The Northeastern women’s basketball team (2-23,1-15 CAA) took two losses against the William & Mary Tribe (11-16, 8-8 CAA) Feb 28. and the Hampton University Pirates March 2. (7-20, 3-13 CAA) 71-51 and 68-66, respectively.
Against the Tribe, redshirt sophomore guard Abby Jegede led the team in scoring with 21 points off the bench after not playing the last two games due to an injury. Freshman center Alyssa Staten had a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Unlike previous matchups, Northeastern’s best quarter was the fourth, but by then it was too late.
The Tribe scored first off a layup and kept sinking their shots. The Huskies shot 38% from the field, compared to the Tribe’s 73%. William & Mary was stronger in the paint, on second chance points and in scoring off turnovers. They also outrebounded the Huskies 11 to six and had fewer turnovers. The Huskies’ struggles led to a 25-13 deficit by the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the Tribe’s shooting percentage took a sharp decline, as it only hit 33% of their shots, and the Huskies’ improved slightly to 40%. Both teams had the same number of turnovers and Northeastern outrebounded William & Mary. Despite playing more disciplined, the Huskies were still outscored 15-13 in the second quarter, ending the first half 40-26.
Out of halftime, the third quarter was rough for the Huskies, only making two of 10 shot attempts from the field. William & Mary scored all 12 of their points in the paint. The Huskies again outrebounded the Tribe but had four more turnovers. After being outscored 15-8, Northeastern was down 55-34 with one quarter remaining.
The Huskies had their best shooting percentage of the game in the fourth quarter with 53%. The Tribe only shot 41% and had five more turnovers than Northeastern. Northeastern capitalized on these mistakes, scoring 11 points off them. The Huskies outscored the Tribe 17-16, but the Tribe played better overall, taking the victory 71-51.
Northeastern’s matchup against Hampton was a different story. While William & Mary is ranked in the middle of the CAA, Hampton and Northeastern are side by side in the last two spots of the conference. In Hampton’s last game, the Pirates lost to Hofstra 53-47, while Northeastern picked up their first home and conference win of the season against the same team. Yet, this game proved that each game must be evaluated individually, with Hampton narrowly picking up the win on the Huskies 68-66.
Jegede led scoring for the Huskies with 20 points, followed by sophomore guard Yirsy Quéliz with 18. Freshman guard Samia Greene saw her most playing time of the season against Hampton and scored nine points. The Huskies were down again to only six players, with redshirt junior guard Natalie Larrañaga out from an injury.
In the first quarter, Hampton had more success in making their shots, going 9-14 from the field, compared to Northeastern going 5-14. Hampton had much more success off second chance points and getting rebounds, despite having more turnovers. The first quarter ended with Hampton up 20-15.
In the second quarter, the Huskies started finding more success. Their shooting percentage improved, while Hampton’s fell. Northeastern had fewer turnovers and rebounds than the Pirates, but hitting two shots from three-point range, drawing fouls and making shots on the line and Hampton’s struggle to connect led to Northeastern outsourcing the Pirates 17-16, bringing the score to 36-32 Hampton.
Out of the half, the third quarter was the Huskies’ best, shooting 64% from the field to Hampton’s 50%. They were still outrebounded and had more turnovers, but they were finding successful shots, including three three-pointers to outscore Hampton 23-17 and give themselves the lead 55-53.
Despite their success in the second and third quarters, Northeastern was struck with their usual fourth quarter lag, given only six players were able to play in the game. Their shooting percentage dropped from 64% in the third quarter to just 38% in the fourth. Hampton had six second chance points, while the Huskies had zero. Hampton again outrebounded the Huskies but had more turnovers. Despite their efforts, the Huskies were outscored 15-11, handing them their 23rd loss of the season 68-66.
The Huskies are back in action for their last home game of the season and senior day against the Elon Phoenix (14-13, 8-8 CAA) March 6.
