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Video highlights vs. George Mason (Jan. 6)
Following a victory in its conference opener on Jan. 6, the Northeastern women's basketball team (8-4, 1-0 CAA0 looks to make it 10 straight at home overall and three straight against William & Mary (2-11, 0-2 CAA) when the Huskies host the Tribe on Thursday night. Tip-off at Solomon Court is set for 7 p.m.
Last Time Out
Northeastern opened CAA play with a big win over George Mason, rallying from 12 down at halftime with a 34-7 run to open the second half of a 69-63 victory. The win improved NU to 6-0 at home this season, and was its second ever victory in a conference opener since joining the CAA.
A'lece Mark led NU in scoring for the second straight game, dropping 17 with an 8-8 performance from the charity stripe.
Kashaia Cannon chipped in 15 points and
Jewel Tunstull scored 14 on 5-6 shooting to go along with a game-high nine rebounds.
Christine Huber also grabbed nine boards and
Deanna Kerkhof netted nine points. Northeastern went 24-29 from the free throw line in the win, setting season-bests for makes and attempts.
Tale of the tape on the Tribe
William & Mary has played two CAA games this year, dropping both to Hofstra and UNCW. The Tribe are 2-11 on the season, including an 0-8 mark on the road. After starting the season at 2-3, W&M has dropped is last eight contests. Emily Correal leads the team in scoring and rebounding, scoring 16.7points and pulling down 8.5 rebounds a game. Both of those marks near the top of the CAA, where she is tied for second in scoring and is fifth in reboudning. Janine Aldridge also averages double figures with 13.2 points a game, giving the Tribe two players in the top-10 in the conference in scoring, joining James Madison as the only two teams who can claim that. Taylor Hilton adds 8.7 points a game and is a dangerous shooter from beyond the arc and the foul line, hitting 40 percent from three point range and 91 percent from the charity stripe. William & Mary scores the fifth most points in the CAA with 63.9 a game, but gives up 67.8 a contest, last in the league.
Remember my last...
The Huskies and Tribe have battled nine times since Northeastern joined the CAA, and NU has enjoyed a 6-3 advantage in the series. Daynia La-Force has won six of her eight attempts against W&M, including an 82-71 victory in Boston last year. In that win,
Deanna Kerkhof and
Jewel Tunstull both set career-highs in scoring with 29 and 22, respectively, which still stands as both of their personal bests.
Jamie Conroy set a Northeastern single-game record in that one, dishing out 16 assists. William & Mary's last victory in the series came on Jan. 14, 2010. The Tribe have only won once in Boston, a 58-54 victory on Feb. 10, 2006, one year before La-Force arrived. This year will be the first time the teams meet twice in the regular season since 2007-08, the only other season it occurred.
Conference time
With Sunday's win over George Mason, Northeastern opened its CAA schedule with a win for only the second time since joining the league prior to the 2005-06 season. The only other instance was a 57-52 win over Hofstra on Jan. 4, 2009. Northeastern was projected to finish sixth in the conference this season, as announced in the preseason coaches poll on Oct. 15 at CAA Basketball Media Day. The sixth-place finish is the highest projected mark for the Huskies ever under La-Force. In five of La-Force's six years at the helm, the Huskies have topped their preseason projection, including last year when they finished 10th after being tabbed for 12th.
Hard to handle in the Hub
Northeastern is 6-0 this year in games played at the friendly confines of Solomon Court. Dating back to last season, the Huskies have won nine straight at home, with all but one victory coming by double figures. NU's current home winning streak, kicked off with a 76-51 victory over Georgia State last season, is the second-longest in program history, two shy of the all-time record. That streak started exactly 27 years prior to NU's current one, on Feb. 16, 1985.
Amazing A'lece
Sophomore guard
A'lece Mark has led NU in scoring in each of its last two games, the first two times she has done that in her career. After dropping 19 with a 4-4 performance from three point range against URI on Jan. 3, she scored 17, going a perfect 8-8 from the line, in the win over George Mason on Jan. 6. For her efforts, she was named CAA Co-Player of the Week on Jan. 7. Mark's recent run of success has seen her scoring average skyrocket towards double figures, now averaging 9.9 a game. She is third in the league with a 41.2 three point percentage, and eighth conference-wide with a 70.5 percent mark from the free throw line.
Everybody scores!
In the win over Rhode Island, Northeastern saw five players hit double figures in the scoring column, the first time that has happened since Dec. 5, 2009. NU currently has three players,
Deanna Kerkhof,
Kashaia Cannon and
Jewel Tunstull, averaging more than 10 a game. All three are ranked among the top-15 scorers in the CAA, making the Huskies the only team in the league with three players in the top-15.
Cherishing the charity stripe
Northeastern has reached the free throw line more in its last three games than in any other games this season, and it has begun to pay dividends. The trend began against Quinnipiac on Dec. 30 when NU got to to the stripe 29 times, a mark it matched against Mason on Jan. 6, while also making 27 visits against Rhody on Jan. 3. Northeastern converted on a new season-high each game, sinking 18 against QU and 19 vs. URI, before finally banking home 24 free ones against George Mason, good for a season-best 82.8 percent performance.
Balancing Act
Northeastern is near the top of the conference this year in both scoring and defending its opponents from doing so. The Huskies are first in offense with 69.7 points a game, and are fourth in defense at 56.2 points a contest, leading to a +13.2 scoring margin, best in the league. The Huskies shoot for the second best clip in the conference at 42.5 percent, and allow opponents to shoot at 34.1 percent, fourth-best.
Chasing history
Deanna Kerkhof and
Kashaia Cannon have both cracked NU's top-25 scoring list this season, and continue to rise in the NU annals. Kerkhof now has 919 career points, recently passing Desiree Clagon for 18th on the all-time scoresheet. With 81 more points, the senior guard will become the 15th Husky to join the 1,000-point club. Cannon's 810 career points place her at 24th on the all-time list, passing former teammate
Jamie Conroy in her last contest. Cannon is just 41 points away from jumping Charlene Blake into the top-20.
Fans who cannot make it out to Solomon Court can, as always, enjoy a free high-definition stream at www.GoNU.com/xstream. Following Thursday's contest, Northeastern hits the road for the first time in conference play when it travels to James Madison for a Sunday afternoon showdown. Game time in Harrisonburg, Va. is set for 2 p.m.
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