Box Score | Season Stats | Infographic

MORAGA, Calif. – In a battle between two unbeaten programs, the Northeastern women's basketball team managed to hold its ground against SEC-member Missouri on Friday despite losing the opening game of the St. Mary's Hilton Concord Thanksgiving Classic, 69-56, to the Tigers.
 
Samantha DeFreese (16 points), Jess Genco (13), and Gabriella Giacone (13) each ended the game in double figures, combining for all but 14 of the Huskies' 56 points. Coming off her 12th career double-double against UMES on Nov. 19, DeFreese secured six rebounds on Friday, tying teammate Francesca Sally for the team lead.
 
Genco hit two, clutch 3-pointers for Northeastern (3-1) in the fourth quarter, helping NU keep the pressure on Missouri (6-0) late in the game. Giacone grabbed five boards in addition to her 13 points, making Friday the third straight game that the Delmar, New York, native has notched at least 10 points and five rebounds.
 
Claudia Ortiz chipped in nine points of her own on three-of-four shooting, while Zoe Zwerling and Tiffany Montagne each walked away with their first made baskets of the young season.
 
Northeastern manned the perimeter exceptionally well, holding Missouri, a team that entered Friday's game averaging 22.8 3-point attempts per game, to just 11 tries from downtown. The Huskies' seven made 3-pointers proved to be four more than the Tigers' three by game's end, but Missouri was able to double up NU in free-throw attempts, 22-11.
 
Jordan Frericks led the Tigers with 18 points, nine rebounds, three steals, and three blocks. Lindsey Cunningham and Cierra Porter each contributed 16 points to Missouri's offense, while Sierra Michaelis posted eight points, four rebounds, and three steals.
 
Northeastern and Missouri played a back-and-forth first quarter that contained five ties and six lead changes. Midway through the period, Genco helped fire up the NU offense as she stole a pass at midcourt and ran it back down the floor to put the Huskies ahead, 6-4, on a fast-break layup. Genco's hustle play caused the Tigers' head coach, Robin Pingeton, to call for time less than four minutes into the game.
 
Trailing Missouri, 12-10, after one period, the Tigers built a nine-point advantage against the Huskies courtesy of a 9-0 run that overlapped the first and second quarters. Baskets by Giacone and DeFreese helped NU cut the deficit to five at 19-14, but points on five straight possessions allowed the Tigers to go ahead by 10 at 29-19. Lindsey Cunningham answered Genco's 3-pointer with just more than a minute to play as Missouri took a 34-22 lead into the break.
 
While two quick baskets by the Tigers in the third quarter put the Huskies in a 16-point hole, Northeastern clawed its way back into the game as the period progressed. Ortiz opened the Huskies' second-half scoring with a 3-pointer less than two minutes in, while Giacone scored Northeastern's next seven points to bring NU within 12 at 44-32. Having made a series of trips to the free-throw line, DeFreese's layup with 1:50 to go in the third trimmed Missouri's lead back down to single digits at 46-37.
 
Genco brought the Huskies one point closer as the fourth quarter began, draining her second 3-pointer of the game to make it a 50-42 game. Although Missouri maintained roughly a 10-point edge against the Huskies throughout most of the period, Northeastern successfully put 17 points up on the scoreboard, keeping the undefeated Tigers within 13 points by the final whistle.
 
Northeastern will play its final game in the 2015 St. Mary's Hilton Concord Thanksgiving Classic on Saturday, Nov. 28 at 3 p.m. EST (12 p.m. PST) against Fresno State.
 
STATS OF THE GAME
-Freshman point guard Jess Genco has now made at least one 3-pointer in each of her first four collegiate games. On Friday, Genco set new career highs in points (13), made field goals (five), and made 3-pointers (three).
-Zoe Zwerling and Tiffany Montagne each knocked down their first field goals of the 2015-16 season. Zwerling drained her first collegiate 3-pointer midway through the second quarter, while Montage made a fancy drive and layup during the fourth.
-Gabriella Giacone has scored in double figures during each of her first four collegiate games. Giacone is averaging 13.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 20.0 minutes per game.
-Samantha DeFreese shot 66.7 percent (six-of-nine) from the field on Friday, her best shooting mark of the 2015-16 season.
-Northeastern was outrebounded by its opponent for the first time this season. The Huskies' 28 total rebounds were also the fewest NU had collected in four games this year.
-Friday's game against Missouri was the closest game the Huskies have played against an SEC team since a four-point loss to Auburn on Dec. 30, 1993 (L, 53-57).
-The Huskies' three-game winning streak, which came to an end on Friday, is the longest Northeastern has attained under head coach Kelly Cole. It is also the longest NU has enjoyed since Nov. 23, 2013.