Box Score

BOSTON -- In a wild opener to CAA conference play, the Northeastern women's basketball team (8-4, 1-0 CAA) erased a 12-point halftime deficit to storm back and take a 69-63 decision over George Mason (5-7, 0-1 CAA) on Sunday afternoon at Solomon Court.

After Mason took a 39-27 advantage to the break, the Huskies opened the second half on a 34-7 run, opening their second half lead to as many as many as 17 with five minutes to play. The Patriots nearly came all the way back again, using a 15-2 run that ran into the final minute of play to close the gap as close as four before Northeastern finally shut the door.

The win marks Northeastern's ninth straight at home, dating back to last year, which is two shy of the program record. It is also NU's second victory in a conference opener since joining the CAA, with the last coming over Hofstra on Jan. 4, 2009.

NU is no stranger to big second half comebacks against George Mason on its home floor. Last season, Northeastern trailed Mason by 16 at the break of their game in Boston before surging to take a 58-54 victory on Jan. 12, 2012. Daynia La-Force is now 5-2 all-time in home contests against George Mason.

Sophomore A'lece Mark (Springfield, Mass.) led all players in scoring for NU for the second straight game, tallying 17 points, sparked by an 8-8 performance from the free throw line. Also in double figures for the Huskies were senior captain Kashaia Cannon (Providence, R.I.) who scored 15, and junior Jewel Tunstull (Brooklyn, N.Y.) who netted 14 on 5-6 shooting to go along with a team-high nine rebounds.

Senior captains Deanna Kerkhof (Wallaceburg, Ontario) and Christine Huber (North Babylon, N.Y.) added nine and six points, respectively, while Huber tied Tunstull for the team lead  and game high with nine boards. Sophomore Amencie Mercier (Pierrefonds, Quebec) chipped in three points, five rebounds and team-highs with three assists and three steals.

Pacing Mason was Rahneeka Saunders, who scored 11 with six rebounds, and Shavonne Ducket, who added 10 and seven. The Patriots held a 42-32 advantage on the glass over the Huskies, but were plagued by 27 turnovers and 35.1 percent shooting, including a 20 percent mark in the second half.

Northeastern didn't fare much better from the field, going 20-54 for a 37 percent total, with a dismal 5-21 effort from three point range. The Huskies made it up at the free throw line, going 24-29 at the charity stripe, marking new season-highs for attempts and makes.  

An early Cannon three gave Northeastern a 7-4 lead, and NU forced 10 Mason turnovers in the game's first eight minutes to send the Huskies into the second media break of the contest up 13-8. Following the stop, Mason went on a 7-0 run on 3-3 shooting to take a 15-13 lead.

The teams battled back to even at 17-all, before Mason used a 15-2 run to jump ahead 32-19. Mercier finally ended the run with a pair of free throws at 3:02 of the first, and a Tunstull hook shot a minute later was NU's first field goal in over five minutes to make 34-23 Mason.

Cannon closed the gap to seven with a lay-in, but five straight points from Mason to end the half sent the Patriots to the locker room with a 39-27 halftime lead.

Northeastern was out-rebounded 27-11 in the first  half, and shot 31 percent from the floor compared to 47 percent for Mason. Cannon led the Huskies with nine points in the opening frame.

Kerkhof keyed the early start to NU's big second half, scoring five of nine points in a 9-0 Northeastern run to open the frame that made it 39-36 Mason. Two free throws from Duckett stopped the bleeding momentarily for the Patriots, but a three from Tiffany Montagne (Jackson, N.J.) and a Kerkhof lay-in tied the game for the first time since the early going at 41-41.

Northeastern scored 12 of the game's next 14 points after tying the game, cultivating with Kerkhof finding Mark in the corner for a three, before a Tunstull lay-in and two more from Mark made 55-43 NU with 10:19 left. In total, the half opened for the Huskies with a 28-4 run.

The Huskies kept it coming, scoring eight of the next 11 points and opening up a 63-46 lead at 4:53, the largest of the game for either team.

Mason made its first field of the half at 12:38, and didn't make its second until 4:28. However, that Annie Lawler three, which ended a 1-16 shooting spell for Mason to open the half, sparked a 15-2 run from 4:28 to 0:46 that closed the gap to 65-61.

Free throws from Cannon and Mercier pushed the lead back to six, before Duckett hit another pair to make it a four-point game again at 67-63. With 18 seconds remaining, Cannon sunk a pair from the stripe that sealed the Northeastern victory.

Up next, Northeastern concludes a three-game home stand as CAA play rolls on with a visit from William & Mary. Tip-off on Thursday, Jan. 10 is set for 7 p.m.