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Highlights and post-game comments from Sunday vs. ODU
In search of a program-record 11th home win, the Northeastern women's basketball team (16-11, 9-7 CAA) welcomes the Hofstra Pride (13-15, 9-8 CAA) to Solomon Court for the penultimate regular season game of the 2012-13 season on Wednesday night. The game will serve as a preview for the 2013 CAA Women's Basketball Championship presented by Jani-King later this month, as the Huskies and Pride are locked into the fourth and fifth seeds in the tournament. Wednesday will also serve as Northeastern's Senior Day, and tri-captains
Kashaia Cannon,
Christine Huber and
Deanna Kerkhof will be honored before the 7 p.m. tip.
Last Time Out
Kerkhof made a triumphant return to the hardwood on Sunday afternoon, scoring 21 points in her first game since Feb. 17 and leading the Huskies to a 79-60 victory over Old Dominion. She also added eight rebounds and four steals, and was supported by a monster 19-point, 15-rebound double-double from
Jewel Tunstull. Their strong efforts on the glass helped the Red and Black secure a 40-32 edge in the rebounding column.
A'lece Mark was the third Husky in double figures, scoring 11 points to go along with a game-high four assists. NU trailed by six midway through the first half, but surged ahead to take a 13-point lead to halftime and never led by less than 10 in the second half.
A picture of the Pride
Hofstra closes its regular season with the trip to Boston, sitting at 13-15 on the year and 9-8 in CAA league play. The Pride won their most recent game, a 70-50 victory on Sunday over UNCW on the Senior Day for all-time leading scorer and rebounder Shante Evans. After having her number retired before the game, Evans led all players with 19 points and 19 rebounds in the victory. On the year, Evans averages a double-double, scoring 16.6 points a game and pulling down a CAA-best 11.5 rebounds a contest. Her 16.6 points a game are sixth in the conference, and she ranks 10th league-wide with a 46.8 field goal percentage. Evans is supported in double figures by Anma Onyeuku, who scores 10.0 points a game on 53.2 percent shooting from the floor, the second-best mark in the CAA. Andreana Thomas adds 8.8 points and a league-high 6.6 assists a game, the 11th-best mark in the country. Candace Bond also chips in 7.6 points and 5.0 rebounds a game, leading the CAA with 2.7 steals a game.
Remember my last...
Northeastern and Hofstra take to the court for the 31st time on Wednesday night, with NU holding a 17-13 edge in the series. The Huskies opened up an 11-4 advantage in the all-time matchup when both teams were members of the North Atlantic and America East conferences, but the Pride have fared much better since the squads reconvened in the CAA, winning nine of 15 matchups under the Colonial banner. The Huskies have won the last two installments of the series, however, including a 59-57 thriller on Feb. 7 in Hempstead.
Jewel Tunstull scored 13 points for NU in that win, none bigger than a go-ahead, game-winning hook shot with one second remaining.
A'lece Mark led NU in scoring in the victory with 16 points, while
Deanna Kerkhof chipped in 14 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Shante Evans led all players for the Pride with 19 points and 16 rebounds, and HU also got 18 points from Anma Onyeuku. This year will mark the second straight that Hofstra has visited Northeastern for the Huskies' Senior Day, as NU celebrated the careers of
Dani Iervolino and
Jamie Conroy on Feb. 29 of last season with an 80-62 victory.
Senior Day
Before Wednesday's contest, Northeastern will recognize the sterling careers of its three senior captains:
Kashaia Cannon,
Christine Huber and
Deanna Kerkhof. The trio have been instrumental in NU's turnaround this season, and have each etched their names into Northeastern's record books.
Cannon is second on the team in scoring this year, averaging 13.6 points a game. She also leads the team and is 15th nationally with a 41.5 percent mark from 3-point range. With 73 triples this year, Cannon is three away from the single-season NU record. The Providence, R.I. native's 184 career trifectas are fourth all-time in program history. On Feb. 24, she became the 16th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points.
Huber is fourth on the squad with 6.7 points a game this year, and pulls down 5.7 rebounds a game, second most on the team. Huber's 114 career blocks are the third-most all-time. In her career, the North Babylon, N.Y. native has posted seven double-doubles and 28 double-digit scoring games.
Kerkhof was named to the preseason All-CAA first team prior to this season, and she has not dissapointed for the Huskies. The Wallaceburg, Ontario native has posted career-highs this season in scoring (15.1 ppg), rebounding (5.5 ppg) and steals (2.1 spg). A 2012-13 Capital One Academic All-District first teamer for District 1, Kerkhof is currently seventh in the CAA in scoring, and has led NU in scoring each of the past three years. She also reached the 1,000 point plateau this year, hitting the milestone on Jan. 24. Kerkhof is currently 14th in Husky history with 1,096 career points. She is also third all-time with 200 career 3-pointers, including 71 last year, the fourth-best single season total all-time.
Sticky hands
Northeastern snagged 16 steals on Feb. 17 at ODU, tying a season-high previously set vs. Holy Cross on Dec. 5. In both contests,
Deanna Kerkhof led the NU charge with a career-high five steals. Kerkhof's 2.1 steals a game are sixth in the CAA, and as a team NU leads the league and is 52nd nationally with 10.5 swipes a contest. The Huskies have accumulated double-digit steals 16 times this season, forcing 20 or more turnovers 12 times, with a season-high 29 twice. NU has won or tied the turnover battle in eight of its last 11 games, and recorded a season-low nine turnovers at UNCW on Feb. 24.
Three's company
Northeastern has made at least three 3-pointers in every contest, and has knocked down double-digit 3-pointers six times this season. NU connects on 8.0 trifectas a game, the 12th best mark in the country, and hits 35.7 percent of its attempts, 20th nationally. Both of those marks are tops in the CAA. On the other side of the coin, the Huskies have held their last eight opponents to 29-of-129 shooting from beyond the arc, leading to a paltry 22.5 percent clip. In two of those games NU did not allow a single 3-pointer (Feb. 3 vs. Towson and Feb. 7 at Hofstra), a trick the Huskies have turned three times this season.
Everybody Scores!
Northeastern has seen five players hit double figures in the scoring column twice this year, the first two times that has happened since Dec. 5, 2009. The Huskies have seen four players hit double figures seven times this season, including in their most recent contest at Towson. 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. Kerkhof and Cannon are one of two pairs of teammates (JMU's Kirby Burkholder and Tarik Hislop) to both slot into the top-ten, and with
A'lece Mark placing 24th with 9.6 a game, NU is the only team in the conference with four top-25 scorers.
Sweet home Solomon
Northeastern is 10-2 on its home floor this year, with the only losses coming to No. 18 Delaware and the CAA's third-place Drexel. The Huskies are now tied for the most home wins in a single season, set in 1993-94 and tied in 2003-04. The Huskies opened their home slate with seven consecutive home wins, tied for the longest single-season streak in program history. Of NU's 10 home wins this year, seven have been by double-digit margins, and four times at Solomon Court the Huskies have won by 20 points or more. Northeastern shoots 44.3 percent from the field, 74.9 percent from the foul line and 38.3 percent from 3-point range on its home floor, all three well higher than the overall season average. Tunstull has been one of the top beneficiaries of the friendly rims, shooting an absurd 63.2 percent from the floor at home, compared to her CAA-best 56.4 percent mark overall. Mark shoots 51.4 percent from three at home, compared to 37.5 percent overall.
Following Wednesday's contest, Northeastern closes its regular season slate when it hosts UNCW on Saturday, March 9, in a game originally schedule for Feb. 10 before being moved due to Winter Storm Nemo. Tip-off for NU's final tuneup before the 2013 CAA Women's Basketball Championship presented by Jani-King will be at 2 p.m.
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