By Charlie Wolfson, news staff
In a season marked by pronounced highs and lows, this week was no exception for the Northeastern women’s basketball team. Their inconsistency and unpredictability pressed on, with a 65-53 loss at the University of Delaware on Jan. 20 and a 55-47 home victory over the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) on Jan. 22.
One thing that can be surmised from the Huskies’ losses this year is that the team goes as Jess Genco goes. She was 0-11 from the field against Delaware, including 0-8 from beyond the three point line.
Head coach Kelly Cole sympathized with her point guard, lamenting the fact that Genco has been used so heavily this season.
“Poor Jess has been playing 40 minutes a game every game,” Cole said. “We’re riding her very hard. Mentally and physically, I think, it’s beginning to take a toll. With the injuries we’ve got, we don’t have a lot of options right now. The shots she’s taking are good shots. I think it’s just a matter of a little fatigue.”
Northeastern also had a frustrating evening on the defensive end against Delaware. The Blue Hens shot 52 percent from the field, with three players scoring in double figures. Cole did not condemn her team’s defense and seemed resigned to the fact that there was not much more they could have done.
“They couldn’t miss,” she said of Delaware’s team. “I haven’t seen them shoot that well all year long. They got hot, they got feeling good about it, they just didn’t miss. They hit shots at the end of the shot clock, they hit shots with hands in their face, they just hit everything.”
Against UNCW, the Huskies flipped the script defensively—at least in the first half. The Seahawks were held without a field goal in the first 8:44 of the game, and scored just 18 points in the first half. Northeastern did not take full advantage of their strong defensive start, however, and they led by just six at halftime.
“One thing we’ve been trying to find answers for is just putting the ball in the basket,” Cole said of her team’s offensive struggles against UNCW. “I’m not sure if I have a clear answer for it. We’re getting the looks we want. We had a great first half defensively. I was a little frustrated — we called a quick timeout in the third quarter, we looked like we were thinking, ‘Hey, this is cool,’ and we had to turn it back up defensively.”
Among the key performers in the victory were junior guard Claudia Ortiz and junior forward Lauren Lassiter. Ortiz scored a team-high 15 points while Lassiter, coming off the bench, added 11 points.
“Claudia came and she was on the attack,” Cole said. “She pushed the ball hard in transition, which we’ve got to get her to do more. […] Lauren is a workhorse. She works hard all the time. She is, effort and attitude wise, what we all aspire to be. She’s invaluable.”
Senior center Francesca Sally turned in yet another solid night’s work, chipping in 13 points and 12 rebounds to put the game away for the Huskies.
Women’s hoops will try to grasp a semblance of consistency as they face Elon University at home this Friday and play at Drexel University on Sunday.
Photo courtesy Jim Pierce, Northeastern Athletics
