The Northeastern women’s basketball team (10-17, 5-13 CAA) entered the postseason for the CAA tournament March 13 after its unusual regular season end, where the team forfeited three conference games. Despite its struggles this season, Northeastern was able to pick up a 66-60 win at the Entertainment and Sports Arena in Washington, D.C., against the UNCW Seahawks (5-25, 3-15 CAA) before falling to the Towson University Tigers (20-11, 11-7 CAA) 78-69 in the second round of the playoffs.
Freshman forward Sophia Carlisle opened up the game strong with a layup 17 seconds into the first quarter. Though Carlisle did not get any playing time until the Jan. 12 regular season win against UNCW, she ended the year starting in four consecutive games and was the leading scorer with 15 points in this playoff win.
The Seahawks then stole the lead, going on an 8-0 run in only one minute. Still, the Huskies were able to come ahead 14-12 by the end of the first quarter with contributions from senior guard Derin Erdogan, freshman guard Yirsy Quéliz and sophomore guard Marian Turnbull.
Carlisle continued to dominate throughout the second quarter with three layups. This was the highest-scoring quarter for either team with 39 total points scored, and Northeastern clung onto its lead at the end of the half, finishing 33-32.
Scoring slowed down in the third quarter, with both teams scoring less than 15 points. The Huskies went 4-of-12 in field goals, down from their 9-of-14 mark in the previous quarter, and 2-of-8 in threes, senior guard Maddie Vizza tallying both. Fouls added up against Northeastern late in the frame, which allowed for four free throws for Seahawks freshman guard Taylor Henderson to tie up the game at 45 a piece.
Though fouls slowed down the Huskies in the third quarter, UNCW got into trouble when it tried to slow the game with eight personal fouls, as 10 of Northeastern’s 21 points in the final quarter came from free throws. Quéliz led the pack through the fourth quarter with seven points, and the Huskies ended up on top 66-60.
In this CAA opening round victory, Erdogan notched her first double-double of the season with 14 points and ten rebounds, coming close to a triple-double with nine assists. Three Huskies were double-digit scorers – Erdogan, Quéliz and Carlisle.
Although the Huskies struggled with controlling the ball all season, averaging 18.1 points against off turnovers, they improved against the Seahawks, allowing just 14. However, they ended up right back to where they started when they played Towson the next day.
The Huskies faced the sixth-seeded Towson Tigers for round two of the CAA tournament March 14. Northeastern forfeited its regular season game against the Tigers, so this was their first time meeting since the 2022-23 season.
The Tigers opened up the game with a layup from junior forward Quinzia Fulmore and traded baskets with the Huskies throughout the first quarter, tying the game three times. Northeastern fell behind the Tigers after going 0-of-3 in threes, ending the quarter down 23-15.
Towson continued to build its lead through the second quarter as it tallied 18 more points compared to just 13 from the Huskies, who were trailing by 13 by the end of the half. The Tigers earned 20 second-chance points this half, but none for the remainder of the game.
Five three-pointers by the Tigers in the third quarter left Northeastern with its biggest deficit of the game, down by 26 with 44 seconds left in the frame. Carlisle received a technical foul in the final minute of the quarter, allowing for two Towson free throws.
Down 68-44 to start the final quarter, the Huskies hadn’t lost hope just yet. Northeastern went on a few runs throughout the frame, outscoring Towson 25-10, and even trimmed the Tigers’ lead to single digits towards the end. Even with a 7-0 run to finish the game, it wasn’t enough for the Huskies to reign victorious and advance to the next round of the playoffs, as they fell to Towson 78-69.
Erdogan scored 30 points in this loss, nearly half of Northeastern’s total points. This was the second-most points by Erdogan in a single game this season, just behind her 32-point performance against Delaware Jan. 5.
The Huskies were not selected for the NCAA tournament, so the loss against Towson marked their final game of the season. Despite struggles with injury, this game was a strong final push to finish out the season.
