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BOSTON—Behind a career night from junior A'lece Mark and a dominating 28-11 game-closing run, Northeastern defeated rival Boston University, 73-62, on Friday night at BU's Case Gym.

The win gave Northeastern (1-0) its second straight victory over the Terriers (0-1) in the series.

Mark scored a game and career-high 28 points, including five straight during a critical second-half sequence that gave Northeastern the lead for good. Jewel Tunstull joined Mark in double figures with 14 points, 12 of which came in the second half. Kazzidy Stewart scored nine points, Tiffany Montagne added eight, Samantha DeFreese tallied six, Amencie Mercier contributed five, and Sade Iriah registered three to round out the scoring for NU.

Danielle Callahan scored 27 points to lead BU (0-1), while Rashidat Agboola chipped in with 12 points and nine rebounds.

In a game of runs, BU struck first. The Terriers raced out to an early 9-0 run just two minutes into the action. Mark, the difference maker all night for the visiting Huskies, slowed the momentum and got Northeastern on the board with a driving layup on the left side. Tunstull followed with a layup as NU pieced together a 14-7 run of its own. DeFreese capped the run with a layup on the left side off a no-look pass from Montagne to draw NU to within two, 16-14, at the 12-minute mark.

BU went back on the offensive, stringing together an 8-2 run to take a 24-16 lead. Mark slowed the BU attack with a 3-pointer from the right wing. The Terriers, though, responded with five of the next seven points to take a 29-21 lead with 7:24 remaining in the half.

From there, it was all Northeastern, with the Huskies racing to a 14-4 run and a 35-33 halftime lead. Mark ignited the rally with a personal 7-0 run on a jumper, a steal and layup in transition, and a 3-pointer. DeFreese followed with a layup at the 4:30 mark to give NU its first lead of the game, 30-29, and Iriah added a free throw. BU sandwiched four free throws around a Stewart jumper and two more Iriah free throws to round out the first half scoring.

With momentum still on their side, the Huskies opened the second half on an 8-2 run to take a 43-35 lead three minutes in. Tunstull, who saw limited action in the first half due to foul trouble, started the scoring. Mark and Stewart followed with 3-pointers.

The host Terriers, however, would not go quietly, ripping off a 16-2 run to take a 51-45 lead at the midway point of the second half.

Tunstull, who was a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line, hit two from the charity stripe to settle the visitors. The teams settled into a rhythm and traded baskets over the next six minutes.

With four minutes remaining, and BU leading by three, Mark went back to work. The Springfield, Mass., native dialed in from deep on the left side to tie the game, then calmly connected on two free throws on the next NU possession to give the Huskies the lead for good.

Mark's three ignited an 18-4 game-winning run as Northeastern smothered the Terriers over the final four minutes to claim victory. Montagne followed Mark with a 3-pointer and Tunstull bookended a BU basket with a bucket and two free throws of her own. The Terriers added one more basket before Mark, Stewart, and Mercier went a perfect 6-for-6 at the line in the game's final minute to set the final score at 73-62.

For the game, Northeastern shot 43 percent (23-53) from the floor, 40 percent (8-20) from 3-point range, and 79 percent (19-24) from the free throw line, including an impressive 83 percent in the second half. The Huskies limited the Terriers to 31 percent (19-62) shooting, including 25 percent (7-28) from long range. BU hit 74 percent (17-23) of its free throw attempts. NU out-rebounded BU, 41-40.

The Huskies will return to action on Wednesday when they welcome Rutgers to Matthews Arena for a rare noon tipoff. Northeastern will host more than a thousand students from Boston Public Schools at the game.


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