BOSTON — Northeastern played Stony Brook in a hard fought game Thursday night. They got off to a slow start, but junior guard Derin Erdogan’s 19 points and senior guard Jaelyn Batts’ 16 rebounds were too much for the CAA newcomer Stony Brook, as the Seawolves fell in Cabot Center 68-63.
In the first quarter, Northeastern notched a total of 12 points, and no Husky was able to surpass two points individually. Batts had six rebounds in the quarter, but that was the only bright spot as Stony Brook seemed to be too much for the Huskies early on. It was the -5 in the turnover margin that really hurt Northeastern, as they had nine fewer field goal attempts in the quarter. On the other side of the court, sophomore forward Sherese Pittman was more than the Huskies could handle as she scored eight in the first, pairing it with three rebounds.
“It was low scoring for both teams because our zone was rattling and our man-to-man was disruptive,” said Northeastern head coach Bridgette Mitchell on the slow start. “Getting those first minutes of ‘they are gonna punch us’ then realizing we are going to punch back.”
In the second quarter, the Cabot Center was blessed with a mirage of bricks, likely an homage to the brownstones popular in Stony Brook and Northeastern’s respective cities. With three minutes left in the half, the visiting team was outscoring Northeastern 8-6 in the and led by as much as eight. Truly a defensive showing. It was then sophomore guard Gemima Motema broke the scoring drought, hitting twice on the fastbreak and cutting the lead down to one before senior guard Gigi Gonzalez was able to connect on a three and give Stony Brook a four-point lead, which they kept going into halftime.
Despite the deficit, Northeastern entered the locker room at half-time with momentum. It proved to be more than enough to jumpstart junior guard Derin Erdogan, who broke out in the second half with six made shots and 14 points for the Huskies.
Stony Brook, meanwhile, was not able to get going out of the half. Pittman and graduate student guard Anastasia Warren were the sole scorers for the Seawolves. Batts was a stand-out from the third quarter for the Huskies, securing seven rebounds, to bring her total to 15 through three frames.
“She and [Motema] lead the team in deflections and they were great on the court,” Mitchell said of Batts’ performance.
In the fourth, the Huskies were able to string a 9-0 run together and create a 10-point lead thanks toMotema and Erdogan. For Stony Brook, they were left with Gonzalez and Warren, as they scored 18 of the 21 points, but it would not be enough as Northeastern was able to hold onto their lead and come away with a well-deserved win.
The win stops Northeastern’s losing streak at two games and they hope to start a winning trend as they head down to Hampton to face the Hampton Pirates.
The Huskies will be back in action Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. as they face Hampton for the first time since the Pirates joined the CAA.