By Joe Rubin

The Northeastern women’s basketball team ended the week with a split, shredding the Vermont Catamounts, only to come up short against the Hartford Hawks (3-10, 1-1 AE), 78-70.

At Solomon Court last Saturday, the Huskies jumped out to an early lead. Northeastern overwhelmed the Hawks, exploding to a 13-point lead with junior point guard Aisha Williams leading the way. The Hawks responded with a powerful comeback, ending the half on a 19-8 run and reducing Northeastern’s lead to two, 36-34.

The Hawks began the half with a trey, giving UH the lead and spurring a 19-7 run to take the control to 53-43. The Huskies answered with a run of their own, evening the score at 57. A 7-0 run by the Hawks put the Dogs down permanently, as the Huskies would not lead again the rest of the game.

There was one bright spot in the Hawks contest, however. Melissa Kowalski tied Northeastern’s all-time record for most career three-pointers in a career (137).

NU head coach Willette White blames the problems on balance, noting that the team is “trying to maintain a level of consistency.” Northeastern starts off strong in the first, but loses momentum in the second, which often costs them a deserved victory.

Northeastern put an end to their seven game losing streak with the start of America East conference play, defeating Vermont (8-3, 0-1 America East) this past Wednesday at Solomon Court, 78-72. Aisha Williams would lead the Huskies with 22 points for the night, along with three other NU players hitting double digits.

The pack came out strong again and took the lead in the first half, using a quick game with good communication between the players. The Catamounts would mount a comeback, but fell short when NU freshman Maralene Zwarich came up with a lay up at the buzzer to bring the Huskies back on top.

The second half was more evenly matched, with neither team taking more than a three point lead throughout. The second half also featured eight ties and seven lead changes. Finally, with a little less than four minutes left, the Huskies took the lead 66-61 with the help of sophomore Francesca Vanin, who had 17 points on the night.

By overtaking the Catamounts, NU won its conference opener for the third in the past four years. White was especially proud of her team.

“It was a really good win for us. We brought a lot to the table that game,” she said.