Box Score
Post-game comments (Daynia La-Force)

BOSTON - Senior tri-captain Deanna Kerkhof (Wallaceburg, Ontario) reached 1,000 career points with a first half three-pointer, but the Northeastern women's basketball team (11-7, 4-3 CAA) was done in by the hyper-efficient attack of the Drexel Dragons (13-4, 6-0 CAA) in a 85-73 loss on Thursday night at Solomon Court.

Kerkhof led NU as one of five scorers in double figures, scoring 16 in the game, including 13 in the second half. Fellow senior tri-captains Christine Huber (North Babylon, N.Y.) and Kashaia Cannon (Providence, R.I.) both added 13, and Cannon grabbed five boards as well. Sophomore A'lece Mark (Springfield, Mass.) also chipped in 13, and junior Jewel Tunstull (Brooklyn, N.Y.) scored 10 with a team-high seven rebounds.

Northeastern has now seen five players reach double figures in a contest twice this year, after previously not achieving the feat since the 2009-10 season. Sophomore Amencie Mercier (Pierrefonds, Quebec) scored five points with a team-high seven assists, and freshman Kazzidy Stewart (Lanham, Md.) added three to round out the scoresheet.

Hollie Mershon led the dominating Drexel attack, posting 33 points, seven rebounds and eight assists. Her 33-point output is the most for a single player against NU this season, and the senior connected on 12-of-16 from the floor. Reigning CAA Co-Player of the Week Taylor Wootton added 26 points, seven boards and five assists.

Drexel for the day shot a blistering 61.2 percent (30-49) from the floor, the highest percentage NU has allowed this year. The Dragons also filled it up from deep, connecting on 7-8 beyond the arc, and converted 18-23 from the foul line. Conversely, Northeastern made 42.4 percent (25-59) of its attempts, including 8-22 from three and 15-20 from the line.

Drexel won the rebounding battle, 29-27, holding NU to its lowest total on the glass this year. Both teams turned the ball over 14 times, leading to 11 Drexel steals. Northeastern registered just one block on the day, its lowest total of the season.

The Dragons made 11 of their first 12 field goal attempts, opening the game on a 16-2 run and never looking back. DU held Kerkhof off the board until 2:10 remaining in the first, when she finally sent in her historical three-pointer. Trailing by 12 at the break, Northeastern played Drexel even in the second half, actually matching their scoring output, but was unable to sustain a run long enough to cut deep into the Dragon lead.

Drexel scored the game's first four points, before a Cannon step back jumper got NU on the board 90 seconds in. The Dragons extended their game-opening run to 13-2, leading to a Northeastern timeout at 15:40. DU pushed it to 16-2 after the game's first media timeout, before Mark connected from three, then found Huber for a lay-in on NU's next possession, cutting the lead to 18-7 at 13:55.

Northeastern got the lead down to 10 with a Huber three-point play, but Mershon nailed her second three of the day to put the Dragons back up 13. Drexel opened to game by connecting on an absurd 10-of-11 from the floor, and went to the 11:56 media timeout leading 25-13.

A Stewart three and Mercier lay-in got NU back within single digits midway through the first, and forced a Dragon timeout at 9:20. Mershon connected again off the timeout to make it twelve, before another Huber basket sent it to the 7:49 stop at 32-22.

Northeastern closed to within seven, before Drexel responded with nine straight to go up 45-29 with four minutes left in the first. Mershon's third triple of the first half gave DU a 19-point lead, its largest of the day.   

At 2:10 of the first, Kerkhof hit her first basket of the day, an historic, step-back three that sent her to the 1,000 career point plateau. Her triple sparked a 9-2 Northeastern run to end the half, and Drexel took a 50-38 lead into the locker room.

The Dragons shot a blistering 69 percent from the field in the first, connecting on 20-29 shots and 5-5 three-pointers. Mershon led all scorers in the frame with 21, and Wootton added 17. Huber and Cannon were NU's top scorers in the period, dropping 11 and 10, respectively.

The Huskies got to work right away in the second, with Tunstull spinning inside to bank home the half's first basket. Drexel kept its hot shooting pace going and matched Northeastern step for step early in the period, not allowing the Huskies to close within single digits.

Drexel again shot 50 percent in the second frame, connecting on 10-20 from the floor. A pair of Tunstull free throws in the final seconds of regulation closed NU to within 11, the closest it had been since the opening minutes of the period.

Up next, the Huskies take the rest of the weekend off before traveling to Newark, Del. to conclude their season series with All-American Elena Delle Donne and the CAA's preseason favorite Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens. Tip-off at the Bob Carpenter Center on Tuesday, Jan. 29 is set for 7 p.m.