Caroline Nalumansi/WRBB Sports File

Following a six-point loss to Drexel, Northeastern came into Sunday afternoon aiming to re-enter the win column for the first time since November. But, after a loosely-played final quarter, the Huskies dropped their 13th in a row by a score of 54-62.

On National Women and Girls in Sports Day, and on a day where pregame festivities honored the late Melissa James, former captain of the team, the Huskies and Blue Hens battled hard until the end. For the entirety of the contest, the score remained within a 10-point margin. Heading into the last 10 minutes of play, the Blue Hens led by just one, but seven fourth quarter turnovers ultimately sunk Northeastern. 

The Huskies came out of the gates strong, with two early three-pointers from senior guard Camille Clement. But it was Blue Hens graduate student Rebecca Demeke who took charge right from the start, firing a triple of her own along with two layups for seven first quarter points. Despite an acrobatic and-one from redshirt sophomore guard Abby Jegede with eleven seconds remaining, the Huskies trailed 20-16 after ten minutes.

The second quarter was not a thrilling one for either team, seeing just 18 total points on a combined 7-for-34 (21.8%) shooting from the field. Northeastern outscored Delaware 10-8, ultimately shrinking the gap to just two points by the end of the half thanks to a momentum-shifting three pointer from sophomore guard Yirsy Quéliz with just thirty seconds remaining on the clock. Led by nine rebounds from 5-foot-11 graduate student Chloe Wilson, the Blue Hens outrebounded the Huskies 28 to 16 in the first half. 

While the Huskies made five second chance points Sunday, Delaware capitalized on offensive rebounds, scoring 12 of their own. It was Wilson who caused the Huskies the most trouble, as she snagged 17 of her team’s 45 boards.

Northeastern entered the second half with some heightened spirits that were swiftly extinguished following a crowd-silencing triple from graduate student guard Ella Wanzer to extend the Blue Hens lead to 37-30. This was just the first of three three-point field goals for the Blue Hens in the quarter, with the next two coming out of the hands of Demeke. But, after the lead for Delaware grew to eight with just two minutes left, the Huskies went on a 7-0 run to close out the third trailing 45-44, headlined by four made free throws by Quéliz within a thirty-four second span. 

Following two very strong quarters on either side of halftime by the Huskies, outscoring the Blue Hens by a combined total of 28-25, the fourth was not as kind to them. With eight turnovers going into the final quarter, compared to 16 against Drexel on Friday and nine at Monmouth last Sunday, Northeastern was ahead of pace. However, the turnovers began to accumulate, as the Huskies tossed seven in the fourth quarter alone. Delaware began to start the celebration early after redshirt junior guard Natalie Larrañaga lost her dribble, leading to two made free throws from Demeke, effectively extinguishing Northeastern’s hopes..

Still plagued by the injury bug, this loss keeps NU firmly at the bottom of the CAA standings.

“I’ve been happy with how much we’re fighting,” said Northeastern head coach Priscilla Edwards-Lloyd. “We have to execute better. We have to find ways to take care of the ball down the stretch, but we put together a fight.”

Looking forward, the Huskies face off against a Campbell Camels squad that is in seventh place in the conference, sitting at 5-4 after Sunday.

“Keep fighting,” Edwards-Lloyd said. “Don’t give up, play hard. It doesn’t matter about outcomes, it matters about giving the effort that this game requires.”

Northeastern travels to Buies Creek, North Carolina on Friday at 7 p.m. to face Campbell as conference play continues. Stay tuned to WRBB for full coverage of the 2024-25 women’s basketball season.