Huskies outrun Seawolves on land, beat Stony Brook 68-63

Junior+guard+Derin+Erdogan+aims+for+a+free+throw+against+Drexel+Feb.+3.+In+Thursdays+match+against+Stony+Brook%2C+Erdogan+tallied+19+points%2C+four+rebounds+and+five+assists+for+the+Huskies.

Elizabeth Scholl

Junior guard Derin Erdogan aims for a free throw against Drexel Feb. 3. In Thursday’s match against Stony Brook, Erdogan tallied 19 points, four rebounds and five assists for the Huskies.

Eamonn Ryan, news staff

When watching Northeastern women’s basketball, don’t blink: you might miss great plays.

That’s because the Huskies (11-11, 6-5 CAA) do their best when running in transition and they showed this strength  Thursday, scoring 20 fast break points en route to a 68-63 win over Stony Brook (13-9, 7-4 CAA) in the Cabot Center.

“We pushed the ball. We were out,” said Northeastern head coach Bridgette Mitchell. “[Sophomore guard Gemima Motema] thrives in transition, so we were able to get those pickups ahead and really push the tempo.”

Motema was an unstoppable force barreling down the court, scoring 19 points and with efficiency, shooting 9-of-12. Junior guard Derin Erdogan matched Motema’s point total and contributed with four rebounds and five assists in a Huskies win that broke their two-game losing streak.

At first, the Huskies seemed to be plagued by their typical illness of slow starts, unable to eclipse 20 points until there were two minutes remaining in the first half. But to Northeastern’s credit, the Seawolves weren’t scoring much either, and Stony Brook went into the locker room holding just a 31-27 lead.

“It was low-scoring for both teams because our defense, our zone, was rattling them — our man-to-man was disruptive,” Mitchell said. “And I thought we were able to make adjustments as we progressed throughout the game.”

While they certainly made adjustments on the offensive end, Northeastern’s defense kept its stoic, unmoving presence through the third quarter. The Huskies allowed just 11 points, kept the Seawolves to 4-of-16 shooting and forced six turnovers in a pivotal frame.

Meanwhile, they woke up on the offensive end, scoring 17 points on 8-of-20 shooting and getting easy baskets in transition. Erdogan and senior guard Jaelyn Batts continued to find a streaking Motema running a seam route down the middle of the court for layups.

The Huskies found themselves suddenly holding a 44-42 lead entering the final frame against the third-ranked team in the CAA, but it remained a back-and-forth game.

Erdogan opened the quarter with a deep three and followed with a beautiful reverse layup to make it a seven-point game. But Seawolves senior guard Gigi Gonzalez responded with five straight points before Erdogan could answer again with a layup.

In the fourth, Northeastern looked like a completely different team from its brutal first half, at one point leading by 10 before Stony Brook whittled it down to a three-point game with just a second to play, but sophomore forward Asha Parker’s free throws iced the game for the Huskies.

“All of our performances change each night, but the consistency that we’re looking for is out-hustling [opponents],” Mitchell said. “We think offense will take care of itself … I thought that we did a good job of that tonight.”

Northeastern also got a huge game out of Batts, who put on her best Dennis Rodman impression and grabbed 16 rebounds, had two blocks and nabbed two steals. On top of that, Batts tipped countless balls in the defensive zone and disrupted the Seawolves’ offense any chance she could get.

“[Batts] having 16 rebounds — crazy, right?” Mitchell said. “We needed those extra possessions, those opportunities, and she was able to get those.”

After this win, the Huskies will head to Hampton, Virginia for a road matchup Sunday, Feb. 12 at 2 p.m.