When a team is leading by 11 going into the final quarter of play, held the lead the entire game and, according to ESPN, had a 91.7% chance of winning the game with just over two minutes left, it would seem safe to assume that the team has the game in the bag. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case for Northeastern women’s basketball Tuesday afternoon.
The Huskies (1-2, 0-0 CAA) suffered a devastating 61-57 loss to the Boston University Terriers (1-2, 0-0 Patriot League) at the Cabot Center Nov. 11.
Despite the clear height difference between the teams – BU’s shortest starter was 5-foot-8-inches, which is taller than two of Northeastern’s starters -– the Huskies outrebounded the Terriers 35-32, a bright spot in the otherwise disappointing game.
Junior guard Yirsy Quéliz led the team in scoring with 16 points, 12 of which came off three-pointers. Sophomore guard Camryn Collins had 15 points, and sophomore forward Taylor Holohan had 11.
Despite BU winning the tip, Northeastern’s defense had it on lock. The Huskies forced BU to suffer from a shot clock violation and turn the ball over. Quéliz then fired off the first point of the game, a three-pointer from deep.
A minute later, BU’s sophomore guard Hildur Gunnsteinsdóttir hit a wide open three, unfortunately foreshadowing how the game would end.
The teams exchanged two points each before the Huskies lit up with five minutes to go. Collins hit a three-pointer, followed by a jumper for Quéliz and a three-pointer by graduate student guard Nariyah Simmons, increasing the Huskies’ lead to 13-5. BU hit a three-pointer, but a jumper in the paint by Simmons was the final point of the quarter with a minute left, putting Northeastern up 15-8.
In the beginning of the second quarter, BU came out strong with Inés Monteagudo Pardo firing off a three-pointer and Gunnsteinsdóttir making a layup off a steal, cutting Northeastern’s lead down to two. However, the Huskies weren’t going down yet.
Northeastern scored from a jumper by Quéliz, as well as a three-pointer and transition layup from Holohan, increasing its lead to 22-13. The teams exchanged shots in the paint before BU made a free throw that was answered with another three-pointer by Quéliz, putting the Huskies up 27-16 with under six minutes to go.
Northeastern’s final points of the quarter came from a steal by Simmons, leading to a three-pointer for Collins and increasing the team’s lead to 36-24 with just under a minute and a half left. BU scored its final points with three seconds left off two foul shots, bringing the game into half at 36-26.
The end of the quarter marked a trend that would end up killing the Huskies: BU’s last four points all came off foul shots from being in the bonus. Northeastern only had four foul shots the entire game, compared to BU’s 18, of which it made 14. Although not to the same extent, the performance was reminiscent of the team’s showing against Long Island University for the first game of the season, where the Huskies collected 30 fouls.
Sophomore center Alyssa Staten fired off the first points of the second half through a jumper in the paint. The jumper was followed by a foul by Simmons, the team’s first of the quarter, only 38 seconds in. Holohan sank two foul shots for Northeastern’s next points but followed it with a foul just over a minute in. Yet, the Huskies appeared to be in good shape, leading 40-26.
With just under seven minutes remaining, Northeastern gave up its third foul and sent BU to the line, where both shots were sunk. Quéliz answered back with a three-pointer before BU hit back-to-back layups to cut Northeastern’s lead to 43-34.
Sophomore forward Justice Tramble scored back-to-back layups off a put-back and on transition, electrifying Cabot and bringing the score to 47-34. After two and a half minutes of neither team scoring, a fast break layup and a three-pointer for BU cut Northeastern’s lead to 47-39. Quéliz answered back with a three-pointer of her own with 47 seconds left to end scoring for the quarter.
The final quarter started slow, but Northeastern got its first foul 15 seconds in by Tramble. The Huskies struck first with a three-pointer by Collins around a minute and a half into the quarter before Northeastern’s demise began. BU made a three-pointer in response, followed by two points from foul shots after Northeastern notched the team’s second foul. BU scored five straight points as Northeastern picked up its third foul with just under seven minutes remaining. Northeastern added four more points two minutes later to lead 57-49.
With five minutes remaining and the way the game had been going, the Huskies had a good chance of holding on to their 57-49 lead. However, seven missed shots, three turnovers and three fouls in a mess of undisciplined play gave BU plenty of opportunities to gain back the lead.
The Terriers scored 12 straight points that were unanswered by Northeastern. The Huskies maintained their lead until the clock read 1:02 remaining, when BU hit a layup to put the team ahead by one. A missed jumper by Holohan sent the ball back into the Terriers’ hands and, with 20 seconds remaining, just as the game had started for BU, Gunnsteinsdóttir sank a wide open three-pointer for the final blow. Northeastern took a timeout and fired off two three-point attempts, but it was no good. The Terriers took the win 61-57.
The Huskies will hope to bounce back against the Merrimack College Warriors (1-1, 0-0 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) Nov. 15 at 3 p.m. on the road.
