Box Score

BOSTON—The Northeastern women's basketball team (11-15, 5-8 CAA) overcame a 15-point deficit to defeat Drexel (12-14, 7-6 CAA), 78-73, for the first time since 2008 in a double-overtime thriller on Sunday afternoon at Cabot Center.

In the program's annual WBCA Pink Zone Game, the Huskies played in honor of loved ones who have been affected by cancer, including Lucie Mercier, Jason Grenstein, Mamie Little, Judy Kerkhof, and Susan Hamrick. Northeastern also honored Brian Blake, the son of associate head coach Tom Blake, in a pregame ceremony. Brian was diagnosed with metastatic cancer last year and has recently been declared cancer free.

Five Huskies scored in double-figures for the second time this season. The squad previously saw five players score in double-digits in an 81-55 win over Maine on Dec. 15, 2013. The team tallied 12 3-point field goals for a new season-high and the most treys since Feb. 15, 2013, when NU dropped a 78-70 decision to William & Mary.

Lone-senior Jewel Tunstull logged her league-leading 11th double-double of the year with a game-best 22 points and 17 rebounds. Samantha DeFreese fell one rebound shy of her fifth career double-double with 17 points and nine rebounds, while junior captain Amencie Mercier notched 13 points. A'lece Mark added 12 points, five assists and four steals and Kazzidy Stewart contributed 11 points.

Fiona Flanagan set the pace for Drexel, leading a quartet of Dragons in double-figures with 19 points. Tory Theirolf, who went a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe, contributed 16 points, Abby Redick notched 15 points, and Meghan Creighton logged 10 points.

Tunstull tipped in a basket to open the first-half scoring, but Drexel followed with a shot from the perimeter and a layup to draw the early lead. Mercier matched the 3-pointer with one of her own to even the score, 5-5.

Another trey from the Dragons triggered a 17-2 run as Drexel claimed a 15-point advantage, 22-7, just nine minutes into the contest. Stewart took her game to the arc in an attempt to close the gap, but fell short after failing to connect on a pair of shots from long range.

Mark claimed the next five points for NU, capped with a fast-break layup, to cut the deficit to single digits and spark a 9-0 surge for the Huskies. A DeFreese three brought the Huskies within four points with 3:02 left in the first frame, but DU landed back-to-back jumpers to enter the half with a 35-29 advantage.

Drexel held Northeastern scoreless for the first three minutes of second-half action before a Mercier 3-pointer put the Huskies on the board.  The Dragons posted an 8-2 run to push a double-digit advantage, 45-34, in the 27th minute, but NU was able to chip away at the deficit with consecutive layups from Tunstull and come within seven.

NU found rhythm at the perimeter and drained a trio of 3-pointers, highlighted by Mark's second and third trey of the game, to invade Drexel's cushion to just one point. DU took control and posted the next five points, but the resilient Huskies surged back after a DeFreese trey pulled the team within two with 1:41 left in regulation.

With just 48 seconds on the clock, Tanisha Hopewell threw in a layup to even the score, 61-61, and send Northeastern into its first overtime game of the season.

Overtime opened with a pair of free throws from Drexel, but Samantha DeFreese matched it to avoid a Dragon run. Tunstull put up a layup and a free throw for a 3-point advantage and NU's first lead since the opening seconds of the game.

Northeastern surrendered six points as DU took the lead once again, 69-66.

With 23 seconds left in the first overtime, head coach Daynia La-Force drew up the perfect play that funneled the ball to Stewart who came through with a 3-pointer from the top of the arc to tie the score at the 69 mark.

The Huskies ran another 3-point play for the win, but Creighton blocked Mercier's attempt to force another overtime.

Mercier opened the second five-minute period with her career-best fourth 3-pointer of the night to give NU a three-point lead and the Huskies never looked back. Drexel came within one with 2:55 on the clock, but it was not enough to stop Northeastern from claiming a nail-biting, 78-73, victory.

For the game, Northeastern shot 46 percent (27-59) from the floor, 48 percent (12-25) from 3-point range, and 57 percent (12-21) from the charity stripe. Drexel connected on 42 percent of its shots (26-62), including 35 percent (10-29) from beyond the arc and 79 percent (11-14) from the free-throw line. NU won the rebounding battle, 43-30.

The Huskies will travel to Williamsburg, Va., to take on William & Mary on Thursday, Feb. 27, for their final regular-season road game. Tip off is set for 7 p.m.

Northeastern will then close out its regular-season slate with a pair of home games against Delaware and James Madison before heading to the Colonial Athletic Association tournament on March 13 in Upper Marlboro, Md.

Game Notes
• Northeastern overcame a 15-point deficit to send the game into overtime, the squad's first overtime contest of the season.
• The game proceeded into double overtime, marking the first double OT contest since a win over Old Dominion on Jan. 7, 2010, that went into triple overtime.
• Amencie Mercier, A'lece Mark, Samantha DeFreese, Kazzidy Stewart and Jewel Tunstull all recorded double-figure games, making it just the second time this season that five Husky players have scored in double-digits.
• Jewel Tunstull led all scorers to record her league-leading 11th double-double of the season with 22 points and 17 rebounds.
• Amencie Mercier totaled 13 points on the night, her 11th double-figure scoring game of the season, and recorded a new career-high for three-pointers after sinking four on the night.
• The Huskies defeated Drexel for the first time since Jan. 31, 2008.
• With the victory, Northeastern improves their record to 11-15 on the season (5-8 in CAA play).

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