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BOSTON – Storming out of the gates to a 14-3 lead by the end of the first quarter, the Northeastern women's basketball team maintained control of its Sunday afternoon game against UNCW as the Huskies collected the 55-47, wire-to-wire victory at Cabot Center.
 
Opening-minute baskets by Francesca Sally and Claudia Ortiz helped Northeastern (7-12, 3-4 CAA) gain a quick, 4-0 advantage and provided the foundation for the Huskies' 9-0 run that ultimately pushed UNCW (6-12, 1-6 CAA) into calling timeout less than six minutes in. NU kept the Seahawks off the scoreboard until the 2:38 mark of the first quarter and went nearly nine full minutes without allowing a field goal.
 
Northeastern observed four of its players reach the nine-point threshold on Sunday. Ortiz and Sally finished the day with 15 and 13 points, respectively, while Sally added 12 rebounds to earn her fourth double-double during her last five games. Loren Lassiter's 11-point outing on five-of-six shooting was good enough to tie her season- and career- scoring high from Nov. 13, while Jess Genco's nine points off three 3-pointers were an understatement to her five assists and five steals.
 
The Huskies made up their +8 rebounding margin purely in offensive rebounds, doubling up the Seahawks, 16-8, in the category. Ayanna Dublin hauled in three offensive boards on her birthday, including two during one Northeastern possession midway through the second quarter. Gabby Giacone also contributed eight rebounds to the Huskies' cause.
 
UNCW's Madison Raque led all scorers with 20 points, netting seven of her 14 attempts from the field, including four of her eight 3-point tries. Jenny DeGraaf notched a double-double for the Seahawks, registering 11 points and 12 rebounds.
 
After jumping out to a 4-0 start, Northeastern missed a handful of chances to widen its lead during the first quarter, remaining scoreless alongside UNCW for a four-minute stretch. Despite this, the Huskies' defense was successful in shutting down the Seahawks as UNCW blanked on 14 of its first 15 shots from the field.
 
With help from Genco's 3-pointer and Lassiter's powerful drive through the paint, Northeastern extended its lead to 20-5 at the 7:27 mark of the second quarter, but experienced another five-minute scoring drought that allowed UNCW to reduce the Huskies' lead to 22-12 with 2:30 to play in the half. Raque helped the Seahawks close the door even further when her 3-point jumper closed the gap to just seven.
 
The Huskies' lead fell to as low as four during the first three minutes of the third quarter, but NU caught fresh wind when Ortiz knocked one down from behind the arc to put Northeastern ahead, 31-24. However, two late free throws by Banks capped a four-point run for the Seahawks that brought the score down to 37-32 with a period to play.
 
On cue, Genco struck gold for Northeastern with her fourth-quarter opening 3-pointer, while Lassiter found another layup to fall, giving NU a 10-point cushion just outside of eight minutes remaining. The Huskies upped their edge to as high as 12 during the final quarter and coasted to the finish line, winning by eight.
 
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Northeastern will host Elon at Cabot Center on Friday, Jan. 27, at 7 p.m.