After four-straight games to start the season in which they failed to crack 50 points, Northeastern broke 70 on Friday night, defeating Wagner 71-56 to claim their first win of the 2024-25 campaign.
The matchup wasn’t exactly a clash of the titans — the Huskies and Seahawks came into the game ranked #353 and #359, respectively, in HerHoopStats.com’s efficiency rating (out of 362 teams in Division I). But it represented a good opportunity for both teams to claim their first win of the season against a D-I opponent.
Northeastern came roaring out of the gate to start, employing a full-court press for most of the first quarter. The defensive pressure paid immediate dividends, with the Huskies nabbing four steals in the first seven minutes of the game, allowing them to jump out to an early 20-6 lead.
The Huskies then backed off from the press in the second quarter, but continued to expand their margin, heading into halftime with a 45-21 lead. Redshirt junior guard Natalie Larrañaga led the team in scoring in the first half, with all of her season-high 12 points Friday night coming in the first 20 minutes, and graduate student guard Maddie Vizza went 3-for-6 from deep in the half to notch nine points.
While Northeastern was rolling for much of the first half, they had to deal with some foul trouble for freshman forward Taylor Holohan, who picked up three personals in the first quarter and had to ride the bench for much of the remainder of the game. Freshman center Alyssa Staten, though, was more than up to the task in Holohan’s absence, recording a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds while playing 24 minutes — all season-highs.
As possibly expected coming into a game between two teams with a combined record of 0-6 in D-I play, there was some sloppiness from both squads throughout the night. While Wagner’s 19 turnovers contributed to their loss, the Huskies had their fair share of miscommunications and unnecessary fouls, and there is plenty that still needs to be cleaned up if Northeastern wants to get wins over tougher competition.
That includes putting in a full 40-minute effort, which made things a little bit closer than they needed to be in the fourth quarter. After opening up a 27-point lead late in the third, the Huskies gave up an 18-4 run that put the Seahawks within 13.
The first points of that Wagner run came on a possession where Northeastern blocked a shot (that could very well have been called a foul), immediately gave the ball back after Staten was swarmed by three Seahawks, failed to rebound a bricked three-pointer by Wagner, and then allowed redshirt sophomore guard Klea Kaci to knock down a wide-open three on the second chance.
Then, on the next possession, sophomore guard Yirsy Quéliz threw an inbounds pass right into the hands of Wagner junior guard Angélie Ricard, who missed a layup but got an offensive rebound while being outnumbered 2-to-1 by Huskies and put it back in.
There were a few sequences like those throughout the night that almost left you laughing in disbelief if you were a Huskies fan — earlier in the third quarter, the Huskies allowed Wagner to get three offensive rebounds and two separate trips to the free-throw line on a single possession.
Despite some of those rough patches, Northeastern was able to lock in down the stretch, with Vizza hitting a big three-pointer (following four consecutive misses from deep) with four minutes left that all but shut down Wagner’s comeback hopes, and the Huskies were able to hold on for the 15-point win.
This is the second straight game that senior forward Asha Parker has missed, but she will have some time to get healthy before the Huskies return back to New York City for a matchup with LIU the Sunday after Thanksgiving. LIU, currently sitting at 1-6, is another Northeast Conference team that presents an opportunity for Northeastern to pick up a win.
The Huskies take on the LIU Sharks in Brooklyn at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 1. Stay tuned to WRBB for full coverage of the 2024-25 women’s basketball season.