By Aren LeBrun, News Correspondent
The Northeastern Huskies dropped their second straight conference game, falling 67-70 to Old Dominion University on Sunday, despite 40 combined points from Jewel Tunstull and Kashaia Cannon.
“We have to get out of the gate a little quicker,” associate head coach Tom Blake said. “We got out a little slow in this one and were forced to play some catch up.”
Northeastern was led by junior center Tunstull, who notched her 10th career double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Senior guard Cannon also recorded 20 points, hitting five three-pointers. Senior tri-captain Deanna Kerkhof was the third Husky in double figures, scoring 13 points to go along with five assists and five steals.
The Lady Monarchs were paced by a 21 point, eight rebound effort from senior forward Jackie Cook as well as 19 and nine from sophomore forward Shae Kelley.
Despite their efforts on the defensive end of the floor (16 steals leading to a 20-15 advantage in turnovers), the Huskies shot just 29.4 percent from three-point range, well below their 36.4 season average. ODU fared better on the offensive side, shooting 50 percent from the floor and 40 percent from deep.
In an evenly contested game that never saw either team hold a double-digit lead, Northeastern managed to secure a one point lead going into halftime, off a three-pointer from Cannon, her second of the night.
At the start of the second, Cannon drilled her third shot from beyond the arc to push the Husky lead to four, their largest of the night. The Lady Monarchs responded with a 6-0 run to jump back out in front, 41-39.
Head coach Daynia La-Force called a timeout at the 6:45 mark after sophomore forward Tiffany Minor hit a three-pointer to push Old Dominion’s lead to seven. The Huskies responded aggressively after the timeout, with Tunstull scoring on a layup and Cannon stroking another three, her fifth of the night and 11th in the past two games.
“I’ve been playing well because of my team,” Cannon said. “They have been getting me the ball when I’m open.”
Senior forward Christine Huber scored a basket in transition, followed by a Kerkhof layup to put Northeastern in front by one. Goodhope answered with her only three-pointer of the night to put Old Dominion on top by two.
Northeastern had an opportunity to tie the game with eight seconds left, but Kerkhof could only hit one of two free throws and the Lady Monarchs secured the ball.
The game marked the second straight conference loss for the Huskies, who are now 13-10 overall and 6-6 in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). Although there have been minor struggles of late, Blake and the rest of the coaching staff said they aren’t worried about the Huskies moving forward.
“We are confident, because I think out of those six remaining games, four of them are at home,” Blake said. “You always want to play at home. You feel comfortable, the kids feel comfortable.”
At this point last season, the Huskies were 4-20 overall and struggling to climb out of the basement of the CAA at 2-10.
The Huskies will return home this week after a three game trip. They face Georgia State University at home tonight. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
