Box Score | Season Stats | Cole Post-Game Interview Transcript

LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. – For the first time in 31 seasons, the Northeastern women's basketball team is off to a 2-0 start as the Huskies held off a late charge by Siena during the closing minutes of the fourth quarter to defeat the Saints, 70-67, on Sunday afternoon.
 
Four different Huskies ended the game in double figures, most notably Claudia Ortiz, who shot eight-of-15 from the field and three-of-seven from downtown to lead NU with 19 points. Senior Samantha DeFreese came within one rebound of a double-double for the second straight game, finishing with 13 points, nine rebounds, and two blocks. Francesca Sally and Gabriella Giacone each scored 11 points while combining for nine rebounds.
 
At five-foot-five, freshman point guard Jess Genco paced Northeastern (2-0) with 11 boards, chasing down four offensive rebounds and tallying eight points as well. First-year starting guard Te'Erica Eason was consistent in nearly all statistical categories, notching eight points, four rebounds, four assists, and four steals.
 
With the Huskies trailing Siena (0-2), 62-59, with 2:54 to play in the fourth quarter, Ortiz connected on her third 3-pointer of the game to bring NU level at 62 points apiece. DeFreese hit a jumper right at the two-minute mark to put Northeastern ahead by a deuce, before Genco sank two free throws from the line to give the Huskies a 66-62 lead.
 
Northeastern's lead appeared safe at 69-64 following a layup by Sally with 34 seconds to play, and an insurance free throw by DeFreese with 7.5 seconds to go all but capped the road victory. However, Siena's Jackie Benitez came through with a clutch 3-pointer with 3.9 seconds remaining, bring the Saints within a single possession.
 
Having advanced the ball to mid-court, Eason committed a costly turnover in the backcourt, leaving Siena a last-second chance to tie the game. NU raced back on defense and forced Denisha Petty-Evans into a difficult 3-pointer from the left side, which was off-line as the Huskies survived as 70-67 winners.
 
Petty-Evans led the Saints with 16 points and three steals, while Kollyns Scarbrough finished the game with a double-double (11 points, 10 rebounds).
 
Northeastern shot an even 40.0 percent from the field, converting on 28-of-70 attempts from the floor, including 6-of-21 (28.6 percent) from behind the arc. The Huskies' 18 turnovers ended up being two fewer than Siena's 20 by the final horn, but NU was able to dominate the boards all game long, earning 19 offensive rebounds and scoring 22 second-chance points.
 
The Huskies will return to Cabot Center on Thursday, Nov. 19, for Northeastern's home opener against UMES.
 
STATS OF THE GAME
-For the second straight game, Northeastern led its opponent in second-chance points (22-12), points in the paint (45-28), and total rebounds (45-36).
-After outscoring Boston University, 23-9, during the third quarter of the Huskies' game on Nov. 13, NU outscored Siena, 24-14, in the third.
-Six different Northeastern players recorded at least one steal.
-Francesca Sally shot five-of-nine from the field (55.6 percent).
-Kelly Cole improved to 2-0 all-time against MAAC opponents. She led Northeastern to a 58-51 victory against Marist on Nov. 22, 2014 at Cabot Center.
-Northeastern snapped its four-game losing streak against Siena and claimed its first victory against the Saints since Jan. 6, 1988 (W, 68-64).
 
POST-GAME INTERVIEW WITH KELLY COLE
 
Q: This is Northeastern's first 2-0 start in 31 years, what did you like about the first weekend of the 2015-16 season?
 
A: I liked two wins. I think that we are going to grow into ourselves right now. We are doing some really nice things, and we are playing fairly consistently right now. I think coming a little quicker out of the gates would be nice, but we have the right mentality. We are attacking teams, and it is a full team effort. We have kids coming off the bench, we have different leading scorers in every game, and we are doing it on the defensive end which is exactly what we want to do.
 
Q: Today was the second consecutive game that your team outscored its opponent by double-digits in the third quarter. What do you say to the team when you are in the locker room at halftime?
 
A: I wish I could take the credit for it, but I think we just said that we needed to tighten the screws and turn it up a notch on the defensive end. Given the games that we were ahead in last year, given the times we had chances to win and did not, I think this team has that sense of urgency now, and I don't think it mattered what I had said at halftime. They had decided that they want to win and finish games the right way this year, and it makes it easy for me.
 
Q: You said at the beginning of the season that you have a fairly young team with essentially six new faces on the floor this year. Is there anything you can take away from the final minute of the fourth quarter and how the game ultimately unfolded?
 
A: Absolutely. It is not just a win, but it is also a road win. We are starting two freshmen, a sophomore, a junior, and a senior, and we executed like crazy during that last couple of minutes of the game. Lucky for us, [Siena] went to a man-to-man [defense] and we called the right plays and executed plays well. Other than the last play, and that is just being young, that is learning each other better. But even when we made a mistake we did not hang our heads and we went and got a hand in the face of the shooter. Would I have scripted it differently? Yes, but I will definitely take it.