BOSTON – Derin Erdogan tallied a team-high 25 points, and
Deja Bristol tallied clutch free throws to give the Northeastern women's basketball team (9-16, 5-11 CAA) the lead for good as the Huskies got back to their winning ways with a 64-60 victory over the Hampton Lady Pirates (3-23, 3-13 CAA) on Sunday afternoon at the Cabot Center.
Prior to the contest the Huskies honored five seniors for their contributions to the program during their time at Northeastern:
Jaelyn Batts,
Derin Erdogan,
Maddie Vizza,
Deja Bristol and
Halle Idowu.
Erdogan was the leader in points, and the Huskies also had double-digit performances from
Sophia Carlisle (career-high 12 points and nine rebounds), and
Maddie Vizza (10 points). It was a full team effort for Northeastern though, as all six players for NU tallied at least two buckets.
After Erdogan tallied a three to knot the contest up at three, the Lady Pirates' offense took off, outscoring the Huskies 12-2 to balloon their lead to 15-5 at the 4:34 mark. Hampton shot 66.7% (6-of-9) in the frame to take a 17-10 lead into the second.
The Lady Pirates continued to roll in the second, taking their largest advantage of the game at 25-14 after a three at the 7:13 mark. Both teams traded baskets for the majority of the frame, but the Huskies fought back. With two threes to go to reach 100 for her career, Vizza notched the milestone with 45 seconds to go in the stanza to trim the deficit to 32-26. Erdogan followed with a layup, but NU trailed by four (32-28) at halftime.
The Huskies continued to steadily close the gap in the third quarter, this time keyed by their three-point shooting. Each of the four Husky guards sank their lone three-point try in the quarter, but Hampton held on behind strong shooting from Le'Asia Foreman, who tallied a team-high six points in the frame, and clung to a one-point lead (51-50) going into the fourth. NU shot 58.3% overall (7-of-12) overall, and a perfect 100% (4-of-4) from deep in the stanza.
In the final quarter, both teams stood tall on defense, with crucial free throws becoming the difference. After Erdogan tallied another three to give NU a 60-57 lead at the 3:32 mark, Hampton responded back with a three-point play to knot the game up. Bristol was fouled 18 seconds later, and knocked down both of her free throws to give Northeastern the advantage for good in the win.
The Huskies will close out the regular season on the road at William & Mary (March 7), and Towson (March 9).
