The Northeastern women’s basketball (6-13, 2-7 CAA) team fell to the Drexel University Dragons (13-7, 6-3 CAA) 65-56 in a fast paced game at the Cabot Center Feb. 1.
The Huskies and Dragons were up and down the court and constantly on the floor in the aggressive matchup. Despite fighting to keep it close, the Huskies were not able to pull back ahead after falling 39-27 by halftime.
Northeastern was getting offensive rebounds for more opportunities, something the team typically struggle with. The Huskies outrebounded the Dragons 41-31, outscored them in the paint 36-22 and had 17 second-chance points to Drexel’s seven.
Sophomore guard Camryn Collins led scoring for the Huskies with 14 points. Meanwhile, sophomore forward Justice Tramble had a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
Northeastern started the game strong, taking a 7-2 lead, courtesy of a 3-pointer and a layup by Collins and a layup by graduate student guard Nariyah Simmons. Then, the Dragons collected five straight baskets to tie it at seven.
The Huskies answered back with a great pass from sophomore forward Maya Summerville to sophomore center Alyssa Staten in the paint for a layup, before the first quarter headed into a media timeout.
Play resumed, and the teams swapped baskets until the Dragons went on an eight-point run in the last minute and a half, taking a 19-12 lead into the second quarter.
Northeastern struck first with a jumper by Tramble until Drexel knocked down a 3-pointer. Collins hit another layup before the Dragons took off, scoring 10 straight points to take a 32-16 lead. After a scramble of the ball between the teams, Northeastern answered with back-to-back layups and a jumper, cutting the score to 32-22. The teams scored five points each until Drexel hit a layup with 18 seconds left to end the half with the Huskies trailing the Dragons 39-27.
The third quarter started with turnovers and fouls from both teams. Northeastern took the first point off a foul shot made by Simmons before sophomore forward Taylor Holohan added a jumper for her first points of the game.
Less than two and a half minutes into the third frame, Northeastern notched its fourth foul, putting the Huskies in danger for the rest of the game. Right afterward, Drexel got its first points of the quarter off a jumper. Northeastern scored four points to Drexel’s two over the next three and a half minutes until the quarter went into a media timeout, 43-34 Dragons.
Out of the timeout, the teams were firing off shots and matching each other’s moves. Then, Drexel took a jumper and a free throw at the end of the quarter to end it 52-40.
In the final quarter, Northeastern took seven of the next nine points, including a big three-point play from Holohan off a steal, cutting Drexel’s lead to 54-47 with eight minutes remaining.
The teams went back and forth with baskets, and the Dragons just edged the Huskies. With less than two minutes to go, Drexel hit a three, and Holohan hit a layup with a minute and a half left for the last basket of the game
The Huskies look to break their losing streak against the Stony Brook Seawolves (12-10, 7-2 CAA) Feb. 6 at 6:30 p.m. on the road. The Seawolves are coming off a 61-51 win against Monmouth University, which the Huskies won against 72-67 Jan. 9 and lost to 65-56 Jan. 28.
