The Northeastern women’s basketball team (1-16, 0-8 CAA) was defeated by the Drexel Dragons (10-8, 6-2 CAA) 57-43 Jan. 31 in the teams’ second matchup of the season.
In their previous matchup Jan. 5, Northeastern lost to Drexel 70-55. Redshirt sophomore guard Abby Jegede led scoring in both games for the Huskies with 14 and 19 points, respectively. Jegede has been the leading scorer for the team in 13 of the 15 games she has played in.
Northeastern won the tip and immediately scored off a layup by Jegede, but the Dragons were quick to answer back with a layup of their own.
Drexel tried implementing a full court press on the Huskies, but they instantly broke it with Jegede hitting another layup, this time in transition. Sophomore guard Yirsy Quéliz made a layup through contact to increase the lead to 6-2 Huskies.
A series of turnovers plagued both teams, with Northeastern getting their first shot clock violation of the game, an obstacle the team has been unable to overcome as the season progresses. Drexel was also playing unsettled, struggling to get their shots to fall.
Both teams exchanged layups before the first timeout of the game called by Drexel. With just under five minutes remaining in the first quarter, Northeastern was up 8-4.
Out of the timeout, Drexel had a three-point play, off an and-1, to cut the Huskies’ lead down to one with four minutes remaining. A foul on Jegede as she was going up put her on the line, where she sunk both shots to put the Huskies back up by three. Both teams hit layups before Quéliz hit a three to give the Huskies a six-point lead and end the quarter 15-9 with Northeastern on top.
Drexel opened up the second quarter with a layup that was immediately followed by another Northeastern shot clock violation. Off the turnover, Drexel scored a layup. With the ball back in the Huskies’ hands, they gave it right back up with another shot clock violation. Drexel capitalized on the opportunity, scoring another layup to tie the game up.
Drexel began playing more disciplined as the Huskies did the opposite. After two more Northeastern turnovers, Drexel took the lead 17-15 with a layup and forced the Huskies to use a timeout with just under seven minutes remaining in the quarter.
When the teams went back to play, senior guard Camille Clement hit a jumper to tie the game back up, which the Huskies followed up with their third shot clock violation of the quarter, with just under half of the quarter still remaining. Luckily for Northeastern, Drexel had a three-second violation to give the ball to the Huskies. Off the turnover, Jegede scored an and-1 to give the Huskies a 20-17 lead.
Unfortunately, the lead didn’t last long as Drexel went on an eight-point scoring streak to go up 24-20. Still, the Huskies continued their fight. Freshman guard Maria Sánchez Pitarch scored a layup, and Clement hit a deep three-pointer with 33 seconds remaining to avoid a shot clock violation, ending the quarter with the Huskies barely above the Dragons 25-24.
Both teams exchanged baskets in the beginning of the third quarter to keep Northeastern’s lead slim until a putback for the Dragons tied it back up. A made free throw gave Drexel the lead back 33-32 with just under five and a half minutes to go, but Jegede was quick to answer back with a jumper to put the Huskies back on top 34-33. After a minute of turnovers and missed shots, Drexel took back the lead 35-34 with over four minutes remaining.
Another scoreless drought, lasting over a minute and a half, hit both teams until Drexel made a layup and commanded scoring for the rest of the quarter, ending it 42-34 Drexel.
Frustration was clear on Northeastern coaches’ and players’ faces at its performance in the third quarter. Especially with a team that has historically been weak in the fourth quarter, the Huskies needed a lot of fight to have a shot at winning.
Quéliz scored first in the fourth quarter off a jumper, but Drexel was quick to answer back with a layup.
Jegede scored the next two baskets for the Huskies, sparking a chance of hope as they cut the Dragons’ lead to four and pushed the Dragons into taking a timeout with almost half of the quarter over.
Out of the timeout, Drexel sank a three-pointer, but had a shot clock violation of their own and notched their fifth foul of the quarter to send Northeastern into the bonus with just under four minutes remaining. Jegede was sent to the line and sunk both her shots before the Dragons hit another jumper.
Clement hit her second three-pointer of the game to cut the Dragons lead down to four again. A flurry of turnovers and missed shots led to over two minutes of no scoring for both teams, detrimental to the Huskies’ chances of fighting back. Quéliz broke the scoreless streak with a layup.
After a 30 second timeout by Drexel, the Dragons hit a layup with 26 seconds remaining, up 51-47. In an attempt to get the ball back, Jegede fouled out. With 15 seconds remaining, Drexel was sent to the line and sunk both shots to bring the score to 53-47.
Two missed free throws by Sánchez Pitarch and a missed three-pointer by Clement left the Huskies empty-handed. The mistakes of the second and third quarter and the scoreless streak in the fourth were too much for the Huskies to overcome, handing them their 16th loss of the season, 53-47.
The Huskies are back in action Feb. 2 against the University of Delaware Blue Hens (4-14, 1-7 CAA) at home for National Girls and Women in Sports Day and Alumni Day, where they hope to pick up their first home and conference win of the season.
