Box Score | Season Statistics | Infographic

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – With the power to tie or take the lead during the final possession of Friday night's CAA game at William & Mary, the Northeastern women's basketball team was unable to do either as the final horn at Kaplan Arena sounded with the Huskies trailing the Tribe, 60-58.
 
Francesca Sally was one of three NU players that finished with 13 or more points, pairing her 14-point outing with a career high, 14 rebounds, to earn her ninth career double-double. Sally was under duress during each of the two shots she attempted during the closing 15 seconds of regulation. Her 3-point try with three seconds to go from the top of the key was blocked out of bounds by the Tribe's Abby Rendle, while her catch-and-shoot, hook shot from the right block fell just left of the cylinder as time expired.
 
Jess Genco and Claudia Ortiz rounded the trio of players that finished with 13 or more points for Northeastern (6-10, 2-2 CAA). Genco rattled four of her five 3-point heaves through and cashed in on a three-point play at the foul line during the third quarter to walk off with a team high, 15 points. Ortiz scored six of her 13 points during the first quarter and also recorded four boards and four assists.
 
Gabby Giacone enjoyed one of the strongest defensive outings of her career, swatting away four William & Mary shots to set a new career high in blocks.
 
Northeastern head coach Kelly Cole's seven-player rotation was the Huskies' smallest of the 2016-17 season. Maureen Taggart joined starter Shannon Todd with a pair of 3-point makes on the night, while Loren Lassiter hauled in four rebounds as well.
 
Alexandra Masaquel mirrored Sally's double-double to pace William & Mary (12-2, 2-1 CAA) with 18 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks. Marlena Tremba followed Masaquel with 16 points courtesy of three 3-point makes, none more dramatic than the three-quarter court, buzzer-beating shot she connected on at the conclusion of the third quarter. Tremba also added six steals.
 
Abby Rendle claimed six of the Tribe's nine blocked shots, while Bianca Boggs notched eight points.
 
Very little separated Northeastern from William & Mary during the first half, which was played within a seven-point window. Neither team held more than a four-point advantage until the final minute of the quarter, when Masaquel buried a 3-pointer to give the Tribe command at 29-25. Taggart, however, held the answer for the Huskies, draining a 3-pointer herself from the right wing to return the score to a one-point game.
 
Sally's layup at the 7:34 mark in the third quarter sparked a 10-0 run for Northeastern that opened up a nine-point margin for the Huskies at 41-32. Together with good defense, NU held William & Mary scoreless for nearly four minutes before the Tribe caught fire, scoring 11 unanswered points and closing the quarter with a 13-3 run.
 
Genco snapped a brief, late-game drought for the Huskies with a clutch 3-pointer from the left side that brought NU to within two at 58-56. Upon the Tribe handing the ball right back, Sally topped off a pass from Ortiz to level the game at 58-58 with 47 seconds to go.
 
On William & Mary's next possession, Tremba hit the eventual game-winning jumper from the foul line.
 
UP NEXT

Northeastern will continue its CAA road trip through the state of Virginia on Sunday, Jan. 15, when the Huskies meet James Madison in a 2 p.m. conference showdown in Harrisonburg.