Box Score • Season Statistics • InfographicBOSTON – The Northeastern Huskies were downed by the James Madison Dukes, 77-55, in the Huskies' conference home opener on Friday, Jan. 9.
Northeastern has now started its 18-game CAA slate with three losses after falling on the road to both Drexel and Hofstra earlier this week.
The Dukes (12-2, 3-0) jumped out to a quick lead on the Huskies (3-10, 0-3) and maintained it during the entire game. At halftime, JMU held a 16-point advantage, 43-27. Despite a valiant effort from
Kelly Cole's squad, the Huskies were never able to get closer than 14 down during the course of the second half.
Samantha DeFreese built on her strong outing against Hofstra with a 20-point, seven-rebound performance against the Dukes. She had several clutch buckets during the game, including two three-point plays. Along with DeFreese, the Huskies were led by senior guard
A'lece Mark, who finished with 17 points and four rebounds. The Springfield, Massachusetts, native had a strong day shooting from downtown, going three-for-nine. She finished six-for-15 from the floor.
Kazzidy Stewart chipped in six points, while both
Francesca Sally and
Tanisha Hopewell added four points apiece.
As a team, Northeastern went 23-for-60 from the floor, a shooting percentage of 38.3. The team was able to generate open looks, but the shots would not fall. James Madison finished shooting 45 percent, going 30-for-66.
The Dukes won the rebound battle 45-31 and generated 22 assists to 11 by the Huskies. Northeastern committed 33 turnovers, while James Madison finished with 11.
The story of the game, however, was James Madison outscoring NU in the paint 32-24 and the production of its bench, which finished with 22 points to eight from Northeastern's reserves.
The first half was a struggle defensively for the Huskies. James Madison jumped out to a quick 9-0 lead and maintained an advantage throughout the entire 20 minutes of action. The largest lead for JMU was 18 points.
Northeastern went 11-for-29 from the floor in the first stanza, including a mark of two-for-six from downtown. The Huskies were paced by DeFreese, who finished with nine points. The junior connected on four of her nine shots, and corralled five rebounds.
Mark joined DeFreese as an offensive leader for the Huskies in the first half as she had eight points, highlighted by two 3-pointers. Sally added four points while Mercier, Stewart and Hopewell all chipped in two.
Cole's team struggled to keep possession, resulting in eight turnovers. The Dukes took full advantage, scoring 10 points off of the Huskies' offensive miscues. James Madison won the rebound battle 21-17 and scored 20 points in the paint to NU's 12.
Northeastern's next game is on Sunday, Jan. 11 against the Blue Hens of Delaware. The game is set to begin at 2 p.m. Cole and the Huskies then wrap up their three-game home stand on Friday, Jan. 16 against the UNCW Seahawks. NU and UNCW will tip-off at 7 p.m.
Game Notes• Samantha DeFreese has accounted for 41 points over the last two games.
• The Huskies are now 0-3 to start conference play.
• A'lece Mark has scored 38 points over the team's last two outings.
• Northeastern's home record is now 2-2.
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