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BOSTON – Requiring a win during Wednesday's regular-season finale to assure itself one of the top six seeds in the 2017 CAA tournament, the Northeastern women's basketball team came through with a 52-46, Senior Night victory against Hofstra as the Huskies clinched the league's No. 6 seed on their home floor.
 
Prior to tipoff, Northeastern saluted the two members of its 2017 senior class, Francesca Sally and Briana Schnare, who were both making their final career appearances at Cabot Center on Wednesday night. Schnare ascended into the Huskies' starting five for the first time during her three seasons on Huntington Avenue, while Sally maintained her role as the team's starting center.
 
As the No. 6 seed, Northeastern (12-18, 8-10 CAA) will oppose No. 3 Drexel during the quarterfinal round of the conference tournament on Thursday, March 9, at 7:30 p.m. The matchup, as well as the entire 2017 CAA tournament, will take place at James Madison's Convocation Center in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
 
Claudia Ortiz led the Huskies in scoring for the 11th time during the 18-game CAA season, shooting three-of-five from downtown while finishing with 14 points and six rebounds. Jess Genco posted a solid stat line of 12 points, two boards, four assists, and two steals, while Te'Erica Eason notched her first double-digit scoring game since her freshman season, totaling 10 points on five-of-eight shooting.
 
Northeastern head coach Kelly Cole did well balancing the playing time of her forwards, three of which tied for the team rebounding lead: Eason, Gabby Giacone, and Loren Lassiter. Five of Giacone's seven points came from the foul line, while Northeastern collectively shot 15-of-21 from the charity stripe.
 
Ashunae Durant double-doubled for Hofstra (12-17, 5-13 CAA) with 12 points and 15 rebounds. Krystal Luciano paced the Pride with 15 points, three assists, and two steals as Hofstra was relegated to the No. 9 seed during next week's conference tourney.
 
Both the Huskies and the Pride had trouble finding the bottom of the net during the first half. Ortiz rattled in seven points during the opening quarter, draining her first 3-point shot of the game during the first minute before Hofstra assembled a 13-4 scoring run. The Pride would later take a 14-7 lead on Olivia Askin's 3-point jumper with 3:53 to go. NU appeared to be trailing by seven going into the second quarter until Ortiz smartly drew a foul with eight tenths of a second remaining, burying two free throws to bring the score to 18-13.
 
Northeastern's defense took over during the second quarter as the Huskies blanked the Pride from the field (zero-for-10), surrendering one lone point to Hofstra: Durant's free throw with 7.5 seconds remaining. However, NU managed to go three-of-12 from the floor and three-of-six from the line, leaving the Huskies in front by only five points, 24-19, at the break.
 
Hofstra scored seven unanswered points to begin the second half, but Northeastern never trailed by more than one possession for the rest of the game. Eason nailed a fade-away jump shot with 3:08 left in the period the minute before Ortiz hit her third 3-pointer of the game to put NU in front, 32-28.
 
Content to defeat the Pride from the perimeter, Sally made the extra pass to find Genco open behind the arc with 5:23 to go during the fourth quarter, allowing the Huskies to regain the lead at 40-38. Northeastern would end up winning the game from the free-throw line, shooting eight-for-eight during the final 2:47 of regulation.