The Northeastern women’s basketball team (4-6) returned home Dec. 22 after a road series that resulted in four straight losses for the Huskies. Northeastern came into the matchup with hopes to defeat its rival, Boston University (8-3), but fell to the Terriers 83-80 in a last-minute run in overtime.
This game marked the 81st time the teams have faced off, with BU having a 42-39 edge over the Huskies. Northeastern defeated the Terriers in their past two games, which occurred in the 2021-22 season and the 2022-23 season.
BU traveled to Northeastern’s Cabot Center after wins against Emmanuel College (5-7) and Harvard University (7-6).
The Huskies had no problem against the Terriers in the first quarter, closing out the first 10 minutes 25-10. Northeastern carried this lead for 23 more minutes, beating BU in points off of turnovers (28-13) including 12 in the first quarter. The Huskies started the second half with a nine-point lead, looking to continue their momentum.
With just seven minutes of playing time, Northeastern senior guard/forward Halle Idowu tallied six points for the Huskies, but the team fell behind as defensive rebounds from the Terriers narrowed the gap, ending the third quarter 56-55.
Northeastern notched 10 of its 16 fourth-quarter points from the bench, with six from freshman guard Yirsy Quéliz and four from junior forward Asha Parker. Though up by two with 34 seconds left of the game, the Huskies had complications as fifth-year guard Jaelyn Batts knocked over two BU players, receiving a technical foul that resulted in a turnover. BU junior guard Alex Giannaros scored a layup three seconds later to tie the game 71-71, sending it to overtime. Throughout the fourth quarter, the game had 10 lead changes.
BU senior guard Sophie Beneventine stole from senior guard Derin Erdogan and made a layup to open overtime, but two free throws from Parker tied up the game once again. Northeastern held on to its lead for 53 seconds after a three-pointer and free-throw from Erdogan, but Giannaros knocked down a jumper to even the score 80-80. Terriers sophomore forward Anastasiia Semenova secured the lead with a three-pointer with one second left. Northeastern called a timeout immediately after, but were unable to score again, losing 83-80.
Erdogan led the team with 21 points and four steals. This was also the Huskies’ highest scoring game of the season, followed by its 78-74 home opener against UMass.
Northeastern will begin the new year with conference play, facing the University of Delaware (4-7) at home Jan. 5.
