BOSTON — Northeastern committed 21 turnovers and was worn down by a matchup that featured plenty of physicality and post play, ultimately falling to defending CAA champions William & Mary by a score of 63-50 Friday evening at the Cabot Center.
The contest, which had been moved up 90 minutes to a 5:30 p.m. tip because of the winter storm arriving later in the weekend, got off to a start that immediately emphasized play under the basket. For much of the game, it was some combination of Huskies sophomore forwards Taylor Holohan and Justice Tramble battling with William & Mary sophomore forward Natalie Fox and junior center Jana Sallman. The height advantage went to the visitors, as both Fox (6-foot-4) and Sallman (6-foot-3) are taller than every player on Northeastern.
The Huskies were able to hold their own at the start, with the Tribe owning a slight 15-12 lead after the first quarter, but Northeastern would give up a quick 8-0 run to start the second. Turnovers were an issue all night for the home team, but especially in the first half when they coughed up six in the first quarter and seven in the second quarter. They came in a variety of ways, including miscommunicated passes, footwork errors, and offensive fouls, but they all resulted in more offensive opportunities for William & Mary.
A 1-for-2 trip to the free-throw line from sophomore forward Maya Summerville put the Huskies within six with a few minutes to go in the first half, but that would be the closest the margin would get for Northeastern. The Tribe took a 33-23 into halftime, and the lead remained near or above that mark for the rest of the game.
There were times when the Huskies would look like they were finding some momentum, only to give it right back to the visitors with a turnover or poor defensive play. Sophomore guard Camryn Collins scored her first points of the night on a three-point play halfway into the fourth quarter to cut the lead to 12, but Northeastern promptly fouled junior guard Cassidy Geddes on the next possession to give William & Mary a three-point play of their own.
Geddes finished the night with 20 points on 8-for-20 shooting (3-for-10 from beyond the arc), her fourth 20-point performance of the season. The Tribe didn’t shoot the lights out from three (6-for-20 as a team) and haven’t on the season, shooting at a 24% clip. The visitors bricked a few decent looks from deep throughout the game that could have resulted in an even bigger winning margin for them.
William & Mary, fresh off of their Cinderella run to a CAA Tournament title as a 9 seed last year, snapped a four-game losing streak with the win, improving to 2-4 in conference play and moving ahead of Northeastern in the standings.
“That’s why they’re the champs,” said Huskies head coach Priscilla Edwards-Lloyd. “They have the ability to turn it on and be really tough, and I think we struggled with their physicality and toughness.”
The physical nature of the game was evident throughout the night, with players falling to the hardwood left and right. It also resulted in a scary moment late in the game, as Summerville went down to the floor after getting fouled on a drive to the basket in the fourth quarter, appearing to injure the same knee she has been wearing a brace on since her collegiate debut at the start of conference play. She was able to stay in and shoot the pair of free throws, but she then subbed out and did not return the rest of the night.
The Huskies’ forwards also took plenty of bumps in the low post throughout the night, with Fox and Sallman each netting 10 points, and Fox falling just one rebound shy of a double-double.
“I think we did a solid job on [Fox], but just the banging and the physicality, pursuit of the ball, offensive rebounds, I think that wore on us a bit,” Edwards-Lloyd said. “But they did a good job of putting pressure consistently throughout the game on us.”
Ultimately, though, it was really those 21 giveaways that were the difference Friday evening, tied for the third-most turnovers the Huskies have committed in a game this season.
“I think [William & Mary] just threw a punch and we just didn’t handle it well,” Edwards-Lloyd said. “I think, in terms of just how they play and what they want to do, it kind of rattles you a bit, and I think we never really recovered.”
Due to the impending storm, Northeastern’s game scheduled for Sunday afternoon at Monmouth has been postponed, and a makeup date was not immediately announced. The next game currently on the Huskies’ schedule is a Sunday, Feb. 1 home contest against Drexel. Jordan Walsh will have the call of the 1 p.m. tip.
Jordan Walsh is a fifth-year student at Northeastern who has been with WRBB Sports since 2021, primarily covering men’s and women’s basketball. You can read all of his articles for WRBB here and find him on Twitter/X here.