After a last-minute schedule change due to a positive COVID-19 test in the Elon University program, the Huskies faced the University of Delaware on back-to-back days. Both games were swept by the Fighting Blue Hens, 86-59 on Monday and 68-61 on Tuesday.

As they promised with every home game, Northeastern dedicated these two games to Atatiana Jefferson, a 28-year-old woman shot in her own home and Elijah McClain, a 23-year old who died after being placed in a chokehold and sedated by the police.

Sophomore forward Mide Oriyomi proved to be the MVP of the series as she notched her first career double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds during the first matchup and a career-high 22 points during the second game. Senior guard Stella Clark finished with a career-high nine assists during the first.

The first contest could have gone either way in the opening quarter with seven lead changes. However, Delaware (5-1, 2-0 CAA) went on a 29-3 run after that and NU never seemed to recover from it. 

“They had a couple of shots early, we missed our shots early, we put our heads down and then we didn’t bounce back,” said head coach Kelly Cole.  

NU was outscored again in the third quarter, 25-9, and a comeback effort in the fourth frame fell short despite the Huskies outscoring the Blue Hens 26-16. 

This loss ended the Huskies’ previous four-game win streak for CAA home openers. 

Although the second game’s score was much closer than the first, the Huskies could not overcome the strength of the Fighting Blue Hens’ starting five. The freshmen bench did outscore the Delaware bench, which provided a beacon of hope in the last quarter as NU landed just four points short within the final minutes of the game. 

“This is not who we are, we are a really good basketball team. When we start believing it and bringing it every day, good things are going to happen,” Cole said.

With these two losses, the Huskies are 0-4 on the season, and 0-2 in CAA play. They will be facing Hofstra University (3-5, 1-1 CAA) Jan. 7 at noon at the Cabot Center and Jan. 9 at 2 p.m. in Hempstead, splitting the series for home-court advantage.