BOSTON, MASS – The excitement of a new season for the Huskies should bring a fresh feeling of ‘good things to come’ for the women at Cabot Center. However, Northeastern came out of the gates sluggish against Long Island University on Monday in a 75-60 defeat, reaffirming past doubts and woes from 2024-25’s three-win season that left them second to last in the nation.
While there are many things the Huskies could point their fingers at, the simple fact is that a discombobulated start left them in an insurmountable deficit.
Sophomore guard Camryn Collins led the team with 15 points – nine of which in the second quarter. However, the most promising performance for the Huskies came from 5-foot-2 graduate student Nariyah Simmons, who reeled in eight rebounds and sank two triples.
“[Simmons is] steady,” said head coach Priscilla Edwards-Lloyd. “She is experienced so she kind of picks her spots well. I felt like she was aggressive today.”
On the other side of the court, LIU’s offense was entirely run through junior forward Kadidia Toure. The Arizona State transfer led the floor with 26 points and 10 rebounds. Northeastern’s defense could not come up with an answer for Toure’s presence in the paint; 18 of her points came either under the basket or at the line.
Another choke point for the Huskies was the tight officiating over the duration of the game. The team accumulated a whopping 30 personal fouls in just 40 minutes of play. Northeastern did not get many calls their way, which was difficult for the team to overcome. Sharks’ senior guard Isabella Tañedo attempted seven free throws, and Taure took nine. While in the bonus in the second quarter, Tañedo found herself at the line for five shots across a 36 second interval.
“We have to be able to defend without fouling,” Edwards-Lloyd said. “But again, the game was called interestingly for that matter. Outside of that, we have to adjust to how it’s being called. If it’s being called tight, we have to be able to fix that, which I don’t think we did well today.”
Although Northeastern couldn’t control how the referees called the game, they could’ve controlled the turnovers.Turning the ball over 20 times leading to 19 freebies for the Sharks, the Huskies did not take care of the basketball. LIU also committed 15 turnovers of their own; frankly, neither team was very careful.
For a moment in the third quarter, the Huskies mounted a 7-0 scoring run, and it seemed the Huskies may turn the tides in their favor. Two plays stood out, in particular: A deep three-ball from Simmons created off a turnover, and a second-chance layup from sophomore forward Taylor Holohan assisted by a beautiful pass through traffic by junior guard Yirsy Queliz. The cohesion displayed over these two plays had been a good sign; still, it relinquished shortly after.
With eight new players on the roster and an overall young team, growing pains were expected, and Monday proved that the Huskies still have some work to do when it comes to gelling as a unit.
“We have a lot of newcomers that are out there,” Edwards-Lloyd said. “In terms of meshing, it’s a work in progress. There are a lot of new folks on the floor; a lot of freshmen and sophomores out there. They’re coming along but it’s going to take time. A lot of the returners have been helpful with getting the new players acclimated.”
Northeastern opens the season 0-1 and will look to get on the board when they travel to Yale on Friday, Nov. 7 at 6 p.m.
Samuel 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.