BOSTON, Mass. -- Junior guard Yirsy Quéliz scored a team-high 13 points, but the Northeastern women's basketball team (5-10, 1-4 CAA) fell to the Campbell Fighting Camels (11-7, 4-1) 61-51 at Cabot Center on Friday night.
The Huskies struggled to find offensive rhythm against Campbell's nationally-ranked defense (56.4 PPG, 30th in NCAA), shooting just 37.5 percent from the field and 30.8 percent from three-point range. Northeastern's 51 points marked a season-low and fell 12 points below its season average against a Campbell squad that leads the CAA in scoring defense.
Quéliz paced the Huskies with 13 points on 4-of-13 shooting, adding two made three-pointers in a fourth-quarter push that briefly cut the deficit to five. Morgan Matthews provided a spark off the bench with nine points on a perfect 4-for-4 shooting to go along with three rebounds and three steals. Alyssa Staten grabbed a team-high seven rebounds and chipped in six points, while Nariyah Simmons added seven points and two assists.
The teams played to a 12-12 tie after the first quarter before Campbell began to pull away. The Fighting Camels outscored Northeastern 15-11 in the second period to take a 27-23 halftime advantage.
Campbell opened the second half on a 9-0 run, extending its lead to 36-23 before Northeastern could respond. The Fighting Camels built their largest lead of 14 points at the 3:27 mark of the third quarter, taking a 46-32 advantage into the final period.
Northeastern mounted a fourth-quarter rally, trimming the deficit to 54-49 on a Quéliz three-pointer with 2:55 remaining. However, the Huskies managed just two points the rest of the way as Campbell closed out the victory.
Turnovers plagued both sides in the contest, with Campbell cashing in 21 NU turnovers for 18 points, while the Huskies got 19 points off of Campbell's 18 miscues. The Fighting Camels dominated in the paint, outscoring Northeastern 34-24 in that category.
Freshman guard Jasmine Nivar led all scorers with 16 points for Campbell, while senior Gianni Boone added 11 points and five assists on 5-of-9 shooting.
The Huskies return to action on Sunday when they travel to Hofstra for a 2 p.m. tipoff on FloCollege.
