Box Score | Season Statistics | Infographic

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. – Needing overtime to settle Monday's CAA opener at Hofstra, the Northeastern women's basketball team found a way to escape the Mack Sports Center with a thrilling, 53-51 victory against the Pride as the Huskies racked up their third straight win.
 
NU co-captains Jess Genco and Francesca Sally combined to score 36 of the Huskies' 53 points. Genco, who remained on the floor for the entirety of Monday's 45-minute contest, rounded out her stat line with 13 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and two steals, while Sally tied her season scoring high, 23 points, for the third time.
 
Northeastern (5-8, 1-0 CAA) crashed the boards to the tune of a season best, 51 rebounds, swinging a +16 rebounding advantage. Junior forward Maureen Taggart set a new career-high mark with 10 rebounds, pulling down four during the fourth quarter, when the Huskies needed them most. Taggart also provided NU with 35 bench minutes, tallying five points, an assist, and a steal.
 
Claudia Ortiz finished with seven points and eight rebounds, while Gabby Giacone hauled in seven boards as well.
 
The Huskies did well limiting the effectiveness of Preseason All-CAA First Team selection Ashunae Durant, who entered Monday's game ranked third in the CAA in scoring (16.8 points per game) and first in rebounding (11.0). Durant's 10 points tied for her second lowest scoring output of the season, while her six boards were fewer than four Northeastern player totals (Taggart, Genco, Ortiz, and Giacone).
 
QUARTER RECAPS
 
• First quarter: Baskets came few and far between for both sides during the opening stages of Monday's game. Jess Genco knocked down a 3-pointer from the right side on the Huskies' very first possession of the quarter, but NU would go cold until Francesca Sally knotted the game at 5-5 with 5:37 to go. Maureen Taggart's lay-in at the 3:01 mark gave Northeastern a slim, 9-8 lead, but Hofstra's Olivia Askin hit a 3-pointer within the final 10 seconds to put the home team up by a deuce heading into the second.
 
• Second quarter: After Sally's basket seven seconds into the period leveled the game at 11-11, Hofstra began to find its form from behind the arc as Sydni Epps and Krystal Luciano helped the Pride distance themselves by six. With the Huskies trailing, 19-13, at the 5:17 marker, Northeastern assembled a 12-2 run to close the half and build a 25-21 mid-game advantage.
 
• Third quarter: Although back-to-back 3-pointers by Luciano flipped Northeastern's four-point lead into a four-point deficit with 5:49 to go, the Huskies weathered the storm and upped their edge on the defensive side of the ball. NU limited the Pride to only one field goal during the remainder of the quarter while riding an eight-point scoring streak by Sally to trail by one, 37-36, going into the final quarter.
 
• Fourth quarter: Northeastern kept Hofstra scoreless again during the first 5:19 of the fourth quarter, swinging back in front courtesy of baskets by Ortiz and Giacone. While the Pride would retake the lead at 41-40, Sally tied the game up for the seventh time at 41-41 by hitting the back end of two shots from the line. Neither team scored during the final 2:03 of regulation, although NU had a chance to break the tie with 12.2 seconds remaining and the ball, despite being unable to muster up a shot.
 
• Overtime: NU scored five unanswered points to break the 48-48 tie in overtime and fended off its five-point lead during the final minute of the period. Despite a turnover that awarded Hofstra the ball with 16 seconds remaining, Northeastern forced Krystal Luciano into putting too much juice on her potential game-winning 3-point try, while Ortiz scooped up the rebound as time expired.