Box Score | Season Stats | Infographic

BOSTON – Junior center Francesca Sally and freshman Gabriella Giacone each finished within two rebounds of a double-double on Monday afternoon as the Northeastern women's basketball team lost a rivalry game to Boston College, 71-45, at Cabot Center.
 
Sally was the closer of the two NU post players to achieving the feat as the Denver, Colorado, native hauled in nine rebounds while scoring 12 points. Giacone matched her season high scoring output of 14 points for the third time this year on Monday, bringing down eight rebounds and converting on five-of-six free-throw attempts in the process.
 
Claudia Ortiz scored eight points off the bench for Northeastern (5-6), earning four of those points at the foul line. Her five rebounds were one fewer than her career high, six, which she has reached twice already this year.
 
Freshman Jess Genco added three assists and three rebounds to go along with two free-throw makes, while sophomore Maureen Taggart snapped a five-game stretch without a 3-pointer, hitting a shot from beyond the arc during the closing minutes of the first quarter.
 
Boston College (10-1) kept its regular-season winning percentage above .900 by funneling 28 of its 51 field-goal attempts (54.9 percent) through the net. Despite a strong shooting game, Northeastern successfully outrebounded the Eagles, 43-34, overall, grabbing 21 offensive boards to Boston College's five.
 
Kelly Hughes paced BC with 26 points, scoring 23 during the first half on nine-of-10 shooting. Hughes went on to earn the game's lone double-double by collecting 11 rebounds, while Mariella Fasoula notched 13 points behind a six-of-nine shooting clip.
 
After NU had conceded four straight points to the Eagles to start the game, Giacone put the Huskies on the board for the first time on a powerful layup and foul combination. Despite missing the free throw for the three-point play, the rookie from Delmar, New York made her way back through the paint again during the Huskies' next possession, keeping NU within two points at 6-4.
 
BC began to distance itself midway through the quarter courtesy of a 7-0 run and the Eagles managed to build a 10-point lead at 16-6 following a 3-pointer by Emilee Daley. Eason's coast-to-coast layup with 3:54 to go in the period helped Northeastern scoot back to within single digits, but a 69.4 shooting percentage during the first quarter had the Eagles with a 23-13 lead after the opening period.
 
The Huskies had difficulty slowing down Boston College during the second quarter as BC utilized a 19-2 run to propel in front, 42-15. Sally, Eason, and Ortiz combined to score the Huskies' six total points during the second as NU found itself facing a steep, uphill climb heading into halftime.
 
Trailing BC by as much as 33 points midway through the third, Northeastern chipped away at the Eagles' lead as the quarter progressed, sliding the margin down to 23 with the help of a 13-3 run. Genco and Ortiz started the stretch by making four straight free-throw attempts, while Giacone converted an old-fashioned, three-point play with 1:45 remaining. Of the Huskies' 13 points during the final five minutes of the third quarter, nine came from the free-throw line.
 
NU was unable to shake down Boston College's 26-point lead during the final quarter, as both teams posted identical 11-point score lines.
 
Northeastern will conclude its six-game home stand by kicking off its CAA schedule on Sunday, Jan. 3, with a 2 p.m. game against Towson at Cabot Center.
 
STATS OF THE GAME
-Northeastern's loss to Boston College on Monday is the seventh consecutive defeat NU has suffered to its local rival.
-With Monday's victory, Boston College improved its advantage in the all-time series to 15-13.
-The Huskies have now outrebounded their opponent during six of their first 11 games this season.
-This season, only two of Northeastern's 11 opponents have managed to shoot better than 50 percent: Boston College (54.9), and Canisius (51.0).
-The Huskies closed out their non-conference schedule with a 5-6 record. Northeastern's five non-conference wins are two more than the Huskies earned during the 2014-15 season (three).
-With Gabriella Giacone's 14-point effort on Monday, Northeastern has now observed five different leading scorers during its last five games. NU has also seen seven different players lead the team in scoring at least once this season, including all four freshmen.
-NU head coach Kelly Cole sported her fourth different starting lineup on Monday, electing to give Loren Lassiter and Gabriella Giacone their first starts of the 2015-16 season.