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The Northeastern women's basketball team (13-9, 6-5 CAA) looks to get back on track on Sunday afternoon when it closes out its three-game road swing with a trip to Norfolk, Va. to take on the Old Dominion Lady Monarchs (16-9, 7-6 CAA). Northeastern won for the first time ever at the Ted Constant Center last season. Tip-off on Sunday is set for 2 p.m.
Last Time Out
In a wild contest that saw both teams erase double-digit deficits, Northeastern dropped a 78-70 overtime decision at the College of William & Mary on Friday night. The Huskies led by as many as 14 early in the first half, before the Tribe stormed back to take a five-point advantage into halftime. W&M extended its lead to as many as 15 in the second frame, but the Huskies battled back to take a three-point lead in the game's final minute, before three late points from Emily Correal sent the game to overtime. The Tribe outscored NU 14-6 in the extra frame to seal the victory. Northeastern was led by a career-high 27 points from
Kashaia Cannon, who also set new personal bests with 10 field goals and six 3-pointers. Correal posted 27 and 10 boards for the Tribe.
A look at the Lady Monarchs
Old Dominion welcomes Northeastern sitting at 16-9 on the year, including a 7-6 mark in CAA league play. The Lady Monarchs picked up impressive non-conference wins over Virginia Tech, VCU and UNLV, but have struggled lately in conference play, dropping three straight after a loss at Delaware on Thursday night. Jackie Cook leads ODU in scoring with 13.0 points a game, while Shae Kelley adds 12.6 points and a team-high 8.7 rebounds a contest, fourth in the CAA. Kelley is an efficient scorer, hitting 47.3 percent from the floor, good for ninth league-wide, while Cook makes 81.3 percent from the free throw line, eighth in the conference. The Lady Monarchs are a strong defensive club, holding opponents to 57.6 points a contest, third in the CAA and 84th nationally. ODU holds opponents to 36.9 percent shooting from the floor and 27.6 percent from three, both third in the league as well. Old Dominion's +4.0 turnover margin is the best in the conference and 40th nationally.
Remember my last...
Northeastern and Old Dominion have squared off 12 times in the past, with all but one meeting coming under the Colonial banner in conference play. ODU holds a commanding 10-2 edge in the all-time series, but last year may have signaled a shift, with NU picking up its first ever road win in the series. That victory came in the latest installment of the rivalry, a 78-66 decision for the Huskies in Norfolk on Feb. 23, 2012. That game split the season series, as ODU came away with a 73-70 win on Jan. 8 in Boston. In the NU win,
Deanna Kerkhof used six 3-pointers to come away with 24 points, most among all scorers. Kerkhof was one of four Huskies in double figures, including
Jewel Tunstull, who turned in a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double. Myeisha Hall led the Lady Monarchs with 20 points off the bench in the loss.
Cannon balls
Redshirt senior
Kashaia Cannon had a career night on Friday at William & Mary. The Providence, R.I. native scored a personal-best 27 points, using six 3-pointers and 10 field goals, both new highs, to get there. The outburst was Cannon's second 20-point night of the season and the sixth of her career, and she has now led NU in scoring six times this year. The southpaw sharpshooter has made a 3-pointer in every game, two or more 18 times and at least four on five occasions. Her 39.7 mark from beyond the arc is third in the CAA and top-30 nationally.
Tunstull's touch
Junior
Jewel Tunstull has been called in crunch time on multiple occasions this season, and the center has delivered. The Brooklyn-native has three game-tying or game-winning field goals in the final 30 seconds of contests this year, including a clinching hook shot with one second left in the win at Hofstra on Feb. 7. Tunstull also hit a game-tying shot to force overtime on Jan. 10 vs. William & Mary, and connected with 30 seconds left at James Madison on Jan. 13 to tie the contest. In the loss at W&M on Friday, Tunstull scored twice in the game's final minutes, including a basket with 1:30 to play that gave NU its first lead since the first half.
Protecting the perimeter
In NU's back-to-back wins over Towson and Hofstra, the Huskies have not allowed a single 3-pointer. After holding the Tigers to an 0-for-13 performance on Feb. 3, NU locked down the Pride to an 0-for-10 clip on Feb. 7. Prior to this recent run of defensive success, the Huskies had only held one opponent without a three in a contest, forcing Temple to go 0-for-11 from distance on Nov. 17. Conversely, Northeastern has made at least four triples in every contest, and has knocked down double-digit 3-pointers six times this season. NU connects on 8.3 trifectas a game, the 12th best mark in the country, and hits 36.6 percent of its attempts, 16th nationally. Both of those marks are tops in the CAA.
Terrific Tandems
Northeastern is the only team in the CAA to have two players ranked at the top of several categories.
A'lece Mark averages 3.5 assists a game and classmate
Amencie Mercier dishes out 3.4, making them the only teammates to both appear in the CAA's top-six assist leaders. The sophomore duo are also the only teammates both in the top-six in assist to turnover ratio. Kerkhof and Cannon are the only teammates both in the top-five in made threes per game and percentage from range. Tunstull and
Christine Huber swat 1.4 and 1.2 blocks a game, making them the only teammates both in the top-eight.
Short streak snappers
After ending a two-game slide with the win over Towson, the Huskies have not allowed a losing skid to go beyond two games this year. After dropping back-to-back contests in Miami at the FIU Sun & Fun Classic, NU rattled off three straight victories. Following consecutive losses to James Madison and Delaware, NU went on the road and won two in a row against CAA foes. The Red and Black's biggest rebound from a loss came after falling at Temple on Nov. 17, as they responded by winning five in a row.
Everybody Scores!
In the win over Rhode Island on Jan. 3 and the loss vs. Drexel on Jan. 24, Northeastern saw five players hit double figures in the scoring column, the first two times that has happened since Dec. 5, 2009. The Huskies have seen four players hit double figures six times this season. 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.
After Sunday's contest, Northeastern returns home to close out its season series with Georgia State on Thursday, Feb. 21. Game-time at Solomon Court is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be NU's breast cancer awareness game. The team will wear pink socks and shooting shirts, and Coach La-Force will donate $1 to breast cancer research for every student in attendance.
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