Box Score | Season Statistics | Infographic | Highlights | Post-game Interview

BOSTON – With balanced scoring, relentless defense, and a trio of strong outings from its junior class, the Northeastern women's basketball team prevailed for the second straight time at Cabot Center as the Huskies outhustled Delaware to earn the 50-41 victory on Friday night.
 
NU juniors Loren Lassiter, Claudia Ortiz, and Maureen Taggart stole the show for Northeastern (9-17, 5-9 CAA), combining for exactly half of the Huskies' 40 rebounds and more than half of the team's points (29).
 
Claudia Ortiz paced Northeastern in scoring for the eighth time during the Huskies' last 10 games, totaling 14 points while recording five boards, three assists, and three steals. Lassiter and Taggart ended the evening as Northeastern's top two rebounders, hounding the glass to the tune of eight and seven rebounds, respectively.
 
Sophomore point guard Jess Genco cruised to 10 points, five boards, three assists, and two steals, reaching the 40-minute threshold for the 12th time during the 2016-17 season. Francesca Sally posted seven points, while Gabby Giacone rounded out the Huskies' scorers with four points.
 
With the victory, Northeastern improved its conference record to 5-9, raising the Huskies into a two-way tie with UNCW (4-10 CAA) for the No. 6 seed in the looming CAA tournament with four games remaining in the regular season. Despite NU holding the better league record than the Seahawks, the CAA declared on Feb. 2 that UNCW would be awarded a reversed result to its Jan. 8 game against College of Charleston. The top six seeds in the CAA tournament will enter the event in the quarterfinal round.
 
Delaware (14-11, 8-6 CAA) experienced one of its more dismal shooting displays of the season, attaining its lowest field goal percentage (26.8) since Jan. 13. Erika Brown and Makeda Nicholas shared the team lead with 11 points apiece – Nicholas earning a double-double courtesy of her 11 rebounds – while Nicole Enabosi finished with eight points, eight boards, and four assists.
 
Taggart's 3-pointer with 5:47 remaining in the first quarter broke a 4-4 tie and sent the Huskies in front for the first time during the game. Although the Blue Hens tossed five unanswered points on the board to slide ahead, 9-7, Lassiter leveled up the score at 9-9 courtesy of her first basket of the night. NU effectively kept Delaware scoreless for the final 3:25 of the first quarter, allowing Genco's 3-pointer during the final minute to give Northeastern a three-point cushion heading into the second.
 
The Huskies let their defensive hold on Delaware continue for more than six minutes before allowing the Blue Hens a field goal with seven minutes to go in the half. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Genco and Taggart lifted Northeastern to a 10-point advantage with 4:39 to go, sending the Blue Hens into a called timeout. NU matched its largest lead at 25-14 with 1:22 left, but a pair of 3-point baskets by Bailey Kargo reduced the halftime margin to only five, 25-20.
 
Despite limiting Delaware to five points and one made field goal during the third quarter, Northeastern too was only able to tally five points as the two teams entered the fourth quarter in a 30-25 game. With a 5-0 spurt, the Blue Hens tied the score at 30-30, but a 3-pointer by Ortiz helped spark an 11-0 run for the Huskies that blew the game open. Although Delaware would trim the lead down to as close as five, Northeastern hit seven of its final eight free throws to put the game on ice.
 
UP NEXT

Northeastern will travel to Towson on Sunday, Feb. 19, to begin a three-game CAA road trip. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.