By Aren LeBrun, News Correspondent
Building off its positive momentum from last week’s victory on the road, the Northeastern women’s basketball team (10-14, 4-7 Colonial Athletic Association) made it two in a row Thursday with a resounding double-digit blowout against The College of William & Mary (5-17, 2-8 CAA).
It was a well-balanced offensive attack that carried the Huskies to a dominating 78-57 victory in a contest that only saw Northeastern trail once.
“A great win, this is a very tough team,” head coach Daynia La-Force said. “We knew they’d get after it against our man and our zone, and we knew we had to put some points on the board.”
Three Huskies posted double figures on the evening. Junior guard and co-captain A’lece Mark led her squad with a game-high 21 points, her fifth 20-point game of the year, to go along with 5 assists and a steal. Sophomore forward Samantha DeFreese continued her stellar season, posting her fourth double-double on the year with 18 points and 14 rebounds, which was good enough for her first career CAA Player of the Week nod.
“She watched tape, she listened to the coaching that she was receiving, and she implemented it tonight,” La-Force said. “I just give her all the credit and encourage her to stay aggressive and stay confident.”
Senior center Jewel Tunstull continued her expert post-play of late, pouring in 20 points on 9-10 shooting and grabbing eight boards.
“The expectation is hard work and communication,” said Tunstull, who is currently averaging 23.6 points and 9.3 rebounds per contest over her past three games, a span in which the Huskies have gone 2-1.
William & Mary struck first with a three-pointer to start things off, but it was the only time all night the Huskies trailed. DeFreese answered by drilling her first of her three three-pointers on the night.
Following a Tribe jumper, a long ball from Mark sparked a blistering 12-0 run that put the Huskies ahead by an early score of 17-5.
William & Mary once again answered, this time with a pair of threes to pull within six. Northeastern clamped down, holding the Tribe scoreless over a three-minute span while racing out to another big run, this time 11-0, to secure a 28-11 advantage.
A Tunstull layup pushed Northeastern’s lead to 20 points and 5 points from Mark helped the Huskies coast into halftime with a score of 49-26.
The second half opened competitively, with neither team able to score consecutive hoops. The Tribe managed to pull within 17 at one point, but that was the closest they would ever get, as the Huskies breezed to a 21-point, 78-57 victory.
On the night, Northeastern shot a red-hot 55 percent from the field, their second highest of the season, including 43 percent from three-point range. This was done while holding the Tribe to merely 32 percent from the floor, and a lowly 29 percent from distance.
It was the hot three-point shooting that opened up opportunities at the rim and the Huskies took advantage, pounding their opponent in the low post by a margin of 30-16.
“Just great overall production on the offensive end,” La-Force said. “I think that was the key to our victory tonight.”
Thursday’s win brings Northeastern one step closer to the sixth place spot in the CAA, sitting a half game behind Towson University in the standings. This week’s one-game road trip to Hofstra University is a crucial opportunity to move up in the standings.
“You always want to play your best basketball in February and March, and we’re doing exactly that.” La-Force said. “We got some people back from injuries, we’re starting to gel again.”
Thursday’s game against the Pride will be played in Hempstead, N.Y. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
