BOSTON — The Year of the Snake may have started Wednesday, but it was still the Year of the Dragon inside the Cabot Center Friday afternoon, as Drexel escaped with a 53-47 win and handed Northeastern their 12th straight loss on the season.
The Huskies put up an improved performance mainly on the defensive end in comparison to some of their other games during this losing stretch. After giving up 62 and 69 points to Stony Brook and Monmouth last weekend, respectively, Northeastern managed to hold the Dragons to 53, which is tied for Drexel’s lowest scoring total of CAA play. But that was of no consolation to the Huskies, who were held to less than 50 points for the eleventh time this season, and are now tied with Niagara and Arkansas–Pine Bluff for the second-longest active losing streak in the country.
Northeastern got off to a strong start in Friday’s contest, outscoring the Dragons 15-9 in the first quarter, with sophomore guards Yirsy Quéliz and Abby Jegede combining for 13 of those 15 points. However, Drexel opened up the second quarter with eight unanswered points of their own, spurred on by six from sophomore forward Deja Evans, to take their first lead of the game.
It seemed as if every Huskies offensive possession during that run ended in either a shot clock violation or a last-second heave to avoid incurring one — the Dragons scored eight points off of Northeastern’s six turnovers in the second quarter. The Huskies’ final possession of the half also seemed like it was headed towards another empty trip as the shot clock wound down, until senior guard Camille Clement hit a wild shot from well beyond the arc to give Northeastern a 25-24 lead they would take into halftime.
Clement’s three-pointer was the Huskies’ second trey of the game, which already surpassed the dreadful performance from deep in their previous game, when they went just 1-for-18 against Monmouth.
Northeastern started the second half strong, including a three-point play from freshman center Alyssa Staten to put the Huskies up four, and they held a slim 34-33 advantage halfway through the third quarter. That would be the last time Northeastern held the lead all day, though. Drexel ended the quarter with nine unanswered points, capped by a buzzer-beating three from senior guard Amaris Baker, and the Dragons took an eight-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
To their credit, Northeastern did not lie down, starting the frame on a 6-2 run that forced Drexel head coach Amy Mallon to take a timeout. The Huskies kept the game close, and after following up a Drexel shot clock violation with a tough layup from Quéliz with a minute to go, the score stood at 49-47. Evans, though, made what was essentially the dagger on the next possession, floating in a shot over Staten in the paint.
Northeastern had only committed one foul in the fourth quarter at this point, but their disciplined defense ultimately worked against them, as with the Dragons up multiple possessions and with the shot clock off, the Huskies ended up having to commit four fouls to intentionally send them to the line. Northeastern was able to do so, but at the expense of Jegede, who committed the first three of those fouls after already having two personals on the game. The foul that finally put Drexel into the bonus sent junior forward Molly Lavin to the line, and the 82% free throw shooter on the season calmly knocked down the pair to ice the game.
The loss was the Huskies’ second-closest game of CAA play, after losing by three at home to UNCW earlier in the month.
“I thought we played hard,” said Northeastern head coach Priscilla Edwards-Lloyd. “The effort was there. We could have taken better care of the ball, but overall, the effort was there, the fight was there.”
Graduate student guard Bailey Williams appeared in her second game since sustaining an injury earlier in the month, playing 15 minutes off the bench as compared to six minutes in her first game back last weekend.
Up next, Northeastern takes on a Delaware team that came into Friday sitting in 12th place in the conference, with a 1-6 record.
“Just keep the effort,” Edwards-Lloyd said. “Keep the effort the same, cut down on the turnovers … we’ve got to figure out the turnover piece. But we’ve just got to keep fighting.”
The Huskies host Delaware on Sunday afternoon in their National Girls and Women in Sports Day game, as well as their Alumni Day game. Jordan Walsh and Matty Wasserman will have the call at 1 p.m. on WRBB Sports+.