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BOSTON – Riding freshman Stella Clark's 16-point second half, the Northeastern women's basketball team nearly overcame a double-digit deficit to defeat Boston University on Friday at Case Gym, despite being unable to find the winning shot on the game's final possession. 
 
Jess Genco and Claudia Ortiz – the Huskies' two preseason all-conference selections – kicked off the 2017-18 season with 18- and 17-point outings, respectively. Genco shot four-of-nine from behind the arc, while Ortiz converted on eight of her 10 field goal attempts, also hauling in five rebounds.
 
Clark came alive during the second half, scoring 10 of her 16 points during the fourth quarter to help lead Northeastern (0-1) back from a 60-49 deficit at the start of the period. Genco's fourth 3-pointer of the night brought NU within one possession of Boston University (1-0) at 74-71, but besides Shannon Todd's layup with 22 ticks remaining, the Huskies could not find the game-winning basket.
 
BU missed each of its final four free throws to potentially ice the game after going 10-of-12 from the line beforehand.
 
Loren Lassiter fought off four personal fouls to lead the Huskies with seven rebounds.
 
Payton Hauck (15 points), Sophie Beaudry (14), and Kara Sheftic (10) each finished in double figures for the Terriers. Katie Nelson shot three-of-three from downtown and paced BU with eight assists.
 
FIRST QUARTER

Northeastern began the game on a 4-0 run courtesy of Jess Genco's first-possession layup and Loren Lassiter's extra pass off her offensive rebound, which set up Shannon Todd for the jumper along the left baseline. After Boston University had knotted the game at 4-4, Todd and Genco broke the tie with back-to-back 3-pointers, with Genco's taking place well beyond the 3-point line.
 
NU was forced to dive into its bench early before the first media timeout after Lassiter had picked up her second team foul at the 5:51 mark. Claudia Ortiz cleaned up Stella Clark's missed 3-pointer with an uncontested layup to put the Huskies ahead, 14-9, moments before Genco drained her second 3-pointer of the quarter, presenting Northeastern with its largest lead of the quarter at eight points.
 
SECOND QUARTER

After a lackluster first quarter, Boston University came to life early during the second, scoring eight unanswered points to jump in front by three, 20-17. Ortiz silenced the run with a corner 3-pointer to tie the game with 7:22 left in the half, later evening the game at 22-22 before the Terriers closed the period on a 10-5 run to carry a 32-27 lead into halftime.
 
THIRD QUARTER

Despite accumulating three personal fouls, Lassiter injected life into the Huskies' cause at the start of the second half, drawing an and-one off Kara Sheftic. However, Lassiter ended up drawing her fourth personal foul two minutes into the period, forcing Northeastern to exercise its bench sooner than expected. Jasmine Braswell answered the call and earned the friendly bounce with 6:47 to play, one possession before Ortiz found Giacone in the paint to tie the game at 35-35.
 
BU exited its called timeout at the 5:49 mark with an 8-2 run, benefiting from Katie Nelson's back-to-back 3-pointers. Tenisha Pressley tacked on another 3-point basket to push the Terriers' lead to 46-39, with 4:09 left. Ortiz's and-one call helped reduce the Huskies' deficit to four points, but BU would soon counter with a 12-4 run and take an 11-point advantage into the final quarter.
 
FOURTH QUARTER

Backed by Clark's 10 points during the fourth quarter, Northeastern steadily whittled away at the Terriers' double-digit lead. Clark's transition layup from Todd cut the Huskies' deficit back to single digits, while Genco's 3-pointer with 6:42 to play prompted a 7-0 run for Northeastern that took place during the game's next four minutes. NU came within two points of BU upon Clark burying a 3-pointer with 2:57 remaining in regulation, but BU managed to sneak layups between the Huskies' missed 3-point tries, building a 74-67 lead with 1:31 left to play. NU would score the final six points of the game and held the ball during the final 21 seconds of the quarter, but came up empty on its final possession.
 
UP NEXT
 
Northeastern will return to Cabot Center to begin a three-game home stand. The Huskies will open their home calendar on Tuesday, Nov. 14, when NU hosts Providence at 7 p.m.