On Nov. 25, the Northeastern women’s basketball team (4-3) hit the road to begin its month-long away trip, starting in New York City, New York, to face the Columbia University Lions (4-4). Coming off of recent home wins against the Merrimack College Seahawks and the Wagner College Warriors, the Huskies were swiftly defeated 88-45 for the team’s second loss of the season.
The Lions entered this matchup 2-4, with wins against Seton Hall University and Towson University. The team appears to still be finding its footing, as Columbia ended the 2022-23 season with a loss against Kansas University in the Women’s National Invitational Tournament championship, ending at the top of the Ivy League 28-6. The Huskies are 2-2 against the Lions, last meeting in the 1998-99 season.
Columbia opened up the first quarter with a layup by senior guard Abbey Hsu, the team’s top scorer with 150 points for the season, which ties her for fifth in the country. Hsu notched her 300th career three-pointer eight minutes later. This was matched by a layup from Northeastern senior forward Deja Bristol, tying the game. But this did not last for long, and the quarter ended with Columbia up by 17.
The Lions only continued to add to their lead in the second quarter with four three-pointers by Hsu. The Huskies’ top scorer for the quarter and the game overall was senior guard Derin Erdogan, who totaled 13 points. Northeastern ended the half with Columbia nearly doubling its score at 50-27.
The Huskies notched just nine points in the third quarter, falling farther behind as the Lions potted 15 points. Columbia capitalized by scoring eight points off of 10 defensive rebounds, ending the quarter 65-36.
Northeastern eventually fell to the Lions at the end of the fourth quarter for a final score of 88-45, the Huskies’ biggest loss of the season so far. Columbia dominated in nearly every category, but tallied only one more turnover over Northeastern, something the Huskies have particularly struggled with, as the team averages 19.3 turnovers per game this season.
Northeastern’s play was nothing out of the ordinary, except for slightly lower field goal and three-point percentages. The team’s passing game remained on point with a mix of quick passes and lobs, but it simply could not keep up with the Lions. Columbia’s scoring was led by Hsu with a staggering 26 points, including six three-pointers by the senior guard.
The Huskies traveled to Durham, New Hampshire, on Wednesday to face the University of New Hampshire Wildcats (3-5) and lost 51-41. After games against Syracuse University (6-2) and the College of the Holy Cross (3-3) to close out the road trip, Northeastern returns home Dec. 22 to face the rival Boston University Terriers.
