Box Score | Season Stats | Infographic

HARRISONBURG, Va. -  ­Having earned two regular-season wins against the active CAA title holder during the previous four years, the Northeastern women's basketball team was unable to collect a third on Sunday afternoon as the Huskies lost an 85-62 game against James Madison, the 2015 league champions.
 
Samantha DeFreese led Northeastern (7-9, 2-3 CAA) with 14 points, five rebounds, a block, and a steal, but was limited to just four points during the second half by the Dukes' defense. Sophomore guard Claudia Ortiz joined DeFreese as the only two Huskies to reach double-figures in scoring, finishing the game with 11 points on three-of-six shooting.
 
Junior center Francesca Sally powered her way in the post to eight points and two rebounds, matching DeFreese's scoreline with a block and a steal. Jess Genco worked her way to seven points, three rebounds, two assists, and a steal, while senior Tiffany Montagne hit two 3-pointers for the second consecutive game en route to a six-point afternoon.
 
The Huskies enjoyed their best game of the season at the foul line (85.0 percent), converting on 17 of their 20 attempts during the contest. Gabriella Giacone (four-of-four), Ortiz (four-of-four), Eason (two-of-two), and Sally (two-of-two) were each perfect from the charity stripe on Sunday.
 
James Madison (11-5, 4-1 CAA) overcame Northeastern's four-point halftime lead (35-31) with the help of Preseason All-CAA First Team selection, Jazmon Gwathmey, who scored 21 of her 29 points during the second half. Angela Mickens also reached the 20-point club for the Dukes, scoring 21 points, while Hailee Barron and Savannah Felgemacher registered 11 and 10 points, respectively.
 
Northeastern's 50.0-percent, first-quarter shooting percentage (six-of-12) dipped a measly two percentage points down to 48.0 percent by the end of the first half as the Huskies were in the driver's seat early on. NU and JMU were tied four times during a back-and-forth first quarter that saw the Huskies go ahead by as much as seven points at 17-10.
 
Genco opened the second quarter with a 3-pointer and another jumper to give NU a 22-12 advantage, and another layup by DeFreese at the 7:24 mark awarded Northeastern its largest lead of the game at 12 points, 28-16. Even Ortiz's layup with 6:09 to play in the half helped NU reach 30 points before James Madison had reached 20.
 
However, the Dukes began to heat up from the floor midway through the second, and went on a 13-5 run during the final five minutes of the first half to lower the Huskies' lead to 35-31 at the mid-game break.
 
After Giacone had hit two free throws to put Northeastern ahead, 39-35, with 8:22 remaining in the third quarter, JMU took control of the game, assembling a 13-2 run to force NU into taking a timeout while trailing, 48-41. The interruption, though, was not enough to slow the Dukes as JMU closed the period on a 16-9 run to build a 64-50 lead after three.
 
As the fourth quarter began, the Huskies could not quite find the response to the Dukes' 59.4-percent second-half field goal percentage. JMU began the fourth quarter with 12 unanswered points, before Sally's jumper put NU on the board in the period with 5:01 left in regulation.
 
Northeastern will close out its two-game road trip on Friday, Jan. 22, when the Huskies visit Hofstra for a 12 p.m. conference game.
 
STATS OF THE GAME
- Northeastern has not won, nor lost, two consecutive CAA games during its first five league games.
- Sunday was only the second time during the 2015-16 season that the Huskies have lost a game after leading at halftime (NU led JMU, 35-31, at the half).
- James Madison improved its lead in the all-time series against Northeastern to 17-1.
- The Huskies have now lost two straight road games after winning each of their first four to begin the year.
- Samantha DeFreese led Northeastern in scoring (14 points) for the seventh time this season.
- Sunday's crowd of 2,227 was the largest crowd the Huskies have played in front of during the 2015-16 campaign.