The Huskies faced their first opponent of the season Nov. 10 when they traveled to Worcester to square off against the Holy Cross Crusaders. 

The Huskies, led by first-year head coach Bridgette Mitchell, immediately began firing on all cylinders. Right off the tip, senior guard Kendall Currence made a bounce pass across the lane to freshman Claudia Soriano who finished with a right-hand layup. Five seconds into the game, the Huskies were already on the board. They continued their early momentum, making their first four shots of the game and going up 9-0. 

Sophomore guard Donna Ntambue, making her Northeastern University debut as a transfer from Utah, had a phenomenal game. She led the team in scoring, hitting her first three baskets and never looking back, going 7-11 from the field with 19 points. 

Currence set the tone on the defensive end, leading the team with five steals.  Soriano had an admirable outing in her collegiate debut, contributing with 12 points and six assists. Additionally, senior guard Katie May was lights out from 3-point range, going 4-6 from beyond the arc. In 37 minutes she scored 15 points and led the team with six rebounds.

The Huskies led the Crusaders 30-23 at the half. NU continued to dominate the second half, outscoring Holy Cross 41-22. The final score was 71-45 in favor of NU, winning their season opener for the first time since 2018 and earning Mitchell her first career win as the Huskies’ head coach.

For their next game, the Huskies traveled to New Haven, Connecticut to take on the Yale University Bulldogs on Nov. 12. The game ultimately came down to the wire. 

Down one with 20 seconds left, graduate student forward Emily Calabrese intentionally fouled Alex Cade of Yale in an attempt to extend the game. Unfortunately for the Huskies, that was Calabrese’s fifth personal foul, and she was done for the game. Cade made both free throws, and NU was down three, 52-55.

Following a timeout, Currence was fouled taking a 3-point shot with 9.1 seconds left in regulation. Currence stepped to the line and knocked down three clutch free throws to tie up the game. Yale was unable to convert on offense and the game went into overtime.

The beginning of overtime started slowly with both teams missing a pair of free throws. 

Currence made a driving layup to put the Huskies up 57-55 with three minutes to go. On the other side, Yale converted on a shooting foul, knocking down both free throws to tie the game again at 57. Back on the offensive end of the floor, Soriano drove to the cup and passed out to a wide-open Currence who knocked down the three. The Huskies were up 60-57 with 2:04 remaining in overtime. However, this would be the last time NU would score the rest of the game. They went on to give up two straight 3-pointers to Yale, which made the score 60-63. 

In a last-second effort to tie the game, May came up short on a 3-point shot straight down the middle. The Huskies could have really used Calabrese for her rebounding in that overtime. She led the team in rebounds with six on the night. Currence led the team in scoring but struggled from the field, going 5-18. Soriano had another great outing; her impact was contagious, leading the team with five steals.

As a team, the Huskies had a shooting night to forget, shooting 15% from deep and going 50% from the line. However, their tough defense kept them in the game and into overtime. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough and they came up short in the end. 

Looking to avenge the Yale loss, the Huskies will head back to campus to play their first game at Matthews Arena against the University of New Hampshire Nov. 17.