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TOWSON, Md. – Backed by Claudia Ortiz's 18 points and Gabby Giacone's eighth career double-double, the Northeastern women's basketball team defeated Towson, 70-61, on Friday night at SECU Arena, successfully fending off the Tigers during the middle and late stages of the fourth quarter.
 
Jess Genco and Shannon Todd's back-to-back 3-pointers within the final two minutes of regulation sealed the victory for Northeastern (6-6, 1-0 CAA) after both teams had played to six tied scores with neither side gaining a double-digit lead throughout the contest.
 
Ortiz scored 12 of her team high, 18 points, during the first half in addition to registering eight rebounds, five assists, and a steal. Giacone contributed 15 points and 10 rebounds to finish with her third double-double of the 2017-18 season, also co-leading the Huskies in steals (three) alongside Todd.
 
Northeastern's six 3-point field goals on Friday are tied for the fewest the Huskies have hit during a winning effort this season (Nov. 17 against Fairfield), despite NU entering the day with the league lead in 3-point field goals per game (9.5). Genco drilled three 3-point jumpers, finishing with 13 points and seven assists, while Todd hit two perimeter shots to go with 12 points, seven rebounds, and three assists.
 
Jasmine Braswell played a season and career high, 19 minutes, scoring five points and equaling her personal rebounding best (six). Stella Clark added six points, four rebounds, and two assists during her return to the Huskies' rotation.
 
Towson (5-7, 0-1 CAA) received a pair of double-doubles out of Mary Cuevas (23 points, 10 rebounds) and Nukiya Mayo (10 points, 10 rebounds), while Raine Bankston contributed 12 points as well. Mayo accounted for four of the Tigers' 16 steals.
 
NU improved to 4-1 this season when shooting 40 percent or better from the field (46 percent). Contrastingly, the Tigers collectively shot 33 percent in the same category.

Defensively, Northeastern combined to draw five offensive fouls on Towson, despite the Tigers narrowly sporting a +1 turnover advantage (20 against the Huskies' 21).
 
Northeastern extended its head-to-head winning streak against Towson to four consecutive games. The Huskies' victory also evened the all-time series against the Tigers at 18-18.
 
FIRST QUARTER
 
Towson took command of the game's opening minutes, charging out to an 8-2 lead, which merited the response of a Northeastern called timeout at the 7:20 mark. Danielle Durjan accounted for each of the Tigers' first six points courtesy of three field goals, while the Huskies managed to miss six straight shots from the field after Gabby Giacone had first put NU on the scoreboard.
 
Although Towson struck again out of the Huskies' timeout to take a 10-2 advantage, Northeastern responded with a 13-3 scoring run during the next four minutes and change to grab its first lead. Claudia Ortiz's acrobatic three-point play against Jalynn Holmes lowered Towson's lead to 13-10 with 4:13 remaining, while Jasmine Braswell's one-for-two trip at the foul line knotted the game at 13-13 with 2:37 to go. Jess Genco completed the Huskies' five-for-seven quarter at the free throw line to allow NU to slide in front, 15-13, with just outside of two minutes to play. Ortiz scored seven of her 18 points during the period. 
 
SECOND QUARTER
 
Genco set the tone for Northeastern's second quarter early, drawing a charge on Etalyia Vogt before triggering the Huskies' first 3-pointer of the night to give NU a 22-16 lead with 6:57 remaining in the half. Mariah Gray mimicked Genco's 3-pointer to halve the Huskies' advantage, while Mary Cuevas erased the rest of the deficit by exercising a three-point play at the expense of Loren Lassiter. Genco and Ortiz knocked down back-to-back jumpers to put Northeastern back in front, 26-22, but Nukiya Mayo and Cuevas nearly made up the four-point ground at the foul line, where Towson combined to shoot six-for-nine during the quarter. Daijha Thomas knotted the game at 27-27 with 1:54 to play, but the Tigers failed to cover Ortiz down the floor as NU quickly regained a 29-27 edge. With Braswell unguarded in the lane, Todd and Ortiz fed matching passes to the Northeastern forward, who scored during two straight possessions to lift NU to a 33-28 halftime lead.
 
THIRD QUARTER
 
In the wake of shooting 46 percent from the field during the first half, Genco popped a 3-point ball to distance the Huskies by six points, 36-30, at the start of the quarter. However, Towson was soon able to turn the momentum in its direction, spurring a 10-2 run during the next two and a half minutes to gain a 40-38 advantage with 6:53 remaining. With the Huskies trailing by three, Stella Clark successfully earned a charge against Vogt, prompting Todd to tie the game at 42-42 with a clutch 3-point jumper. Ortiz kept the Huskies' 3-point magic alive between the 4:59 and 4:34 media timeouts, banking in her attempt to even the game for the sixth time at 45-45. Clark and Todd netted a pair of transition buckets to cap a 7-0 scoring run for Northeastern, which later carried a 49-47 lead into the final quarter.
 
FOURTH QUARTER
 
Northeastern crept into foul trouble as the fourth quarter began. Lassiter picked up her fourth personal foul with 8:41 remaining, allowing Braswell to reenter the game. However, Braswell would soon earn her fourth personal foul as well, later fouling out with 6:04 left in regulation. Mayo's jumper with 5:39 to play reduced the Huskies' lead to one point (55-54), but Northeastern answered with a 7-0 scoring run, triggered by Ortiz's nifty pass to Giacone followed by the senior's own flashy layup. Back-to-back baskets by Raine Bankston and Cuevas pulled the Tigers to within one possession again at 62-59 with 2:10 to go, but 3-pointers by Genco and Todd during the final minutes, sandwiched around a block by Giacone, allowed the Huskies to pedal out to a 68-59 lead and 70-61 victory.
 
UP NEXT
 
Northeastern will close out the calendar year at Cabot Center on Sunday, Dec. 31, when the Huskies welcome the CAA preseason favorite, James Madison, to town for a 1 p.m., New Year's Eve matinee. NU will be making its first appearance at Cabot Center in exactly six weeks (Nov. 19), when the Huskies capped a 2-0 weekend at home by defeating Marist, 78-72.