By Daryl Velez

After winning its last two games, the women’s basketball team has achieved a mark it has not met since joining the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) two years ago.

Now 5-10 in conference, Northeastern surpassed its high in CAA wins in a season this week with victories against George Mason 65-56 and Georgia State 67-61. In 2005-06 and 2006-07 the Huskies won just three conference games.

NU looks forward to ending its season riding the upswing. It is possible for the team to finish at a mark of 8-10, which could place the Huskies as high as sixth place in the CAA.

“I’ve felt all year that we had the talent to win, but we were making mistakes in the beginning of the year that cost us games,” said head coach Daynia LaForce Mann. “We’re not making those mistakes now. We’re boxing out better, we’re taking better shots, we’re crashing on offense and we’re pulling down key offensive rebounds at the end of games.”

After a rocky start to the season splitting its first 10 games, holding the sixth spot in the conference is an achievement for NU. The Huskies were predicted to finish last in the CAA in national polls, but they will finish the season in double-digits for wins.

After collecting the two wins this weekend, the Huskies sport a 10-15 overall record.

“When everybody is playing up to their potential on this team we are very, very dangerous,” Mann said. “I think from here we need to emphasize the positive things that have gotten us to this point, to emphasize to our players that they need to believe and know that those little things can take us to wins.”

The first half of a homestand at Solomon Court against George Mason kicked off Thursday. The Patriots have an in-conference record of 3-11 to date.

As close to an expected win as NU had faced in the season, the Huskies made an early statement on the court. Senior guard Shaleyse Smallwood netted 18 first-half points to give the team a nine-point halftime lead, 31-22.

The Huskies took the win at home Thursday, 65-56, and Smallwood came off the court with a total of 26 points in the game.

Yesterday’s game, on the other hand, was about retribution against Georgia State, who had overcome the Huskies by three points earlier in the season, 77-74. The Huskies archived their goal, topping the Panthers 67-61 at Solomon Court.

The Huskies’ shooting percentage was struggling in the first half of the game. Coming into the second half however, the Huskies hustled on defense to force turnovers and to push the ball into their offensive zone.

Senior forward Stephanie Hodell contributed a quality performance: she netted just two points, both from the free-throw line, but grabbed 11 rebounds, five assists and four steals.

“I’ve always been a hustle player, sort of blue collar. I don’t score a lot of points, but I will get my teammates involved,” Hodell said. “I think everyone has come together and we are starting to really play like a team.

The Huskies next hit the hardwood at UNC Wilmington Thursday at 2 p.m. On Sunday, March 2, they return to Solomon Court to face William ‘ Mary at 2 p.m., who they beat Feb. 17, 65-64.

There are three regular season games remaining for the Huskies.