Freshman Bolden Brace tallied his first career double-double in Northeastern’s 80-72 victory over Maine on Sunday (Image Credit: Northeastern Athetics).
By: Jacob Sauberman
It was a week of highs and lows for the Northeastern Huskies men’s basketball team, shocking one team before collapsing twice and ending the week with a victory, leaving the team at 3-2 on the young season.
Nov. 14 – The Huskies stunned the University of Connecticut in enemy territory in a nail-biter, 64-61. Point guard TJ Williams dropped 20 points and 6 assists, while Donell Gresham hit a trio of threes en route to 13 points. Forward Alex Murphy cleaned up the glass, recording 15 rebounds despite 6 turnovers. One of those turnovers almost cost Northeastern the win, as he passed the ball into the hands of UConn with 11 seconds to go, giving them a chance at the game-tying three, which missed.
Nov. 18 – Northeastern lost a close game at Boston University, 63-65. TJ Williams had another big night, shooting 7-12 from the field and scoring 24 points. They had a 12-point lead deep into the second period, but the Terriers stormed back to win at the end. The difference in this game was free throw shooting, as NU struggled to a 63% clip from the line – crucial in a tight game.
Nov. 19 – NU dropped their second game in as many nights on Saturday, losing to LIU Brooklyn by a score of 74-78. It was another case of a second period collapse, as the Huskies were outscored 48-34 and shot just 35.29% from the field. Northeastern enjoyed a more even distribution of scoring in this one, with four players reaching double digits.
Nov. 20 – The Huskies managed to end the week with a victory, taking down Maine, 80-72. After back-to-back late game collapses, their first half lead of 37-36 was extended after a 43-36 second half that saw Northeastern shoot 52.4% from the field and 41.7% from beyond the arc. TJ Williams (26 points, 10 assists) and freshman Bolden Brace (10 points, 10 rebounds) recorded double-doubles, and the Huskies improved to 3-2.
Northeastern will look to gain some consistency when they take on Kent State on the 27th at the friendly confines of Matthews Arena.
Women’s Basketball
Nov. 18 – The women’s basketball team suffered a big loss at the hands of Saint Mary’s, dropping the game 77-53. Francesca Sally led the way with 22 points on efficient 10-16 shooting, but no other Husky managed to shoot over 50%. That inefficiency led to a dismal 34.4% shooting on the game, making it easy for Saint Mary’s to roll to the victory.
Nov. 20 – Quinnipiac didn’t bode any better for Northeastern, as they lost by a wide margin of 76-59. The team started out the game 2-11 from the field, digging themselves a deep hole. They showed an admirable effort in attempting to climb out, shooting 40% over the next three quarters, but it wasn’t enough to take down the 4-0 Bobcats. The Huskies finished the week sitting at 2-2.
Women’s basketball has a busy travel week ahead, as they venture down to Mexico to play three consecutive games starting on the 24th against Stanford, Purdue, and Wichita State.
Men’s Ice Hockey
Nov. 18 – Northeastern men’s hockey recorded their first win against a Hockey East opponent of the season, defeating Providence College, 5-4. The Huskies got off to a quick start, taking a 3-0 lead in the second period on goals by Jeremy Davies, Patrick Schule, and Zach Aston-Reese.
That lead was increased to 5-1 before Providence began a furious comeback, scoring 3 straight goals in the last 13 minutes of play. An easy win became a nail-biter, but the Huskies prevailed nonetheless.
Nov.19 – Back in Providence, Northeastern fell on the wrong side of the same score as the previous night, dropping the game, 4-5. This time, it was the Huskies who fell behind early, taking a 0-2 deficit into the second half of the first period. They would tie it up at 3 on a power play goal by Adam Gaudette, part of a second period that saw a whopping five total goals.
A late power play goal from Dylan Sikura was too little, too late, as Providence held on to the one-goal victory, bringing the Huskies down to a 4-5-4 record, and just 1-4-2 in Hockey East play. Northeastern will try to recoup on November 25th when they take on Minnesota at Matthews Arena.
Women’s Ice Hockey
Nov. 18 – Northeastern women’s hockey took on the University of Vermont on Friday, playing them to a 3-3 draw that went to OT. The Huskies showed great resilience in this one, eliminating a 1-3 deficit in the third period with two late goals by Hayley Scamurra and Kasidy Anderson.
Nov. 20 – The Huskies fought a good Boston College team to another draw, McKenna Brand stole the show, scoring both NU goals and leading the team with 7 shots on goal. Northeastern finished the week with a record of 10-3-3, clearly showing that they are a force to be reckoned with.
Women’s hockey returns to play against Boston College on the 26th, this time looking for the win.
Men’s and Women’s Cross Country
Nov. 19 – In their last meet of the season, Northeastern cross country dominated at the IC4A and ECAC meets in the Bronx. The men’s team took first place behind senior Paul Duffey (25:41) and sophomore Dan Romano (25:50), who took first and second place overall, respectively. Sophomore Michael Potter (25:52) impressed in his own right, coming in fifth overall. Freshman Cameron Dickson finished 25th and fellow freshman Chance Lamberth finished 36th to complete the Huskies’ top five.
On the women’s side, senior Jordan O’Dea (18:22) placed first overall as NU took a third place finish. Elizabeth Harrington (19:22) followed her at 23rd overall, and Louiza Wise (25th, 19:23), Kerri Ruffo (28th, 19:27), and Brooke Wojeski (33rd, 19:30) rounded out the top five.
On her first place finish in her final meet as a member of Northeastern cross country, O’Dea said: “It was so exciting to end my season with a first place finish. I am a senior this year and so this was my last ever collegiate cross country race and so I couldn’t have been happier to end it with a first place finish.”
Women’s Swimming
The three day meet for the swimming and diving team saw Northeastern finish with historic results. Placing third overall with 1,194.5 points, they fell just short of Columbia, who had 1,233 points. Over the duration of the weekend, Husky swimmers set three school records en route to 24 season-best times and 45 swimmers advancing to the final round.
Freshman Megan Clark was the talk of the meet, setting three school records. It started with a 23.06 time in the final round of the 50 freestyle event. She then recorded 50.52 time in the preliminary round of the 100 freestyle, just before smashing that record again in the final round with a 50.29 time.
Women’s Volleyball
Northeastern volleyball couldn’t keep up their hot start on the 18th, dropping a match against the University of Delaware, 0-3. The Huskies couldn’t get much by the Delaware line, as the Blue Hens managed an impressive 41 kills. Northeastern put up a fight in the first and last sets, losing by just two points as each went into extra points.
It was the end of a historic run for women’s volleyball, as they defied experts’ lackluster preseason predictions to finish 20-11 overall and 10-6 in CAA play. The Huskies were given seven postseason awards for their play this year, more than any other CAA team. Additionally, senior Jamie Bredahl set a school record, becoming the first player to ever record over 1,000 kills, digs, and assists over a career.