By Sarah Metcalf
Although the players on the Northeastern women’s basketball team were on break from classes, they didn’t take a break from getting down to business, blazing to an impressive 6-1 record since Dec. 11.
The streak of wins catapults NU to 8-3 overall, and 2-0 in the America East conference. The Huskies also remain unbeaten at home, piling up a 6-0 record at Solomon Court.
Over the break, Northeastern beat Harvard, UMass, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Albany at home, and Eastern Illinois on the road. Their one loss came to Seton Hall in New York.
Sophomore Maralene Zwarich has been on fire lately, averaging 23 points per game, and was named the America East Wilson Player of the Week.
On Saturday, Jan. 3, the Huskies took on Vermont at home in their America East opener, and won in thrilling fashion, edging out the Catamounts 62-58.
Despite an early 7-0 lead and rendering Vermont helpless for the first 2:30 of the half, the Huskies couldn’t stop UVM’s 15-2 run to claim the lead. Vermont would retain the advantage until there were 23 seconds in the half, when Zwarich sunk two free throws to tie the game at 32. However, a layup by freshman Jamilah Corbitt would give Vermont the two-point edge heading into the break.
In the second half, NU came out flat, and Vermont took advantage by going on a 9-2 and holding Northeastern bucketless for five minutes, seemingly putting the game out of reach. NU wasn’t done however, and they gained momentum, consistently scoring buckets and answering Vermont’s runs down the court. Eventually, the Huskies had cut the lead to five, trailing 53-48. However, Zwarich would then cut the lead to two by making a layup, getting the foul and sinking the ensuing foul shot. A layup from freshman Jody Burrows brought the Huskies to within one, and Zwarich hit a clutch 3-pointer to give NU the lead, 57-55. Although Vermont tied the game once again on the next play, Zwarich made a living at the line, swishing six free throws to secure the win and bringing her total performance to 19 points.
Senior Joi Jefferson had 15 points, and junior Francesa Vanin had 10 of her own. Burrows had six points and six rebounds, and was among the four NU players who recorded four steals – Zwarich and Vanin being the others.
The Huskies then traveled to Albany on Saturday to take on the Great Danes. Again, Zwarich came through big, scoring a game-high 27 points and leading NU to a 73-52 win.
Northeastern came out strong and never looked back, jumping out to a 6-0 lead and then building on that advantage with runs of 13-4 and 14-5 behind senior Melissa Kowalski’s nine points, all from three-point range. By the time halftime rolled around, NU had compiled its largest lead of the game, 35-22.
Albany came out strong and tried to mount a comeback, cutting their deficit from 13 to seven just four minutes in. However, NU’s defense kicked it into high gear, shutting down Albany’s shooting and thus allowing themselves to break the game open on in the offensive half. Zwarich went 8-9 from the field in the second half, and also went 4-5 from the line, racking up an impressive 19 second-half points.
Kowalski and Vanin also scored in double figured, with 12 and 14 points, respectively. Jefferson had nine points of her own, along with seven assists and a career-best seven steals. Burrows, who is proving to be a valuable asset to the team, finished with seven assists, six rebounds and three steals. NU also set a high mark for shooting, making 50 percent of their shots from the field, and going 14-25 collectively in the second half.
The Huskies will travel to the Chase Family Arena to take on the Hartford Hawks, who have won six straight. Game time is 7 p.m.
