By Ethan Schroeder, news correspondent
The Northeastern University women’s basketball team found itself with a winning record after defeating Marist College by seven on Nov. 22, but slipped back to under .500 after losses to North Dakota State University (NDSU) and Florida Atlantic University (FAU).
After a week in which the Huskies (2-3) opened up their season 1-1, the team hosted the Red Foxes of Marist. The name of the game was defense, as Marist (1-5) was held to 51 points on 29 percent shooting. From beyond the arc, Marist fared even worse, making only 16 percent of its shots. Scoring only 58 points on the night, Northeastern needed a subpar offensive effort from the Red Foxes in order to seal the deal.
“[Marist] has five good shooters on the floor at all times,” Head Coach Kelly Cole said. “Our goal was to make sure they didn’t get any easy looks at the basket or any 3-pointers in transitions. The team put together a solid defensive effort.”
On the other side of the ball, junior forward Samantha DeFreese and junior guard Tiffany Montagne led the Huskies. The pair scored 17 and 14 points respectively, accounting for more than half of the total scoring output as Northeastern fell 58-51.
Following the victory, Northeastern traveled to Boca Raton, Fla. to take part in the FAU Thanksgiving Tournament. On Friday, the Huskies faced the Bison of NDSU. Failing to match its defensive effort from the previous game, Northeastern lost 79-72. Senior guard A’lece Mark posted an impressive stat line of 28 points, eight rebounds and three steals, but her individual effort was not enough to garner the victory. Nineteen offensive rebounds and 44 percent shooting from the field allowed NDSU to maintain a slight advantage over the course of the game. The largest lead of the game was the seven-point advantage the Bison had to finish off the contest.
The next day, the Huskies were back at it, this time against FAU. The tournament’s host was able to build a 10-point halftime lead en route to an 81-74 victory over NU. The Owls may have emerged victorious, but the headline of the day was NU sophomore center Francesca Sally’s performance.
With a career-high 18 points and 14 rebounds, she recorded her first ever double-double. Sally and the rest of the squad were nearly able to complete a second-half comeback, but the Owls staved off the effort in the game’s final minutes and hung on for the win.
“I feel like I went into the game against FAU with a strong desire to come out with the win,” Sally said. “The whole team was motivated by our loss the day before, and also because we were playing the hosts. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the victory, but I wanted to help the team as much as possible and it paid off in a sense.”
To avoid a three-game losing streak, the Huskies must put together a strong performance when they visit the University of Maine on Dec. 13. The preparation for that game, according to both Sally and Cole, begins with self-improvement.
“We’ve got to take our shootarounds and warm-ups more seriously, especially on the road,” Sally said. “With a new gym, new rim and new balls, adjusting can be difficult no matter how good of a shooter you are.”
Cole said the team needs to make small adjustments in practice in order to win against Maine.
“It’s all about taking care of us,” she said. “We’ve got to be better. Not allowing offensive rebounds and our overall defense are our top priorities. Before we focus on next week’s opponent, we’ve got to focus on us.”
Photo courtesy Jim Pierce, Northeastern Athletics
