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BOSTON -- The Northeastern women's basketball team used a balanced scoring effort that saw four players hit double figures to power past Massachusetts for its fifth straight win on Saturday afternoon at Solomon Court, routing the Minutewomen, 78-51. The win also marked NU's seventh straight at home, dating back to last season. All seven wins have come by double figures.

Northeastern (6-2, 0-0 CAA) was led  in scoring by junior Jewel Tunstull (Brooklyn, N.Y.), who notched 15 points and eight rebounds, both game-highs, in 21 minutes played. Freshmen Tiffany Montagne (Jackson, N.J.) and Samantha DeFreese (Bergenfield, N.J.) set new career-highs in scoring, as Montagne posted 12 points and DeFreese had nine of her own.

Sophomore A'lece Mark (Springfield, Mass.) stuffed the stat sheet with 14 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals and redshirt senior Kashaia Cannon was the fourth Husky in double figures, punching in 12.

UMass (2-10, 0-0 A10) was paced by Jasmine Harris' 14 points, while also getting 11 from Emily Mitel. Rashida Timbilla added nine points and seven rebounds for the Minutewomen, who dropped their fifth-consecutive game.

Northeastern came out early with full court pressure, leading to 14 NU steals and forcing 25 UMass turnovers. The Huskies and Minutewomen were tied on the glass, each grabbing 34 rebounds. Every Husky who saw the floor grabbed at least one rebound in the game, led by Tunstull's eight and seven from senior Christine Huber (North Babylon, N.Y.).

The Red and Black shot 49.2 percent on the day, connecting on 29-59 from the field. That mark is the most field goals NU has made in a single game this year, leading to it second highest scoring output of the season.

The Huskies jumped out to a 12-4 lead four minutes into the game, thanks to a pair of threes from  Cannon and another triple from Mark. The Minutewomen responded with a pair of threes to cut the Huskies lead to 12-10. NU then began to work the ball inside, getting eight straight points in the paint to push their advantage to 20-10 halfway through the first half.

Northeastern went up 28-12 after Montagne made the Huskies' fifth three-pointer of the half. When Tunstull was substituted for with 6:41 remaining, she already had nine points to lead NU. The Huskies held UMass at bay for the rest of the first half, holding a continuous double-digit lead for the last 8:43 of the period.

Senior Deanna Kerkhof (Wallaceburg, Ontario)  got on the scoresheet in the final minute of the first half, when she made a pair of threes to give Northeastern a 43-23 lead going into halftime. Mark and Cannon led the Huskies in the frame with ten points apiece, and NU went 8-of-13 from three-point range in the half. The 43 points scored by the Huskies was the most scored in a half this season, and it marked the fifth time in eight games that Northeastern put up 40 points in a half.

The two teams started off cold in the second half, with the Huskies and Minutewomen shooting a combined 3-of-12 in the first four minutes of the frame. Following the first media timeout of the second half, Mital sank a three-pointer, and then answered a Kazzidy Stewart (Lanham, Md.) layup with one of her own to put her at 11 points, but the Minutewomen still found themselves trailing 50-33 with 14:56 left in the second.

A Cannon layup with 10:41 remaining put Northeastern up by 20 again, 60-40. Two minutes later, Montagne made a layup that gave the freshman ten points off the bench, adding to a new career-high. Huber made her presence felt late in the second half, when she had an emphatic block, and then saved the ball from going out of bounds by throwing it at an opponent. The next trip down the court, she also got on the scoresheet by making a layup, putting NU up 70-43. The Huskies went on to win by a final score of 78-51.

Up next, Northeastern has a week off before heading south to participate in the FIU Sun & Fun Classic in Miami, Fla. on Dec. 29 and 30. First up for the Huskies is the host Florida International Panthers, on Saturday the 29th at 6 p.m. Depending on the outcome, NU will play either Georgia Tech or Quinnipiac on the 30th at 4 p.m.