By Owen Pence, news correspondent
The Northeastern women’s basketball team (5-20) returned to Boston this week for a two game homestand dropping a pair of thrillers against Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) rivals Elon University (15-10) and College of Charleston (4-22).
Thursday’s matchup saw NU lose 74-73 to the Elon Phoenix on a last-second buzzer beater. The trend of final-minute demoralization continued for the Huskies on Sunday, as a pair of late Charleston free throws gave NU its 10th straight CAA loss, 56-54.
Despite playing one of their most complete games of the season against the Phoenix, the Huskies couldn’t get the final defensive stop they needed to snap their losing streak, allowing Elon senior guard Sam Coffer to connect on a jumper with one second remaining.
NU’s last ditch efforts fell short, vaulting Elon into a tie for fourth place in the CAA standings while pushing the Huskies further down in last place.
The Huskies only found themselves down one point, 41-40, entering intermission, despite allowing Elon to shoot 72 percent from the field in the first half.
While Head Coach Kelly Cole wasn’t pleased with her team’s lackluster beginning to the contest, joking “I think we forgot the game started at 7 tonight,” she was happy with its overall effort.
“I am extremely proud of the way the kids played tonight,” Cole said. “This team shot well over their average and I don’t think it was because we gave it to them. I think tonight, they just shot out of their heads.”
Picking up the slack for NU in the first half were sophomore center Francesca Sally and senior guards Tanisha Hopewell and A’lece Mark, who all reached double-figure point totals by the time intermission rolled around. Sally and Hopewell both finished the game with career highs in points, scoring 24 and 12, respectively, on the night.
Sally and junior forward Samantha DeFreese, who came on in the second half after struggling with turnover problems in the opening frame, combined to form a dominant interior offensive tandem, one that has been integral to the Huskies scheme all season.
“[Sally and DeFreese have] been a key to us and our prowess throughout the year,” Cole said. “They are a big presence inside, physically, points-wise and rebounding-wise.”
After a back-and-forth second half, back-to-back 3-pointers from Mark and senior guard Amencie Mercier gave the Huskies a 71-67 lead with less than four minutes remaining. However, strong play from Phoenix guards Essence Baucom (sophomore) and Josepha Mbouma (junior) got Elon to within one with just under 10 seconds left, setting up Coffer’s heroic game-winning bucket.
“We’ve continued to talk about progress and it’s showing up,” Cole said. “It’s not showing up in [wins] yet, but it is showing up in every other aspect of the game. We are getting better and better.”
For a while on Sunday against Charleston, it appeared as if Cole’s squad would get that much-desired win, carrying a 33-16 lead into halftime.
The Huskies shot 56 percent from the field and behind the arc in the first half, paced by Mark’s inspired play off the bench. Mark scored nine of her 11 points in the first half on a trio of 3-pointers, two of them coming on back-to-back possessions.
Overall, Cole was pleased with her team’s effort against the Cougars 2-3 zone defense.
“We did exactly what we wanted to do,” Cole said. “We moved the ball, we spread them out and we got anything we wanted. I’d say our overall performance was fantastic.”
While Charleston upped it’s defensive intensity to begin the second half, NU was able to hold its double-digit lead up through the final media timeout, a 10-point advantage (53-43) with 3:53 remaining.
NU would not score another field goal, struggling mightily with Charleston’s stifling full-court press which helped cause 24 Husky turnovers on the afternoon. A sudden offensive onslaught from the Cougars forced the game into a 54-54 tie with 1:41 left to play.
That score would hold until a Sally miss led to a fast-break opportunity for Cougar sophomore forward Breanna Bolden. Bolden missed the shot attempt but was able to draw a foul with just over six seconds remaining, leading to her pair of game-winning free throws.
The Huskies, left without any timeouts and unable to get the ball across half-court, lost their tenth straight game, 56-54.
“I don’t know what I can tell you,” Cole said. “We just choked. That’s the nicest thing I can say right now.”
Cole is left with more questions than answers as her team prepares for its final road trip of the season to Virginia on Friday at James Madison University and Sunday at the College of William & Mary.
“Unfortunately, at this point in the season, I don’t have a lot of words of wisdom,” Cole said. “I’ve been at this for a long time and I’ve never seen anything like this in my entire life. I can’t give them confidence. It’s something we’re going to have to look in the mirror and find an answer for.”
Photo courtesy Jim Pierce, Northeastern Athletics
