After playing and losing to Delaware at the start of the season, Northeastern was back on the road at Newark to play them twice more. This series marked the first for program history where they played against the same CAA opponent four times in a single season. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to grab any road wins, dropping both games to the Fightin’ Blue Hens (14-2, 11-1 CAA) who remained first in the CAA standings. 

“Being on the road takes us away from everyday pressures and puts you into a whole different mindset,” head coach Kelly Cole said. “It’s just about basketball.”

NU (3-10, 2-8 CAA) drops halftime lead

Freshman forward Leyla Öztürk put the Huskies on the scoreboard with a mid-range jumper assisted by senior guard Stella Clark. The Huskies then went on to extend their lead, 12-7, with a deep triple by junior guard Kendall Currence followed up by a layup converted on a steal by Clark. With the first 10 minutes over, NU was up 15-11.

NU struck early again in the second frame as freshman forward Izzy Larsen scored off the assist from graduate student Ayanna Dublin, padding the 15-11 lead. The Fightin’ Blue Hens tied up the game with five seconds left in the frame. Sophomore forward Mide Oriyomi was on her heels as she grabbed the defensive rebound off the missed free throw by Delaware, then fed it to her outlet sophomore guard Mossi Staples who buried the buzzer-beater triple. NU had the lead into the break, 22-19. 

Currence picked up a steal in the air to pass to Clark on the breakaway who put down the layup to regain the lead in the third frame. After another lead change, Larsen put in the much-needed layup, pushing past two Delaware defenders. A steal by Dublin was passed to Currence who connected on the and-one finish, 35-34. 

The Huskies started the fourth and final frame hot as Staples hit a triple to tie the game at 39. A roll-around-the-rim shot taken by Currence dropped out Delaware’s favor as they continued to pad their ever-increasing lead. The Fightin’ Blue Hens held onto the lead to win the game, 59-47. 

“We step out on Sundays like we know we can compete and that’s what we take from every competition,” said Cole to preview Sunday’s contest. “We can compete with anybody as long as we do the things we do well and take care of business.”

NU fails to convert the fourth-quarter comeback attempt, 65-59. 

In a repeat of yesterday’s game, Öztürk drained the opening bucket. Clark threaded the needle to Oriyomi who made the layup as the Huskies went on a 6-0 run over two minutes to gain the lead, forcing the Fightin’ Blue Hens on a scoring drought. Delaware answered back with their own 10-0 run sending the Huskies on a five-minute drought to end the quarter, 17-10.

NU chipped away at the Delaware lead as they went on a 4-0 run to start the second frame, holding their opponents scoreless for five minutes. Staples continued to tear away at the lead as she weaved past three players to make the layup, 26-20. 

Freshman guard Maddie Vizza hit nothing but net as she made a mid-range jumper to start the third frame. Oriyomi grabbed the 50-50 pass by Clark to make a layup, followed by another bucket by Vizza who hit the deep three. The Huskies proceeded to go on an 8-0 run to make it a two-possession game. 

Northeastern came out in a similar fashion to Saturday night in the final quarter. On the road to a comeback, sophomore guard Anna Boruta and Oriyomi went back-to-back on triples to make the score 43-44. A triple by Clark with a little more than seven minutes left in the contest evened the game at 48. 

The Huskies were hot as they hit five triples in six minutes and forced Delaware to take a crucial timeout. This proved useful as the Fightin’ Blue Hens went on to end the game on an 11-0 run to win 65-59. 

The Huskies will return to the Cabot Center to play Towson (9-3, 4-1 CAA), a team riddled with postponements, next weekend at noon.