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Setting the Stage
Northeastern begins the new year and the conference portion of its schedule with a trip to Harrisonburg, Va. to take on James Madison. The Huskies and the Dukes will square off at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 2, in the CAA opener for both teams.

Last Time Out
Dec. 30 • Northeastern 67, Boston College 80
Northeastern's late rally fell short, as Boston College defeated the Huskies, 80-67, Thursday night at Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, Mass. The Huskies conclude the non-conference portion of their schedule with a 5-6 record, while the Eagles move to 12-1 on the season. Junior Kashaia Cannon led the Huskies with 22 points while sophomore Christine Huber grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds. Huber also added four points and four blocks in 24 minutes of action.Junior Jamie Conroy scored a season-high 18 points while sophomore Afreyea Tolbert also scored in double-digits with 16 points. The guard pulled down six rebounds and committed two steals. Northeastern shot 37.7 percent from the field compared to BC's 39.2 percent mark. The Eagles' outrebounded the Huskies, 47-45, and forced Northeastern into 16 turnovers, leading to 15 points for BC.

About James Madison
James Madison completed its non-conference slate with a 7-5 record and most recently defeated Western Carolina, 82-47. Jalissa Taylor led the Dukes with a double-double, posting 10 points and a team-high 13 rebounds. She was one of five players for James Madison to score in double-figures. Dawn Evans, the reigning CAA Player of the Week, is the leading scorer amongst Division I players, averaging 26.1 points per game. The Dukes, who are ranked No. 22 in the CollegeInsider.com mid-major poll, enter Sunday's game shooting 37.4 percent from the field and averaging 69.2 points per game.

Huskies Versus Virginia
Northeastern is 13-36 all-time against teams from the state of Virginia. The Huskies annually face five teams from Virginia in conference play (James Madison, George Mason, Old Dominion, William & Mary and VCU). Last season, Northeastern went 2-6 against its Virginia counterparts with a 100-94 victory over Old Dominion in triple overtime and a 70-57 defeat of George Mason.

Conference Openers
The Huskies are 2-3 in conference openers since joining the CAA in 2005. The last time Northeastern started the conference slate off with a win was in 2008, when the Huskies defeated Hofstra, 57-52. Northeastern is 11-15 all-time in conference openers.

Non-Conference Play Comes to an End
Thursday's game against Boston College was the final non-conference contest for the Huskies of the 2010-11 season. Northeastern completed the non-conference slate with a 5-6 record. The Huskies tallied five wins against non-conference opponents for the third time in head coach Daynia La-Force Mann's five seasons.

Tough Slate
Northeastern faces a challenging schedule in the 2010-11 campaign, as 11 of the Huskies' opponents reached postseason play last season. Iowa and CAA-member James Madison qualified for the NCAA Tournament last March, while eight foes participated in the WNIT (Syracuse, Kent State, Boston University, Old Dominion, VCU, Delaware, Hofstra and Drexel). Towson also played in the postseason, as the Tigers were participants in the WBI.

Poll Position
Northeastern was picked to finish 12th in the CAA preseason poll at CAA Media Day held at Champps-Pentagon Row in Arlington, Va. In three of the four seasons under La-Force Mann, Northeastern has finished higher than its predicted finish, including last season when the Huskies were picked 10th and finished 8th in the conference.

Field Goal Frenzy
Northeastern's 29 field goals against Boston College were the most field goals made by the Huskies this season, besting the previous high of 25 set against Holy Cross and Boston University. The Huskies attempted 77 field goals against the Eagles, which was also a season-high.

Canadian Comeback
Sophomore Deanna Kerkhof, a Wallaceburg, Ontario native, appeared in her first game of the season against Holy Cross after missing the first nine contests while recovering from off-season surgery. The guard scored a career-high 25 points, including 5-of-7 from beyond the arc, in her season debut. Kerkhof added four rebounds, two assists and two steals in a team-high 36 minutes of action against the Crusaders.

Huber's Husky Debut
Sophomore forward Christine Huber recorded a double-double in her first game in a Huskies' uniform on Dec. 19 against Miami (Ohio). Huber was eligible to suit up for Northeastern for the first time after transferring from Rutgers in the spring semester of the 2009-10 season. The 6'4 forward made her presence immediately felt for Northeastern, as she tallied 12 points and grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds. The North Babylon, N.Y. native also added two blocks, a steal and an assist in 10 minutes of action. Huber scored in double-digits for the second-straight game, pouring in 11 points against Holy Cross. The sophomore then grabbed a team-high 13 rebounds against Boston College.

Career Highs All Around
Seven different Huskies have registered a career-high in points so far in the 2010-11 season. Sophomore Rachael Pecota (25 points at Syracuse), senior Mia Mayberry (13 points vs. Northern Colorado), sophomore Afreyea Tolbert (16 points vs. Boston College), junior Kashaia Cannon (24 points at Army), senior Tiffany Crews (11 points at Dartmouth), sophomore Christine Huber (12 points vs. Miami (Ohio)) and sophomore Deanna Kerkhof (25 points vs. Holy Cross).

Four Double-Digit Scorers on the Floor
In Northeastern's 76-65 win over Holy Cross, four Huskies notched double-digit scoring performances. Sophomore Deanna Kerkhof led the team with 25 points while junior Kashaia Cannon added 20 points. Junior Jamie Conroy and sophomore Christine Huber each chipped in 11 points. It was the second-consecutive game that four Huskies scored in double-digits. The Huskies also had four-double digit scorers in Northeastern's 67-55 victory over Boston University on Dec. 6.

Balancing Act
Northeastern has five players averaging 10 or more points per game so far this season. Five different Huskies have led the team in scoring through the first 10 games of the season.

Dishing it Out
Junior Jamie Conroy leads the team with 52 assists on the season. The Brooklyn native matched her career-high with eight assists against Holy Cross. Conroy's 5.0 assists per game average ranks second in the CAA.

Conroy in Control
Junior Jamie Conroy leads the Huskies in playing time, averaging 36.8 minutes per game this season, which leads the CAA. The guard is one of three Huskies to start all 11 contests for Northeastern this year.

Block Party
Northeastern blocked a season-high five shots against Kent State on Nov. 16, with sophomore 3Rachael Pecota# leading the way with two blocks. Senior Tiffany Crews (1) and freshmen Sierra Mendenhall (1) and Jewel Tunstull (1) also got in on the action against the Golden Flashes. The Huskies nearly matched their season-high with four blocked shots against the Crusaders on Dec. 21 and again at Boston College on Dec. 30.

Break Out Performance
Freshman Jewel Tunstull scored a season-high nine points for the Huskies against Miami (Ohio). The Brooklyn native came off the bench 15 minutes of action and shot 3-of-4 from the field and a perfect 3-of-3 from the charity stripe.

Kash Money
Junior Kashaia Cannon has scored in double-digits in eight of the Huskies' 11 games this season, including a career-high 24 points, connecting on 5-of-9 shots from beyond the arc, to lead the Huskies to a victory over Army on Nov. 29. The Providence, R.I. native led the team with 22 points at Boston College on Dec. 30. Cannon ranks second on the team with a 14.0 points per game average.

Pecota Performs
Sophomore forward Rachael Pecota has led the Huskies in scoring in five of their 11 games so far this season. The San Francisco native posted a team-high 17 points for the Huskies at Dartmouth on Dec. 1. In the Huskies' season opener, the forward had a standout performance against Syracuse, as the sophomore registered a career-high 25 points, including a career-high seven made three-pointers.

Mayberry Makes her Mark
Senior Mia Mayberry enjoyed a successful weekend at the Hawkeye Classic in Iowa City, playing less than an hour away from her hometown of Rock Island, Ill. The forward grabbed a team-high nine rebounds while posting eight points on Saturday against Iowa before breaking out for a career-day on Sunday. In the Huskies victory over Northern Colorado, Mayberry notched the first double-double of her career with 13 points and a team-high 11 rebounds. Mayberry was named to the Hawkeye Challenge All-Tournament Team for her efforts.

Making it Rain
The Huskies have connected on 79 shots from beyond the arc this season, averaging 7.2 three-pointers per game, which ranks second in the CAA. Northeastern shot a season-high 60.0 percent from beyond the arc (12-of-20) against Holy Cross on Dec. 21. The Huskies connected on a season-high 14 shots from beyond the arc at Syracuse on Nov. 12.

Picking Pockets
Northeastern grabbed 16 steals against Syracuse, the most steals the Huskies have recorded since they tallied 15 at Hofstra on Feb. 28, 2010. This season, the Huskies have grabbed 108 steals through their first 11 games, including 13 against Holy Cross on Dec. 21.

Tournament Time
The Huskies participated in the Hawkeye Challenge hosted by the University of Iowa on Nov. 20-21. Northeastern faced No. 22/24 Iowa in the first day of action then defeated Northern Colorado in the consolation game on day two of the tournament.

Huskies Ink Two
Head coach Daynia La-Force Mann has announced the signings of 5'7 point guard A'lece Mark (Central High School/Loomis Chaffee Academy) and 5'10 guard/forward Tanisha Hopewell (Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart). Both will join the Huskies for the 2011-12 season. Mark was named first team All-Western Massachusetts her senior year after averaging 15 points, five assists, six steals and four rebounds per game. Hopewell will come to Northeastern after playing varsity basketball for four years and being selected to the All-Independent School League first-team as a sophomore and junior.

Up Next
Northeastern will welcome Delaware to Solomon Court on Thursday, Jan. 6 for the Huskies' first home CAA game of the season. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.

Blake Comes to Boston
Tom Blake joins the Huskies coaching staff in 2010-11 as the Associate Head Coach. Blake comes to the Huskies with over 30 years of experience as a basketball coach, including 17 seasons at the collegiate level. He was most recently was an assistant coach with the Quinnipiac women's basketball team for two seasons and also served three seasons as an assistant men's basketball coach at Quinnipiac from 1997-2000. Blake also has head coaching experience at the collegiate level, having led the men's basketball programs at Wheaton (Mass.) College (1994-97) and Albertus Magnus College (1989-94).

Community Caring
Before the start of the season, the Huskies volunteered their time at numerous community events. In April, the Huskies spent time assisting Cradles to Crayons, a nonprofit organization that equips homeless and in-need children with the basic essentials. The Huskies also participated in a YMCA educational program in August that allowed Boston-area students to spend a day with the women's basketball team learning about what it means to be a college athlete. The Huskies then volunteered at the Brian Honan 5K Run/Walk and the Walk Now for Autism Speaks event in September.

Follow the Huskies on Facebook and Twitter
For the most up-to-date happenings with the Northeastern women's basketall team, follow the Huskies on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NortheasternWBB) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/NortheasternWBB).