By Sarah Metcalf
The Northeastern women’s basketball team faced some serious setbacks this week, dropping two straight to America East opponents Binghamton University and Boston University.
The loss to BU came in heartbreaking fashion after a hard-fought game and overtime period. The two losses drop the Huskies to 9-5 overall, 3-2 in the America East.
The Huskies took on the Binghamton Bearcats on Wednesday at West Gymnaisum in Vestal, N.Y. NU started the game strong, jumping out to a 7-0 lead and holding Binghamton scoreless for the first 7:30 of play. The Bearcats then went on an 8-3 run, putting them just one point behind the Huskies, who took a 14-13 lead into halftime.
In the second half, Binghamton began making shots consistently, improving their atrocious 15.8 percent from the field in the first half. The Huskies continued to have trouble with their shooting, and after 13:55 minutes of play, they had only managed to score two points. The Bearcats used it to their advantage, going on a 12-2 run to take a 25-16 lead, and Northeastern was never able to catch them. Binghamton shot a much more consistent 54.5 percent in the second half, as compared to NU’s 28.2 percent.
Sophomore standout Maralene Zwarich was held to only seven points, along with senior Joi Jefferson. Binghamton’s Rachel Laws had 14, and Jen Blues scored 12.
“Turnovers were a huge problem for us,” said coach Willette White. “Previously, we had been doing a really good job of taking care of the ball. Games we were successful in we had nine, 10 or 11 turnovers. Games that resulted in losses we had 20 and 27 turnovers — we’re not going to win many games like that.”
The game on Saturday against BU was the first of a women’s/men’s doubleheader. The Huskies played evenly with the Terriers for the first half, with neither team ever leading by more than five. Although their defense was solid, turnovers in the offensive half of the court hurt NU and resulted in several easy BU buckets. Junior Francesca Vanin made a layup in the last six seconds of the half to make it 29-26 and bring NU within three heading into the break.
In the second half, the Huskies continued to struggle with turnovers, but managed to go on a 15-4 run with 7:30 to play to tie the game at 43-43. With 2:37 left to play, Zwarich was fouled and converted both shots, giving Northeastern its first lead of the half, 49-48. With NU leading by two at 51-49, Zwarich fouled BU player Katie Terhune, who made both shots from the line to tie the score at 51. A Husky turnover led to a BU field goal with 16.1 seconds left. On the last play of the game, a heavily-covered Jefferson threw up a desperation shot from the paint, which swished through the net with under three seconds left, leading the two teams into overtime.
The Terriers went on a 10-2 run to start overtime, making the score 66-55 which gave them the edge throughout. The Huskies mounted a few comeback tries, but the lead proved too large to overcome.
Senior Melissa Kowalaski finished with 16 points, with 12 of those coming from three-pointers. Zwarich also scored in double figures, scoring 12 points and grabbing seven rebounds. Vanin also had her first double-double, finshing with 12 points and 12 rebounds. BU’s Terhune led all scorers with 26 points, and Adrienne Norris had 10 points and seven rebounds.
“We had a lot of really good things on the defensive end, but there are a lot of key posessions we could dig in and be more aggressive on,” White said. “And these are key posessions we’re talking about here.”
White said although her team needs to step up their play against Maine, she is not worried about their standings in the America East.
“We’re worried about the next game, and that’s our concern,” she said. “It’s too early to worry about standings. Right now we’re worried about each and every night and every different opponent. If we take care of business, the standings will take care of themselves.”
The Huskies return to action tonight when they host Maine at 7 p.m. on Solomon Court.
