Game Information: Northeastern (0-2) vs. Fairfield (0-2)
When	Friday, Nov. 17  |  7 p.m.
Where	Boston, Mass.  |  Cabot Center  |  Directions
Broadcast & Statistics	Stats  |  Video
Media Guide	2017-18 Northeastern Women's Basketball
Game Notes	Northeastern (PDF)
Social Media	Facebook: GoNUwbasketball Twitter: @GoNUwbasketball Instagram: GoNUwbasketball Use GoNU and RedBlackOnePack

BOSTON – In search of earning its first victory of the young season, the Northeastern women's basketball team will play the middle game of its three-game home stand on Friday, Nov. 17, when NU entertains Fairfield at Cabot Center during a 7 p.m. non-conference showdown. The Huskies and the Stags will be resuming their all-time series after a 14-year hiatus, dating back to Northeastern's 68-58 victory against Fairfield on Nov. 26, 2003.
 
FAMILY & ALUMNAE WEEKEND
Visit GoNU.com/WBBbowling2017 to register.
 
The Northeastern women's basketball team is inviting all families and alumni to join the Huskies during a special and fun-filled weekend on campus:
 
• Friday, Nov. 17: Beginning at 6:30 p.m., Northeastern women's basketball alumnae and families of current and former players are encouraged to gather in Cabot Center prior to the Huskies' 7 p.m. tipoff against Fairfield. Following the game, all are welcome to join the team at UNO's Bar and Grill at 280 Huntington Avenue to partake in a meet and greet, during which 20 percent of all checks will benefit the Huskies' fundraising initiative.
 
• Saturday, Nov. 18: All are invited to Cabot Center at 10:30 a.m. to watch the Huskies' open practice. From there, the action transitions to Sacco's Bowl Haven/Flatbread Company in Somerville, Massachusetts, where all are welcome to bowl with the Huskies from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. during the program's annual fundraiser.
 
• Sunday, Nov. 19: All women's basketball alumnae in attendance will be recognized during a special halftime ceremony during the Huskies' 2 p.m. game against Marist at Cabot Center.
 
ALL-TIME AGAINST FAIRFIELD
 
Although the Huskies and the Stags will enter Friday's game deadlocked at 5-5 in the all-time series, Northeastern does hold a 3-2 advantage against Fairfield when the two teams have played in Boston. NU will ride a two-game winning streak against the Stags into Friday's tipoff.
 
SCOUTING FAIRFIELD
 
Like Northeastern, Fairfield has also gone winless during its first two games of the 2017-18 season, losing its season opener, 72-67, at home to Richmond (Nov. 10), before experiencing a 10-point loss at William & Mary, 57-47 (Nov. 14). Redshirt-senior Samantha Cooper leads the Stags with 34 points so far, while redshirt-junior forward Khadidiatou Diouf and sophomore guard Sam Kramer are also averaging their scoring in double figures. Junior guard Casey Foley is one of three Fairfield players that is averaging more than 35 minutes of court time through the Stags' opening set.
 
HOT HANDS
 
Five players have combined to produce all but seven of the Huskies' 168 points through the team's first two games of the 2017-18 season. NU rookie guard Stella Clark followed her 16-point performance on opening night (Nov. 10) with a career high, 28-point showing against Providence on Nov. 14 and enters Friday with the team's scoring lead. Claudia Ortiz, Jess Genco, and Shannon Todd have each opened the season with consecutive double-digit scoring games, while Gabby Giacone dropped 20 points against the Friars courtesy of her eight-of-20 night from the floor.
 
BEHIND THE ARC
 
Northeastern leads the CAA in 3-point field goal percentage heading into the second weekend of the regular season. The Huskies are collectively shooting 39.2 percent from behind the arc. Stella Clark (eight-of-15) is shooting above 50 percent from long range, while Jess Genco has six 3-point makes to trail Clark for the team lead.   
 
PARTY LIKE IT'S '95
 
The Huskies' 95 total points against Providence on Nov. 14 are the most Northeastern has accumulated under Kelly Cole's tenure as head coach. NU last raised the bar in this category at the tail end of the 2016-17 season (Feb. 24), when the Huskies defeated College of Charleston, 86-75, at TD Arena.
 
LAST TIME OUT
 
Northeastern (0-2) dominated Providence (1-1) during the opening three quarters of the two team's Nov. 14 game at Cabot Center as the Huskies carried a 65-50 lead into the fourth quarter, where they boosted it to 71-51 with 9:09 remaining. However, the Friars relentlessly chipped away at Northeastern's lead down the stretch, closing the margin to a single possession with 2:10 to go and later taking the lead during the final minute of regulation. NU trailed Providence, 85-82, during the Huskies' last trip down the floor, which resulted in Stella Clark sinking the game-tying 3-pointer from the right wing. Northeastern held its final lead during overtime at 93-91, but the Friars' Jovana Nogic scored the eventual game-winning layup with three seconds to play as Providence went on to earn the 98-95 result.
 
HUSKIES SIGN THREE TO NLIs
 
Three student-athletes have joined the Huskies' 2018 recruiting class by signing National Letters of Intent to play at Northeastern: Kendall Currence (Falmouth, Mass.), Alexis Hill (Lebanon, Pa.), and Katie May (Rydal, Pa.). Among the class' accolades, Currence is a five-foot-seven guard a three-time Most Valuable Player of the MIAA (Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association), Hill is the 2017 Pennsylvania Class A State Player of the Year, and May is a 2016-17 First Team All-State Class 5A and Philadelphia All-Catholic League selection.
 
CLARK: CAA ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
 
Leading the Huskies' bench with 16 points and the entire squad with five assists during her collegiate debut on Nov. 10 against Boston University, freshman Stella Clark was named CAA Rookie of the Week on Monday. Upon reentering the game with 5:49 remaining in the third quarter, she factored in on nine of Northeastern's final 15 field goals, scoring the entirety of her 16 points, dropping 10 during the fourth quarter alone. Clark is the first Northeastern player to be named CAA Rookie of the Week since the 2015-16 season, when Jess Genco and Gabby Giaconecombined to win the weekly honor four times (thrice and once, respectively). She is also joins Giacone as the second NU freshman during the last three seasons to receive the accolade during the week of her collegiate debut, which coincidentally for Giacone, consisted of a double-digit scoring effort against Boston University (14 points).
 
KEEPING IT IN-STATE
 
Northeastern will spend the duration of November within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, despite opposing only two Massachusetts-based programs. After opening the regular season against Boston University, the Huskies will return home to host Providence (Tuesday, Nov. 14), Fairfield (Friday, Nov. 17), and Marist (Sunday, Nov. 19) at Cabot Center. NU will then travel to Amherst to compete in the UMass Thanksgiving Challenge, which will pit the Huskies against Massachusetts (Friday, Nov. 24), and Houston (Saturday, Nov. 25).
 
RETURNING FOR THE HUSKIES
 
NU retains 83 percent of its total minutes and 77 percent of its offensive production from the 2016-17 season, including four prominent starters (Jess Genco, Gabby Giacone, Claudia Ortiz, and Shannon Todd). Loren Lassiter, who appeared during each of the Huskies' 31 games last year, is projected to transition from the role of the team's sixth woman into the starting rotation following the graduation of Francesca Sally.
 
ORTIZ, GENCO BOTH PRESEASON ALL-CAA
 
Northeastern's Claudia Ortiz and Jess Genco both received preseason all-conference consideration, as announced on Oct. 19 during the CAA Women's Basketball Digital Media Day Show.
 
Ortiz was Northeastern's leading scorer during the 2016-17 campaign, averaging 13.0 points per game during her junior season, including a 15.8 clip during CAA games. A sharpshooter from every location, the five-foot-eight guard from Carolina, Puerto Rico, ranked fourth in the conference in both 3-point shooting percentage (39.7) and free throw percentage (80.4) – the latter in which she also ranked among the top 100 NCAA Division I players. By season's end, she had posted 22 double-digit scoring games and five 20-point scoring games, including a career high, 29-point effort on Feb. 26 against UNCW.
 
As a sophomore, Genco led all Division I players in minutes per game (38.71) during the 2016-17 season, averaging just shy of 10 points per game (9.8) while ranking fourth in the CAA in assists per game (4.2). Improving her ball control, the five-foot-five point guard elevated her assist-to-turnover ratio from 1.15 during her rookie campaign (2015-16) to 1.43 last season, positioning herself among the top seven guards in the conference. Genco's 3-point shot was also as lethal as Ortiz's last year, if not more so, considering that the duo ranked first (58) and second (48) on the squad in 3-point field goals, respectively.
 
HUSKIES PICKED SIXTH 
 
Northeastern was projected to finish sixth in the final CAA standings, according to the conference's preseason predicted order of finish that was voted on by the league's head coaches (Oct. 19). The Huskies' sixth-place finish matches where NU has ended the conference regular season in during its past two runs through the CAA season, which yielded two automatic berths into the league quarterfinals, off which Northeastern advanced to the semifinals in 2016.
 
UP NEXT
 
Northeastern will close out the weekend at home on Sunday, Nov. 19, when NU welcomes Marist to Cabot Center. Tipoff between the Huskies and the Red Foxes is scheduled for 2 p.m.