Box Score

MIAMI, Fla - A furious second half rally was not enough for the Northeastern women's basketball team (6-4, 0-0 CAA) to overcome an early 22-point deficit as they fell, 83-72 , to the Quinnipiac Bobcats (9-2, 0-0 NEC) on Sunday afternoon in the consolation game of the FIU Sun & Fun Classic at the U.S. Century Bank Arena in Miami.

Following the conclusion of the tournament, NU's Deanna Kerkhof (Wallaceburg, Ontario) was named to the All-Tournament team. The senior captain averaged 18 points, five rebounds and three steals a game over Northeastern's two contests.

NU's junior Jewel Tunstull (Brooklyn, N.Y.) posted her first double-double of the season in the loss, scoring 15 points and grabbing a season-high 15 rebounds, the third-highest total of her career. Senior co-captain Christine Huber (North Babylon, N.Y.) also doubled up, scoring 11 points and snagging 10 rebounds for her third double-double of the year.   Kerkhof added 14 points for the Huskies, and sophomore A'lece Mark (Springfield, Mass.) chipped in 13 points and a team-high five assists.  Sophomore Amencie Mercier (Pierrefonds, Quebec) and senior co-captain Kashaia Cannon (Providence, R.I.) both scored nine for NU.

For the game, Northeastern out-rebounded Quinnipiac 51-44, marking the second time this year NU has eclipsed the half-century mark in rebounds. The Huskies, who came in ranked fifth nationally in three pointers per game, were fed a spoonful of their own medicine, as QU connected on 16-33 shots from downtown. The 16 made triples were a season-high for the Bobcats. NU hit 8-23 from deep in the game.

Felicia Barron scored 18 for the Bobcats to lead all players, and Samantha Guastella posted a double-double of her own with 16 points and 11 rebounds. QU as a team connected on 29 of a whopping 70 shots from the field, good for a 41.4 percent field goal percentage, and held Northeastern to a 23-67 (34.3%) mark. Quinnipiac notched assists on a remarkable 26 of its 29 made baskets. The 82 points scored for QU is the most allowed by Northeastern this year, 16 more than the previous high.

The Huskies trailed by as many as 22 in the second half, but slimmed the lead as low as eight with a strong second half push. Despite picking up 13 assists on 23 made field goals, NU was plagued by turning the ball over 21 times, only forcing 16 QU turnovers.

Quinnipiac scored the game's first five points before a Kerkhof triple got NU on the board 90 seconds in. Early three pointers and offensive rebounding allowed the Bobcats to build a 16-7 advantage, before the Huskies battled back to make it 19-13 at the 11:27 media break.

A Mark three right before the stop sparked a 10-3 Northeastern run, pulling the Huskies within two at 22-20 with 8:15 to play. Two threes from Barron, QU's seventh and eighth of the first half, sparked a 13-2 Quinnipiac run that put the Bobcats up 35-22, forcing a Northeastern timeout with 4:32 to play in the first.

QU extended its run to 17-2 as the half dwindled, and they took a 39-22 lead into halftime. Northeastern actually out-rebounded Quinnipiac 30-24 in the opening stanza, but the Bobcats connected on nine three pointers and forced 14 NU turnovers in the period.

The Bobcats extended their lead to over 20 in the opening stages of the second frame, before Northeastern rattled off eight straight points to make it 44-30 QU with 17:26 left in the game. The Huskies continued to chip away at the lead, getting within 12 at 52-40 with a Mercier three at 14:00, forcing a Quinnipiac timeout.

A Huber turnaround jumper got NU within single digits again at nine, before four quick QU points put the Bobcats back up 13 and forced a Daynia La-Force timeout with 11:16 to play. The Huskies got back within single digits at 8:37 with a Tunstull basket, before the Bobcats' 14th and 15th triples of the day had them right back up 14.

The teams traded punches over the next minutes, with Northeastern unable to substantiate a run to cut deeper into Quinnipiac's lead. A Kerkhof three got it to nine before the game's final media break, which saw NU trailing 74-65 with 2:58 to play.

In the end, Northeastern's late efforts were not enough to overcome its first half deficit, and despite holding a 50-44 scoring advantage in the second, the Huskies fell 83-72.

The Huskies return to the hardwood next year when they welcome Rhode Island to Solomon Court on Jan. 3. The contest with Rams marks the conclusion of NU's 2012-13 non-conference slate.