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BOSTON – Vying to hand first-place James Madison its second CAA defeat of the season, the Northeastern women's basketball team came close to achieving its mission on Friday, closing within four points of the Dukes during the final minutes despite receiving the 58-51 defeat at Cabot Center.
 
Northeastern (14-7, 4-6 CAA) trailed by as many as 16 points during the second half but kept James Madison (17-4, 9-1 CAA) within range as the fourth quarter progressed. After Jackie Benitez's 3-pointer had put JMU ahead, 50-36, with 6:29 remaining in regulation, the Huskies rattled off 10 unanswered points, bringing the home crowd to its feet with less than three minutes to go.
 
Shannon Todd's pump-fake layup trimmed the Dukes' lead to 52-48 within the final two minutes, although consecutive one-and-done trips for NU left the door open for the visitors to put the game out of reach.
 
Todd led Northeastern in scoring for the second consecutive game, totaling 12 points – 10 of which were earned during the second half. Ayanna Dublin sported 11 points and two rebounds while Jess Genco and Gabby Giacone both finished with nine points apiece.
 
Samantha Michel paced the Huskies on the glass, setting a new career high with six rebounds. As a team, NU limited James Madison to 39 rebounds – a tie for the fourth-lowest mark that JMU has logged this season.
 
Defensively, the Huskies became the second CAA program to keep the Dukes below the 60-point threshold this season.
 
Kamiah Smalls and Lexie Barrier contributed 13 points each to lead JMU with Barrier controlling the team rebounding high at seven boards. Benitez tallied 12 points off the bench for the Dukes.