The Northeastern women’s basketball team (3-6, 0-0 CAA) lost to the University of Massachusetts Minutewomen (7-0, 0-0 Mid-American Conference) Dec. 3 71-52 at the Cabot Center.
The Huskies struggled the entire game near the rim, getting outrebounded 40-26 and giving up 40 points to UMass in the paint. Sophomore center Alyssa Staten, the Huskies’ leader in rebounds before the game and the team’s tallest player other than sophomore forward Taylor Holohan, was out of the lineup.
Despite Staten missing from the lineup, freshman guard Kailee Beaudion-Foliaki returned after being out since playing three minutes in Northeastern’s matchup against Merrimack Nov. 15, scoring a career-high 12 points and six rebounds. Graduate student guard Nariyah Simmons and sophomore guard Camryn Collins each added 12 points as well.
Despite Northeastern winning the tip, a quick turnover gave the ball back to the Minutewomen. A foul by Holohan sent UMass to the line, where the team made both points. Back-to-back layups put UMass ahead 6-0 before Collins hit a jumper to make it 6-2. Until there were just over two minutes left on the clock, Northeastern could not make a shot, putting UMass ahead 14-2.
Beudion-Foliaki sank a three-pointer that was followed by a baseline jumper for junior guard Yirsy Quéliz to snap the scoreless streak and bring the score to 14-7. Back-to-back layups increased UMass’s lead to 18-7 going into the second quarter.
UMass struck quickly in the second quarter with an and-one just 19 seconds in after a foul by sophomore forward Justice Tramble, increasing the lead to 21-7. This was followed with an and-one by Simmons. The Minutewomen took five consecutive points to increase their lead to 26-10 with six minutes left in the first half. With the score 33-17, the teams exchanged baskets before Northeastern took four points to cut the lead to 36-23. UMass struck last in the quarter with a layup with four seconds remaining to go into halftime 38-23.
The third quarter kicked off with a jump ball that ended up in Northeastern’s possession, and Simmons scored a layup. A foul and a turnover got the ball back to Northeastern, where sophomore guard Maria Sanchez Pitarch hit a jumper to beat the shot clock buzzer to cut the lead to 11. After UMass made a foul shot and Northeastern made a layup, the game was scoreless until, with six minutes left, the Minutewomen started a scoring streak by taking the next 11 points. Northeastern put UMass into the bonus with just under five minutes left, but luckily, the Huskies limited fouls the rest of the time, with UMass only taking two points off the advantage.
In the fourth quarter, the teams kept exchanging baskets until, with seven minutes remaining, Northeastern took its first consecutive baskets since eight minutes remained in the third quarter, thanks to a jumper by Collins and a three-pointer by Simmons. UMass answered by making two three-pointers and two layups to lead 67-42 with under four minutes remaining. One of UMass’s three-pointers by sophomore forward Jess Ross made Cabot the loudest it had been the entire game as the Minutewomen bench lit up.
A layup by Holohan was answered by a Minutewoman layup to bring the score to 69-44. Beaudion-Foliaki sank a free throw before UMass made a jumper to bring the score to 71-45. In the last minute, Beaudion-Foliaki hit back-to-back jumpers, and the Huskies got two steals before freshman guard Beatriz Perez Pulgar made a three-pointer for her first collegiate points, bringing the final score to 71-52.
The Huskies have a break before their next game, when they will take on the Boston College Eagles (4-7, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) on the road Dec. 19 at noon. If Northeastern wants to be competitive, the team needs to take care of the ball better, limiting second-chances for the opponent and allowing itself opportunities to score. The Huskies will also hope to have Staten back in the lineup to protect the rim and grab rebounds to compete against the Eagles, who have more height than Northeastern.
