Box Score

BOSTON— Sophomore Tiffany Montagne marked her name in the NU history books to lead the Northeastern women's basketball team (6-4, 0-0 CAA) to a dominating, 95-76 victory over Massachusetts (3-9, 0-0 A-10) on Saturday afternoon at the Mullins Center.

Montagne led all scorers with a career-best 34 points to become the first Husky since 2009 to eclipse the 30-point mark in a single game. The sophomore also drained seven treys to tie a program single-game best for 3-pointers. Rachel Pecota was the last Husky to accomplish the feat when she landed seven 3-pointers against Syracuse on Nov. 12, 2010.

Senior center Jewel Tunstull added to her list of career accomplishments when she logged her 1,000-career point to become the 17th players in program history to earn the achievement. The lone-senior, who leads the conference in double-doubles and rebounds, added 14 points to the Huskies' offensive performance, good for her seventh double-figure scoring game of the year.

Samantha DeFreese and Amencie Mercier also posted career games. DeFreese notched her first career double-double with a career-high 17 points and 10 rebounds. Mercier, who has led the team in assists on eight occasions this year, launched a career-best 18 points and nine assists.

Kazzidy Stewart added six points for the Huskies, Tanisha Hopewell logged three, and Sade Iriah and DaChe Williams tallied three points, collectively, to round out the scoring column for Northeastern.

Kim Pierre-Louis led a quartet of Minutewomen in double-digits with 21 points.

Montagne got the Huskies rolling after draining a 3-pointer to get NU on the board first. UMass immediately drew a foul and earned two points from the free-throw line. The Minutewomen took a 5-3 lead after a shot from beyond the arc, but a Tuntull layup and Hopewell's first career 3-pointer reestablished the Huskies lead, 8-5.

The game remained scoreless for the next two minutes before Tunstull notched her 1,000-career point to extend NU's lead 10-6. The team exchanged baskets until the Huskies used an 8-2 run to grab a 10-point cushion, 22-12.

NU and UMass showcased strong defense as the Huskies held the Minutewomen scoreless over four minutes of play while UMass allowed just one 3-pointer. With four minutes left to play in the first half, neither team could connect on consecutive shots, but Northeastern held on to close out the half with a 40-33 lead.

Montagne went a perfect 4-for-4 from beyond the arc to lead NU with 16 points through the first frame. DeFreese, who shot 100 percent from the charity stripe (2-2), contributed eight points while Mercier led the team in assists and added six points.

The Huskies immediately went back to work in the second half after a layup from Mercier kicked off a 10-0 tear to put NU up, 52-35. The Minutewomen were able to slow Northeastern's momentum with a 5-0 run of their own, but the Huskies used another 8-0 surge, highlighted by five points from DeFreese, to establish a 19-point advantage, 62-43.

Over the next three minutes, NU surrendered eight points and allowed UMass to come within 10, but the Huskies slowly extended their lead to 20 after a free-throw shot from Stewart. A Montagne layup sealed the deal for Northeastern, 95-76.

For the game, NU shot a season-high 57 percent (36-63) from the floor, a season-best 56 percent (9-16) from 3-point range and 88 percent (14-16) from the charity stripe. UMass closed out the contest, shooting 43 percent (26-61) from the floor, 32 percent (7-22) from beyond the arc and 74 percent (17-23) from the free throw line.

The Huskies will take a break for the Holidays before heading South to New Orleans, La., for the Tulane Classic, beginning on Dec. 28. Northeastern will face host Tulane on opening day before tipping off against either Indiana State or Northwestern on day two of the tournament.

Game Notes
• Tiffany Montagne notched a career-best 34 points to lead all scorers and added a career-high seven shots from beyond the arc to tie a program single-game best 3-pointers. The last time an NU player scored 30 or more points was Dec. 9, 2009 when Brittany Wilson tallied 34 against Harvard. The last Husky to land seven 3-pointers in a single game was Rachel Pecota who accomplished the feat against Syracuse on Nov. 12, 2010.
• Amencie Mercier tallied a career-high 18 points and led the team in assists for the eighth time this season with a career-best nine.
• Four players scored in double-digits for the third time this season.
• Northeastern recorded a season-best 21 assists and set new season-highs in field goal percentage (57.1 percent) and 3-point field goal percentage (56.3 percent).
• Samantha DeFreese notched her first career double-double after a career-best 17 points and 10 rebounds.
• Jewel Tunstull landed her 1,000-point career mark and posted her seventh double-figure game this year with 14 points.

Connect with Northeastern Athletics and Northeastern women's basketball on Facebook and Twitter to receive scores and information, interact with fellow fans, access photos and videos, and receive exclusive promotional and ticket offers.

Northeastern Athletics: @GoNUathletics  |  facebook.com/GoNUathletics
Northeastern women's Basketball: @GoNUwbasketball  |  facebook.com/GoNUwbasketball


Tweets by @GoNUwbasketball .