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Northeastern fell 61-51 to Delaware on Thursday night at Solomon Court in the Huskies first home CAA contest of 2011. The loss moves the Huskies to 5-8 (0-2 CAA) while the Blue Hens improved to 9-4 (2-0 CAA).

Sophomore Deanna Kerkhof led the Huskies with 18 points, including four made three-pointers, while junior Jamie Conroy contributed 13 points and tied for the team-high with five assists.

Freshman Jewel Tunstull scored eight points and grabbed a team-high five rebounds and sophomore Christine Huber dished out a career-high five assists while pulling down four boards and tallying four points. Junior Dani Iervolino got on the board with six points and senior Tiffany Crews grabbed five rebounds and two steals for the Huskies.

Delaware was led by Lauren Carra, who notched a game-high 20 points. Danielle Parker also scored in the double-digits for the Blue Hens with 16 points and a team-high eight rebounds.

Delaware got on the board first after both teams were held scoreless for the first two and a half minutes of play. A Northeastern turnover led to another basket for the Blue Hens and Delaware opened with a 4-0 lead. Kerkhof posted the first points for the Huskies with just over 16 minutes on the clock, drilling a three from the wing.

The Blue Hens used a 5-0 run to take a 9-3 lead on the Huskies before Conroy drove to the basket for a layup. After a Blue Hens' basket, Iervolino hit a three-pointer from the wing to bring the Huskies within three, 11-8. Delaware responded with a layup on the other end and Northeastern then hit its third three from Conroy. The teams exchanged layups before the timeout taken at 11:25, with the Blue Hens leading, 15-13.

Following the break, Conroy tied the score with a jumper and the Huskies then took the lead with a Tunstull layup following a dish from Huber, causing the Blue Hens to call for a timeout with 8:51 on the clock. Delaware evened the score with a jumper from Jocelyn Bailey then Vanessa Kabongo intercepted a Huskies' pass and scored on the fast break to put the Blue Hens ahead, 19-17, with 6:51 left on the clock.

Two free throws from Conroy knotted the score again at 19-all. Sarah Acker gave the lead back to Delaware with a basket in the paint. Mendenhall's layup at 3:58 tied the score yet again. Delaware embarked on an 8-0 run before Kerkhof's jumper got the Huskies back on the board with under a minute to play in the half, sending the teams to the locker room with Delaware holding a 29-23 lead.

The Blue Hens got on the board first with a layup from Danielle Parker, who was fouled on the shot. Parker converted her extra opportunity from the line, pushing the Blue Hen's lead to 32-23. Kabongo's layup and a deep three-pointer from Carra pushed Delaware's run to 8-0, as the Blue Hens led 37-23 with 16:13 left on the clock.
 
Tunstull posted the first points of the second half for Northeastern at 16:01 and Kerkhof followed with a three-pointer, making it 37-28 Delaware. Conroy committed a foul while Carra was attempting a three-point shot and the Blue Hen was able to capitalize on all three shots from the charity stripe. Kerkhof's fast break layup brought the Huskies within 12, at 42-30, but Delaware posted another basket before the media timeout taken at 11:57.

Conroy stepped in front of a Blue Hens' pass for a fast break layup but Delaware continued to extend its lead and held a 51-34 advantage with 6:58 left on the clock. Kerkhof's layup and Iervolino's three-pointer from the far wing cut Delaware's lead to 56-39.

The Huskies managed to shorten the margin to 61-51, with less than a minute left to play but the Blue Hens hung on and ended the game with a 61-51 victory.

The Huskies shot 39.9 percent from the field, which was bested by Delaware's 43.6 percent. Northeastern was limited to a 31.8 percent mark from beyond the arc (7-for-22) while Delaware only attempted to shots from three-point range, converting on one.

The Blue Hens held the advantage on the boards, out-rebounding the Huskies 39-26.

Northeastern continues to search for its first conference win of the season on Sunday, Jan. 9, when the Huskies welcome William & Mary to Solomon Court for a 2 p.m. match-up. Fans can follow all the action of the game, as well as all Huskies' home events, on GoNU.TV.