By Aren LeBrun, News Correspondent
After finally snapping its four-game losing streak on Sunday, the Northeastern women’s basketball team (8-13, 2-6 Colonial Athletic Association) failed to complete a 24-point comeback against Towson (10-11, 4-4 CAA) on Tuesday night. The Huskies could not carry over their momentum from Sunday’s 56-44 win over UNC Wilmington, losing another crucial game in CAA play, falling to the Tigers by a score of 67-62.
Down 43-19 two minutes into the second half, the Huskies slowly chipped away at the deficit over the remainder of the game, falling just short of one of the more remarkable comebacks in the CAA this season.
“It wasn’t us and they knew it,” head coach Daynia La-Force said about the turnover-stricken first half. “They took accountability for it, and they came out and performed in the second half.”
Sophomore forward Samantha DeFreese led the way with team-highs of 14 points and 12 boards, notching her third career double double. A’lece Mark made her return to the lineup after missing the past four games with an injury. The junior guard and co-captain seemed glad to be back, recording 11 points, 8 rebounds and 3 steals.
Towson was led by senior guard Tanisha McTiller, who poured in a game-high 33 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.
It was a lopsided first half, as the Tigers held Northeastern scoreless for the first three minutes of the game. Sophomore guard Kazzidy Stewart drained a three-pointer to finally put the Huskies on the board, but Towson responded with a 9-2 run to jump out to a 15-5 lead.
A pair of jumpers from DeFreese and senior center Jewel Tunstull briefly stopped the bleeding and cut the deficit to nine. Towson didn’t let up, though, going for a quick 10-point surge, extending the margin to 30-11.
Other than one three-pointer apiece from DeFreese and Mark, the Huskies struggled offensively, not being able to string together consecutive hoops and going into the locker room with an 18-point, 37-19 deficit.
During halftime, La-Force let her team know that the turnovers, poor shot selection and lackluster defensive effort were not going to cut it. Her players responded in a big way.
“It was a tale of two halves,” she said.
Towson rattled off six straight points to begin the second half, jumping out to a 24-point lead. The Huskies came alive, going on a 7-0 run which was capped off by a Stewart triple. After giving up a Towson layup, Northeastern buried three straight shots from downtown to narrow the deficit to 12.
Sophomore forward Sade Iriah’s layup began another surge for the Huskies, who scored five straight buckets to come within just three-points with about six minutes left in the contest.
After trading hoops for a few minutes, intentional fouls to stop the clock eventually pushed Towson’s lead to ten. Northeastern scored on four of its final five attempts, including a Mark three, but it was not enough to overcome the Tigers as they eventually lost by a score of 67-62.
The Huskies shot 43 percent from the field, including a blistering 53 percent from distance. Towson connected on 36 percent from the floor, including 33 percent from beyond the arc. The difference came at the charity stripe, with the Tigers making more free throws (23) than Northeastern even attempted (4).
It was a significant game for La-Force, as she and Towson head coach Niki Reid Geckeler were once teammates at Georgetown, leading the Hoyas to a 1992-93 Big East conference championship and eventually the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA tournament.
“[We] have been teammates and best friends for a while,” La-Force said. “But game day it’s all about the players. Her players versus my players.”
Tuesday’s loss puts the Huskies at 2-6 in conference games, good for seventh overall.
The Huskies are heading south for a two-game road trip, facing James Madison University on Friday and College of Charleston on Sunday.
“We just have to keep building. We’re young, kids are getting better,” La-Force said. “Every day we have to get better, every practice we have to get better, and hopefully it will pay off at the end.”
The Huskie return to the court Friday when they travel to Harrisonburg, Va. to face James Madison University at 7 p.m.
