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Looking to snap its first losing streak of the season, the Northeastern women's basketball team (6-4, 0-0 CAA) returns home on Thursday night to open 2013 and conclude its non-conference slate with a visit from the Rhode Island Rams (5-8, 0-0 A10). Tip-off at Solomon Court is set for 7 p.m. Thursday's contest marks the start of a three-game home stand for the Huskies, encompassing the start of CAA league play on Jan. 6.
Last Time Out
Northeastern spent its post-Christmas vacation down in Miami, participating in the FIU Sun & Fun Classic on Dec. 29 and 30. The Huskies dropped both contests, falling to host Florida International, 66-56, in the opening round and losing an 83-72 decision to Quinnipiac in the consolation game.
Deanna Kerkhof led all scorers with 22 points against FIU, and was named All-Tournament for averaging 18 points, five rebounds and three steals a contest over NU's two games.
Jewel Tunstull posted her first double-double of the season against Quinnipiac, scoring 15 points and pulling down a season-high 15 rebounds.
Christine Huber also notched a double-double in the loss, scoring 11 to go with 10 rebounds. Four Huskies hit double figures in the defeat.
The Rhody File
Rhode Island visits Boston sitting at 5-8 on the year, also mired in a two-game losing slump. The Rams were most recently felled by NJIT on the Highlanders home court in Newark, N.J., 48-44. NJIT is one of three common opponents NU and URI have played this year, along with Boston University and Quinnipiac. Rhody is 0-3 in those games, while Northeastern is 2-1. The Rams have also played future NU opponents Delaware and Drexel, falling to both, and the Huskies have gone 2-1 against future URI opponents La Salle, Temple and UMass. Tayra Melendez leads the Rams in scoring as the lone player averaging double figures, notching 10.6 points a game. She is supported by Samantha Tabakman, who scores 9.1 a game on 43.5 percent shooting from the floor and grabs a team-high 7.9 rebounds a contest. The Rams have been impressive on the defensive end this season, allowing just 54.1 points a game, the third best mark in the Atlantic 10.
All-Time with the Rams
Northeastern and Rhode Island have squared off 25 times in the past, and the Rams hold a 16-9 advantage in the all-time series. The first ever meeting took place back in the 1970-71 season, a 67-54 Northeastern victory. Daynia La-Force has won both of her meetings with Rhode Island, including an 84-57 drubbing in the teams' last meeting on Nov. 21, 2009 in a game played at Matthews Arena.
Kashaia Cannon was one of two active Huskies to play in that contest, and scored 11 points as one of four players in double figures for NU.
Attacking the Atlantic 10
Northeastern is 32-54 all-time against teams currently comprising the Atlantic 10 conference. The Huskies have winning records against Fordham, Richmond and George Washington, and have played more than 10 games with Massachusetts, Rhode Island and VCU. The Huskies were 0-3 against A-10 teams last season, falling at home to Temple and La Salle, and on the road against VCU. This year they are 2-1 after knocking off La Salle and UMass and losing at Temple.
Home cookin'
Northeastern is 4-0 this year in games played at the friendly confines of Solomon Court. The last time they won four games in a row to open a season at home was 2003-04, when NU opened with seven straight home victories. Dating back to last season, the Huskies have won seven straight at home, with each victory coming by double figures. NU's current home winning streak, kicked off with a 76-51 victory over Georgia State last season, is tied for the second-longest in program history, four shy of the all-time record. That 11-game streak started exactly 27 years prior to NU's current one, on Feb. 16, 1985.
Best non-conference yet
With a win over Rhode Island on Sunday, Northeastern can claim its seventh regular season non-conference victory of the season, which would add to a new personal best for La-Force. Her six wins in such games this year are already her best mark, eclipsing the five regular season out of league wins she posted in 2007-08, 2009-10 and 2010-11. The six non-conference regular season wins this year are tied for the most for NU in its modern conference history, also hitting the mark in 1998-99 and 2003-04.
A Bay State sweep
After defeating Massachusetts on Dec. 22, Northeastern closed a three-game sweep over in-state rivals in 2012-13. Previously, the Huskies defeated Boston University on Nov. 20 and Holy Cross on Dec. 5. The last time the Huskies swept a season series with that many Massachusetts schools was a 3-0 sweep over BU (twice) and Harvard in the 1998-99 season.
League Leaders
The Huskies have several players near the top of the CAA in statistical categories.
Deanna Kerkhof's 15.8 points a game place her seventh in the conference, her 2.3 steals a game are fourth and she leads the league in three pointers per game with 3.3, as well as three point field goal percentage at 44.6 percent.
Jewel Tunstull's 56.8 field goal percentage tops the conference, and her 7.7 rebounds a game are ninth in the league. 4.3 of those rebounds a game come off the offensive glass, second in the CAA.
Amencie Mercier is fourth in the league in assists with 3.5 a game, and is seventh in steals, tied with teammate
A'lece Mark at 2.1 a contest.
Christine Huber's 1.2 blocks are eight league-wide, and
Kashaia Cannon's 38.7 three point field goal percentage is seventh.
Deanna doing it all
Senior captain
Deanna Kerkhof was Northeastern's best all-around performer during the Sun & Fun Classic in Miami, and she has more or less been that all season for the Huskies. The Canadian guard scored 22 points to lead all players in the game vs. FIU on Dec. 29, and also led NU with six rebounds in the set back. The performance marked her fourth 20-point output of the season, second-most of all players in the CAA behind only William & Mary's Emily Correal. After scoring 14 points in NU's consolation game loss to Quinnipiac on Dec. 30, Kerkhof received All-Tournament honors for averaging 18 points, five rebounds, three steals and a block per contest during NU's two games. Kerkhof has at least one steal and one block in all but three games this season, and her 2.3 steals a game are fourth in the CAA.
Doubling up
Heading into the game with Quinnipiac, Northeastern players had two double-doubles this season. After the game, they had four, as
Christine Huber scored 10 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for her second of the year, and
Jewel Tunstull turned in a 15 point, 15 rebound performance for her first of the season. The double-doubles were each the seventh of Huber and Tunstull's respective careers at NU.
Balancing Act
Northeastern is near the top of conference this year in both scoring and defending its opponents from doing so. The Huskies are third in offense with 67 points a game, and are fourth in defense at 55.8 points a contest, leading to a +11.2 scoring margin, second in the league. Northeastern is also in the top-five in both rebounding offense and defense, ranking fifth with 40.5 boards a game while giving up just 36.1 rebounds a contest, second in the league. The Huskies shoot for the fourth best clip in the conference at 41.4 percent, and allow opponents to shoot at 34.5 percent, also fourth-best.
Grand theft basketball
Northeastern grabbed a season-high 16 steals in the win over HC on Dec. 5, helping lead to forcing 25 Crusader turnovers. NU forced 25 turnovers yet again against UMass on Dec. 22, leading to 14 steals. The Huskies have eclipsed 10 steals in seven games this year, and have not had less than six in any game. On the season they average 11.6 swipes a contest, second in the CAA. That mark recently cracked the top-50 nationally, setting the Huskies at 47th in the country.
For those fans who cannot make it out to Solomon Court, a free live stream is available, as always for home events, at www.GoNU.com/xstream. Following Thursday's contest, Northeastern kicks off CAA conference play with a pair of home contests, hosting George Mason on Jan. 6 at 2 p.m. before William & Mary visits on Jan. 10 at 7 p.m.
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