BOSTON – The Huskies looked lost on the floor Wednesday afternoon when facing visiting UMass Amherst. After a slow first period, Northeastern could never quite recover, ultimately leading to a 71-52 defeat at home.
The Minutewomen silenced junior guard Yirsy Queliz, holding her to just two points on one-for-three shooting from the field. In combination with the absence of sophomore center Alyssa Staten due to concussion protocol, the Huskies struggled to get going early. Due in part to the 6-foot-2 Staten being out of the lineup, Northeastern was dominated in the paint, surrendering 40 of UMass’s 71 points under the basket. Senior forward Megan Olbrys took charge for UMass, racking up 18 points and six rebounds. However, the Huskies held 6-foot-4 junior center Chinenye Odenigbo to just six points and three rebounds.
“We talked about just getting around doing work early,” said head coach Priscilla Edwards-Lloyd about containing Odenigbo. “She does more damage on the offensive glass, so it’s more about finding ways to guard Olbrys and [sophomore guard Yahmani McKayle]. I mean, she plays hard. She’s someone who’s developed over the years, and so, if you’re not ready, she makes you pay.”
Huskies freshman guard Kailee Beaudion-Foliaki tallied five points in a last-ditch effort at the tail end of the fourth quarter. With six minutes and 14 seconds to go in the game, Northeastern cut the lead to fifteen points, seemingly bringing them within reach. But 10 unanswered points by the Minutewomen hushed the comeback threat. The nail in the coffin for the Huskies was a three-ball drained by UMass sophomore forward Jess Ross for just the third of her career.
On the bright side, the Huskies had three players notch 12 points: Beaudion-Foliaki, graduate student Nariyah Simmons, and sophomore guard Camryn Collins. Simmons, standing at 5-foot-2, makes up for what she may lack in height with tenacity, adding five steals to her final stat line.
“I thought [the three leading scorers] were aggressive once we settled into what they were doing defensively or [were] able to get some looks,” Edwards-Lloyd said. “So it was good to have some balance offensely spread out.”
Curating a challenging yet sufficiently preparatory pre-conference schedule was integral for preparing the Huskies for its CAA competition.
“Our league is athletic, with its physicality, so we wanted to play against that, and I feel like this game was really physical,” Edwards-Lloyd said. “There have been a lot of different styles, mixes of defenses, different things. So I feel like we, going into it, prepared for a lot of different things.”
After BC, CAA regular season play begins when the Huskies travel to UNCW Jan. 2.
Northeastern falls to 3-6 and will look to get back in the win column when they travel to Chestnut Hill to take on Boston College Dec. 19 at 12 p.m. After BC, CAA regular season play begins when the Huskies travel to UNCW Jan. 2Samuel Glassman is a second-year student at Northeastern University who has been with WRBB Sports since February 2025, covering women’s basketball and baseball. You can find him on Twitter here.