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BOSTON – Stuffing the stat sheets with a pair of career-high scoring outings, Claudia Ortiz and Maureen Taggart together helped lift the Northeastern women's basketball team to its fourth straight victory on Friday night at Cabot Center as the Huskies held off Towson late to claim the 72-64 win.
 
Ortiz and Taggart were the only two players on either side to reach the 20-point threshold as the pair of NU juniors finished with 27 and 20 points, respectively. Both players boasted identical, four-of-eight shooting clips from downtown and made habits of going to the free-throw line, where they combined to knock down 19 of their 20 attempts. Ortiz also added a career high, 11 rebounds, to her final 38-minute stat line, earning her third career double-double.
 
Following Friday's results around the CAA, Northeastern (6-8, 2-0 CAA) now stands as one of only three undefeated women's programs in the conference, sharing first place with Elon and James Madison. The Huskies' victory was also their ninth during the team's last 11 regular-season league games, dating back to Feb. 5, 2016.
 
Jess Genco remained on court without substitution for the fourth consecutive game, dialing up eight points, five assists, three rebounds, and three steals. Genco propelled NU into the locker rooms at halftime with a 3-point heave from inside the midcourt line, awarding the Huskies a 29-22 lead. Fellow sophomore Gabby Giacone tied Ortiz for the team rebounding lead, bringing down 11 while finishing two points shy of her sixth career double-double.
 
Francesca Sally chipped in seven points, collected seven rebounds, and blocked two shots, despite fouling out with 2:42 remaining in the fourth quarter. Ayanna Dublin contributed a field goal as well during the first half, rounding out the Huskies' scoring.
 
Although Towson (7-6, 0-2 CAA) held the upper hand against Northeastern in rebounding (50-47), turnovers (+3), and points in the paint (30-16), the Tigers struggled defending the Huskies around the perimeter. NU entered the final two minutes of the fourth quarter carrying an 11-1 advantage in made 3-point field goals, while closing the night with a +10 edge at the free-throw line, 23-13.
 
Raven Bankston, who began the day ranked second in the league in scoring, led Towson with 18 points, despite being limited by Northeastern to just six-of-24 shooting – her lowest single-game field goal percentage of the 2016-17 season. Nukiya Mayo joined Bankston in double-figures with 10 points, hitting two of the Tigers' three 3-point jumpers.
 
UP NEXT
 
Northeastern will stay home in Boston this weekend and welcome Drexel to Cabot Center on Sunday, Jan. 8, for a 2 p.m. tip. The Huskies and the Dragons will be competing in a rematch of the 2016 CAA semifinals, won by Drexel, 58-45.