the little things to build our confidence back.”
The Towson game is scheduled for Sunday at Solomon Court. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.
