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BOSTON – Backed by freshman forward Gabriella Giacone's second career double-double, the Northeastern women's basketball team overcame an 11-point halftime deficit Friday night at Cabot Center as the Huskies earned a 69-68 comeback victory against William & Mary.
 
With the victory, Northeastern (7-8, 2-2 CAA) boosted its conference winning percentage up to .500, joining William & Mary (11-4, 2-2 CAA), Elon, Drexel, and Towson in a five-way tie for fourth place after four games.
 
Giacone, who had scored 14 points three times this season, achieved a new career threshold of 16 points, making five field goals and shooting six-of-eight from the free-throw line. The Delmar, New York, native also matched her previous high in rebounding with 10, pulling down an even five offensive and defensive boards.
 
Francesca Sally shot 60 percent from the floor on Friday (six-of-10) to finish with 14 points, tying her 2015-16 scoring high. Like Giacone, Sally's eight rebounds were split evenly on the offensive (four) and defensive (four) ends of the court, while the junior center also tied a career-best mark with four steals.
 
Senior forward Samantha DeFreese shined in the paint for Northeastern, securing 11 rebounds on her way to seven points and three blocks. With 19 seconds remaining in regulation and the Huskies leading, 60-58, DeFreese denied William & Mary's Latrice Hunter in the post, allowing NU to maintain its late-game advantage and tack on two more free throws to go ahead by four.
 
Freshman point guard Jess Genco drained three of her four 3-point attempts before the final whistle en route to a 15-point, four-rebound, three-assist, and 41-minute evening. Tiffany Montagne hit two 3-pointers during the first half and played 32 minutes, the most the senior co-captain has appeared in during the 2015-16 campaign. Zoe Zwerling and Tiffany Montagne ended the contest with six and four points, respectively, while Zwerling added three assists.
 
Northeastern's defense was incredibly sound against a William & Mary squad that entered the game with a 40.5-percent team shooting percentage. NU guards Genco, Montagne, Taggart, and Claudia Ortiz manned a tight perimeter, contesting the majority of the Tribe's jump shots and preventing them from second looks at the basket. By game's end, William & Mary attempted 72 field goals, 16 more than the Huskies' 56, but shot at a rate of 34.7 percent.
 
NU won the rebounding battle for the eighth time this season, snagging 10 more rebounds than the Tribe (49-39). The Huskies also held Preseason All-CAA Second Team selection Marlena Tremba to just 11 points on three-of-22 shooting.
 
Abby Rendle led William & Mary with 14 points and 12 rebounds, while Alexandra Masaquel had a team high, 15 points, to go along with seven rebounds and three assists. Bianca Boggs created five steals for the Tribe, scoring four points and collecting two boards.
 
Trailing William & Mary, 36-25, at halftime and 41-25, with 8:29 to go in the third quarter, Northeastern went on a 17-1 run during the next 7:52 of game time to wipe out a 16-point deficit and tie the game at 42-42. Genco scored eight of the Huskies' 17 points during the stretch, while Sally tipped in six points to bring NU back into contention.
 
After DeFreese's layup brought Northeastern level again at 45-45, Genco drilled her third 3-pointer of the half to give NU its first lead since the 7:38 mark of the first quarter (5-4). A hard-earned, three-point play by Sally pushed the Huskies' lead to six with 6:56 remaining, and another basket by DeFreese gave Northeastern its largest lead of the second half, 53-45.
 
William & Mary would charge back though, reducing the gap to one on a 3-point field goal by Hunter with 32 seconds left in regulation. Following DeFreese's block and two free-throw makes that delivered a 62-58 lead to the Huskies, Tremba unleashed a 3-pointer that cut the NU lead back to one with 10 seconds left. NU would ultimately turn the ball over on an inbounds play following a Kelly Cole timeout, before Sally's foul with one second remaining put Boggs on the line. Boggs hit the first, but missed the second, sending the game into overtime tied at 62-62.
 
Northeastern's overtime dominance came through again as the Huskies held William & Mary to two-of-nine shooting. The two sides were locked in tie scores at 64-64, 66-66, and 68-68, but Genco's free-throw with 52 seconds left proved to be the difference maker for NU.
 
The Huskies will head to James Madison on Sunday, Jan. 17, for their next CAA game.
 
STATS OF THE GAME
- Northeastern improved its lead in the all-time series against William & Mary to 9-7.
- Four of the last seven games between Northeastern and William & Mary have been decided in overtime (NU is 2-2).
- The Huskies improved to 7-0 this season when tying or leading its opponent in points in the paint. NU and William & Mary both scored 28 points in the paint on Friday.
- Gabriella Giacone achieved her second career double-double and first since Dec. 9 against Quinnipiac.
- Northeastern has now outrebounded its opponent eight times this season and owns a 6-2 record during those games.
- Francesca Sally has now scored 10 or more points during five of her last seven games. She has also brought down six or more rebounds during each of her last five outings.
- Friday's game was the first overtime game played at Cabot Center since Feb. 1, 2015, when the Huskies lost to the Tribe, 72-66, in double overtime.
- Northeastern snapped a three-game losing streak against William & Mary on Friday night.
- NU outscored its opponent by eight or more points during the third quarter for the sixth time during the 2015-16 season.