BOSTON--The Northeastern women's basketball team looks to add to its three-game road winning streak when it heads to Worcester, Mass., to take on Holy Cross on Wednesday, Dec. 4 for a 5 p.m., tipoff.
Shining Stewart
Kazzidy Stewart led Northeastern in scoring for the first time in her career against Haravrd, notching a career-best 25 points. The sophomore is the only current Husky to have landed more than four shots from beyond the arc in a single game after sinking five 3-pointers to mark another career-best. Stewart added to her well-rounded performance with eight rebounds, four steals and an assist. Prior to that, Stewart tallied back-to-back games, shooting 100 percent from the floor. She went 3-for-3 against Rhode Island before landing a perfect 5-for-5 from the field against NJIT.
High-scoring trio
In the Huskies' contest against Harvard,
Kazzidy Stewart,
A'lece Mark and
Jewel Tunstull collectively shot 60 of NU's 74 total points. The last time a trip shot more than 60 was on Jan. 29, 2012, when Tunstull,
Deanna Kerkhof and Dani Ierovolino collectively shot 64 points against William & Mary, when Northeastern walked away with an 82-71 victory.
Sticky hands
Northeastern has picked up up double-digit steals three times this season, forcing 20 or more turnovers on three occasions, with a season-high 24 against Harvard. NU currently ranks second in the CAA in turnover margin, winning the battle in four of its six outing this year.
A'lece Mark leads the Huskies in steals, recording 15 so far this season.
Three's company
Northeastern has made at least five 3-pointers in every contest this season including a double-digit trifecta against NJIT.
Kazzidy Stewart, who recorded five treys against Harvard, is the only currently player to have recorded more than four 3-pointers in a single game during her tenure on Huntington Ave. The Huskies lead the CAA in 3-point field goals made and sit fourth in 3-point field goal percentage.
Weekly honors
The CAA has named a Northeastern player for a weekly honor in the first two weeks of the season. Most recently,
Jewel Tunstull earned her first conference Player of the Week honor after posting two double-doubles as NU split 1-1 during its second week of play. Previously,
A'lece Mark earned her first weekly accolade after posting a career-best 28 points in the Huskies' season-opening win over Boston University.
Hit the road, Jack
The Huskies are currently undefeated on the road after dominating against Boston University, New Hampshire and Rhode Island in their first three away games. Last year, NU started 1-2 while traveling before its first home contest and racked up a 6-8 away mark for the season.
A record start
The Huskies started the season with a 4-1 overall record, marking the best season start since 1998 when NU went 6-1 to kick off its 1998-99 slate.
Fantastic four
In Northeastern's win over NJIT, four players shot in double-digits including
A'lece Mark,
Jewel Tunstull,
Kazzidy Stewart and
Amencie Mercier. The last time the Huskies accomplished this feat was on March 6, 2013 when the Huskies defeated Hofstra, 88-81.
League leaders
Northeastern has several players atop the CAA performance charts.
Jewel Tunstull leads the conference in roubouding with 10.3 rebounds per game as well as first in free throw percentage (.538) and blocked shots (2.0 bpg). The senior also ranks among the top three in field goal percentage (.500).
A'lece Mark sits in first in scoring, averaging 19.7 points per game, 3-point field goals made (2.5 per game) and minutes played, and sits in the top three in steals (2.5 spg).
MARKing a strongs start
Junior captain
A'lece Mark was named CAA Player of the Week in the first week of play after leading her team to a 73-62 win over Boston University. The Springfield, Mass., native has notched three 20-point games including a career-high 28 points in the Huskies win over the Terriers and has led the team in scoring on four occassions. Mark led all scorers while shooting 57.1 percent (4-7) from the arc and 75.0 percent (6-8) from the free-throw line against BU and also led the Huskies in points against regional rival UNH, URI and NJIT.
Leading lady
Jewel Tunstull has recorded three double-doubles so far this season. Her first came against Rutgers when the lone-senior totalled 14 rebounds and 18 total points.Against Harvard, Tunstull notched her third double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Tunstull went a perfect 10-for-10 at the free throw line, shooting 100 percent from the charity stripe for the third time this season. The last time an NU player shot a perfect 10 was on Jan. 27, 2006, when Maralene Zwarich accomplished the feat against VCU.
Reliable returns
The Huskies return eight letter winners from last year's squad, including three starters in
Jewel Tunstull and captains
A'lece Mark and
Amencie Mercier. Also returning is sophomore guard
Kazzidy Stewart and junior forward
Samantha DeFreese.
Onia Webb,
Tiffany Montagne and
Tanisha Hopewell, who collectively made 35 appearances throughout the 2012-13 campaign, also return to the roster.
Preseason All-CAA Honors
Lone-senior
Jewel Tunstull was honored by the conference's coaches, named to the Preseason All-CAA First Team.
A'lece Mark joined Tunstull in the accolades, earning a spot on the Preseason All-CAA Second Team.
Huskies tabbed third
Returning three starters from last year's squad, the Northeastern women's basketball team has been predicted to finish third in the 2013 Colonial Athletic Association preseason coaches poll. The results of the poll were announced at CAA Basketball Media Day at the Renaissance Harborplace Hotel in Baltimore, Md., on Oct. 21, 2013. Third place is the highest NU has been projected to finish in the preseason poll under La-Force and places the Huskies above six teams, including 2012-13 CAA Champion Delaware. James Madison earned the top spot in the poll followed by Drexel, who finished last year's slate with a 25-11 record.
Oh, Captain my Captain
Junior guards
A'lece Mark and Amencie Mericer were named captains for the 2013-14 season. The duo became fixtures in the Northeastern starting five last season, helping the Huskies to their highest conference finish since joining the Colonial Athletic Conference in 2005. Both closed out the 2012-13 season ranked among the top assist leaders in the CAA, with Mark (3.36 apg) finishing third and Mercier (3.4 apg) placing fifth. Both also placed top 10 in steals and assist-to-turnover ratio. Combined, the pair posted 24 double-digit scoring games over their first two seasons, both setting career-highs during their sophomore campaigns. Both guards have played in all 60 games since they arrived on Huntington Avenue two years ago.
Goodbye, farewell
Northeastern tipped off the season without the on-court assistance of the 2012-13 tri-captains
Kashaia Cannon,
Deanna Kerkhof and Christina Huber. The trio made a significant impact on last year's roster as they etched their names in the Northeastern record books. Kerkhof finished tops on the squad and seventh in the CAA with 15.0 points per game, eclipsing the 1,000 point mark on Jan. 24 and ending her time on Huntington Avenue as the program's 14th leading scorer with 1,140 career points. Cannon, a southpaw sharpshooter, finished second on NU with 13.4 points per game, 11th league-wide. The majority of Cannon's damage was done behind the arc, as she knocked down a program single-season record 80 3-pointers on the year, placing 27th nationally with 2.7 trifectas per game and 16th in the country with a 40.8 percent mark from range. Huber now places third all-time in NU history with 116 blocks over the course of her career.
Rookie roll call
The Northeastern University women's basketball team welcomed three new student-athletes for the 2013-14 season. Head coach Daynia La-Force will tipped this year having added freshmen DaChé Williams,
Francesca Sally and sophomore
Briana Schnare. The three newcomers will bring a versatile unit to the squad as it looks to win its first CAA Championship. Williams is a 6-2 forward hailing from Bloomfield, Conn., and Sally is a 6-1 center from Denver, Colo. Both come to Boston after decorated high school and AAU basketball careers. Schnare, a 6-3 transfer from Manhattan College will be essential in helping prepare the team's posts for battle next season, as she will sit out of the 2013-14 campaign per NCAA transfer legislation.
Home-built record
Northeastern went 11-3 on its home floor last year, setting a new program record for home wins in a season. The Huskies opened their home slate with seven consecutive home wins, tied for the longest single-season streak in program history. Of NU's 11 home wins last year, seven were by double-digit margins, and four times at Cabot Center the Huskies won by 20 points or more. All five of Northeastern's top total offensive performances came on its home floor this season.
Balancing act
Northeastern saw five players hit double figures in the scoring column three times last year, the first three times that has happened since Dec. 5, 2009. It most recently happened vs. Hofstra on March 6. The Huskies also saw four players hit double figures eight times. NU had three players,
Deanna Kerkhof,
Kashaia Cannon and
Jewel Tunstull, averaging more than 10 points per game. All three 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. With Kerkhof's CAA Player of the Week nod on March 11, she, along with Cannon (Dec. 4) and
A'lece Mark (Jan 7), made Northeastern the only team in the conference to have three different players receive the weekly award.
Career-highs abound
Nearly all of the Huskies' returners grabbed new personal bests during the 2012-13 season in a variety of categories. Cannon scored a career-best 27 points at William & Mary on Feb. 15, hitting personal bests in field goals (10) and 3-pointers (6). Kerkhof grabbed a career-best 11 rebounds in the loss at Eastern Michigan on Nov. 11 and swiped a personal record five steals against Holy Cross on Dec. 5. She also dished out a career-high seven assists at Delaware on Jan. 29. Tunstull's 23 points at James Madison on Jan. 13 mark a career-best, as did her nine free throws in that game. The center also turned aside a career-best four blocks against Delaware. Mercier set a career-high on Nov. 17 at Temple with seven steals, then dished out a personal best eight assists against Hofstra on March 3. She dropped a benchmark 15 points vs. William & Mary on Jan. 10, one of her three double-digit games last year, the first three of her career. Mark handed out a career-high 10 assists in the W&M win, and grabbed a personal-best eight rebounds vs. UNCW on March 10. She scored 19 points against Rhode Island on Jan. 3 to set a new high mark.
#Winning
Northeastern posted its first winning record last year, the first the 1999-2000 season. Overall, the Huskies have posted 19 winning seasons in their 47-year history, including a program-high seven in a row from 1980-81 to 1986-87.
The best yet
With seven regular season non-conference wins during 2012-13, Northeastern had its most such victories since it began modern conference play upon joining the America East conference in 1997-98. With 10 wins in CAA play last year, Northeastern set a new program benchmark for conference wins since joining the Colonial prior to the 2005-06 season. The previous high was eight, set in 2007-08 and 2009-19. Northeastern's fifth-place finish in the league and No. 4 seed in the CAA Championship are both Colonial bests.
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