Box Score | Season Statistics | Infographic

AMHERST, Mass. – Compiling a 27-6 scoring run to begin the second half during Friday's opening game of the 2017 UMass Thanksgiving Classic, the Northeastern women's basketball team overcame a one-point halftime deficit against Massachusetts and sprinted to the 64-54 victory at Mullins Center, collecting its third straight win in the process.
 
Jess Genco led Northeastern (3-2) with 18 points, four assists, and three steals, in addition to accounting for four of the Huskies' nine 3-point field goals. Stella Clark contributed 16 points during 31 minutes of play off the bench, while Shannon Todd paired 13 points with six rebounds, three assists, and a steal.
 
Gabby Giacone gathered a team high, seven rebounds, to go with her eight points and a block, while Claudia Ortiz totaled six rebounds, four assists, and two steals, earning each of her six points from the free throw line.
 
NU trailed Massachusetts (2-3) by one, 34-33, at halftime, but limited the Minutewomen to only one field goal during the opening 13 minutes and 24 seconds of the second half. Maggie Mulligan gave the tournament hosts a 36-33 lead at the 9:13 mark of the third quarter before the Huskies piled on 15 unanswered points en route to claiming a 12-point advantage, which Northeastern later built to as high as 20.
 
Hailey Leidel led UMass with 17 points and two steals, while Paige McCormick finished behind her in scoring with 11 points. Mulligan recorded eight points, eight rebounds, five assists, two blocks, and a steal. Genesis Rivera also registered seven points, seven rebounds, and three steals for the Minutewomen.
 
Friday marked Northeastern's fourth consecutive victory against Massachusetts and leveled the all-time series at 16-16.
 
FIRST QUARTER
 
Maggie Mulligan contributed the first four points of the Minutewomen's opening, 6-0 run, which sent Northeastern into a called timeout less than three minutes into the game. Stella Clark put the Huskies on the scoreboard with 6:47 to play, but Massachusetts' Hailey Leidel responded immediately with her first of five 3-pointers on the afternoon, putting the tournament hosts in front, 9-2. Claudia Ortiz helped NU work its way back into the ballgame, drawing two shooting fouls on the Minutewomen and converting on each of her four free throw attempts to bring the Huskies within a point at 11-10 with 3:07 to play. Leidel answered with consecutive 3-point field goals on each of UMass' next two possessions, raising her team's lead to 17-10, where it would stay until the final minute of the quarter. Shannon Todd and Jessica George closed the period with alternating 3-point jumpers, leaving the Huskies behind by seven, 20-13, at the whistle.
 
SECOND QUARTER
 
After shooting less than 30 percent from the field during the first quarter, Northeastern found its groove, scoring on seven of its final 15 attempts. Genco opened the second quarter scoring with a 3-pointer from the top of the key, triggering an 8-0 run for the Huskies that brought NU its first lead of the game at 21-20. Northeastern and Massachusetts traded baskets during the middle stretch of the quarter; Genco tied the game at 25-25 with 3:07 remaining in the half, while Gabby Giacone matched Paige McCormick's two free throws at the foul line, evening the game again at 27-27. Genco and Todd unloaded back-to-back 3-pointers to send the Huskies in front, 33-29, with 1:32 to go, but UMass scored the final five points of the half, benefiting from Allesch's 3-pointer during the closing seconds that put the home team ahead by one, 34-33, heading into the break.
 
THIRD QUARTER
 
Despite Mulligan rolling in a layup to extend Massachusetts' lead to 36-33 during the opening minute, Northeastern responded with an all-out blitz on both sides of the floor. Genco tied the game for the last time at 36-36 with her third 3-point make, sparking a 15-0 run for the Huskies that was capped by one of Clark's long-distance heaves. Northeastern's defense forced UMass into committing seven turnovers while the Huskies limited the Minutewomen to only four points – two of which came at the free throw line during the final minute courtesy of Genesis Rivera. Leidel, Massachusetts' leading scorer, was sent to the bench with her fourth personal foul at the 4:27 mark.
 
FOURTH QUARTER
 
With a 48-38 lead in hand, Northeastern continued to pile on the points. Giacone initiated a 9-0 run for the Huskies – the final five points of which were scored by Genco – that widened their lead to 57-38 with 7:35 to play. Paige McCormick went two-for-two at the foul line to put UMass on the scoreboard, but Clark buried another 3-point jumper to extend the Huskies' advantage to 20 points (60-40) with 6:36 to go. UMass did not go away quietly, prompting a string of 10 straight points to halve Northeastern's lead at 60-50 with 3:39 remaining. With less than three minutes to play, Shannon Todd stifled the Minutewomen's run with a jumper, while the Huskies were able to reclaim their 12-point margin again on another of Clark's jumpers in the paint. Autumn Giles hit two free throws to lower the score back to 10 points with 1:25 to play, but Massachusetts elected not to prolong the game by fouling as NU closed out the 64-54 victory.
 
UP NEXT
 
Northeastern will play its second and final game at the 2017 UMass Thanksgiving Classic on Saturday, Nov. 25, against Houston. Tipoff between the Huskies and the Cougars is scheduled for 11 a.m.