NEWARK, Del. – Derin Erdogan tallied a team-high 15 points, and the Northeastern women's basketball team (7-9, 3-3 CAA) used a big first half to take down the Delaware Blue Hens (6-12, 2-4 CAA), 73-66, on Friday evening at the Bob Carpenter Center.
 
Erdogan had a strong night, tallying nine of her points and five of her assists in the first half. The senior finished the contest with seven assists and three steals. Northeastern also had double-digit performances from Deja Bristol (14 points, five rebounds), Gemima Motema (13 points), and Yirsy Queliz (10 points).
 
As a team, Northeastern shot 56.3% overall (27-of-48), 50% (7-of-14) from three, and outscored the Blue Hens 46-27 in the first half.
 
Delaware shot 46.2% overall (24-of-52), 25% (4-of-16) from three, and were led by Ande'a Cherisier with 14 points.
 
After Delaware tallied the first bucket of the game, the Huskies' offense took off, making four of their first seven field goals. Bristol got an 8-0 run started with five of her own points, and then Erdogan topped it off with a three to balloon the lead to 11-4 at the 6:06 mark. The Blue Hens went on a 4-0 run to trim the deficit to 11-8, but a jumper by Marian Turnbull gave the momentum back to the Huskies. NU closed the frame with six straight points, capped off by a three from Maddie Vizza, and took a 22-11 advantage into the second. Northeastern shot 61.5% overall (8-of-13) and 75% (3-of-4) from beyond the arc in the stanza.
 
Bristol continued to be strong in the second, tallying another layup at the 8:29 mark to push the lead back up to double-digits at 24-14. Motema also paced the Huskies in the frame, playing her first game since December 22, tallying six points to propel NU to a 34-21 advantage. Northeastern dominated from beyond the arc down the stretch, making four straight threes, highlighted by a shot from Queliz with the shot clock winding down, and took a commanding 46-27 lead into halftime. NU shot a blistering 66.7% overall (10-of-15) in the frame, and 50% (4-of-8) from three.
 
Northeastern continued to roll in the third, with Jaelyn Batts making two straight baskets to extend the advantage to 52-33 at the 6:10 mark. Both teams traded baskets for the majority of the frame, but NU went on a 7-0 run with under four minutes to go, and led 63-40 going into the fourth.
 
Delaware got off to a quick start in the fourth, outscoring the Huskies 6-2 through the first few minutes to trim the deficit to 65-46. The Blue Hens continued to push the pace, cutting the advantage to 65-57 at the 5:27 mark. Erdogan ended the scoring by the hosts with a three-point play, and Batts tallied a layup with 1:26 to go to put the game out of reach for good.
 
Northeastern will host Campbell in its National Girls & Women in Sports Day Game on Sunday, January 28. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. on NESN & FloHoops.
 
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