In the title track of his 2016 album Views, Drake says, “It’s only up from here, I promise, you just gotta wait.” For the Northeastern women’s basketball program, there has been plenty of waiting. While the 2025-26 season wasn’t quite the “up” Drake envisioned, it was a step in the right direction.
After two injury-riddled seasons from 2023 to 2025, the 2025-26 campaign marked the first time Northeastern head coach Priscilla Edwards-Lloyd had a full roster available on a game-by-game basis, with more than one or two players on the bench. Gone are the days from the 2023-24 season, when the team was forced to forfeit three conference matchups due to a lack of available players.
Voted to finish last in the 2025-26 preseason poll, the Huskies finished the season 7-22 overall and 3-15 in conference play. Bowing out in the first round of the CAA tournament, Northeastern finished second-to-last in the conference standings ahead of UNCW, which would end the Huskies’ season in March.
Despite another difficult season on paper, there were still positives beyond the win column, including a healthy roster and a consistent rotation of players. Both were a rarity for a team that once dressed just six or seven players in pivotal conference matchups.
One of the Huskies’ seven wins was a historic victory over Boston College, marking Northeastern’s first win over a Power Five school since 2018 and its first win against its Beanpot rival since 1993. The Huskies also recorded their first winning streak since the 2023-24 season, offering glimpses of what they could bring to the upcoming campaign. With 10 players returning, Northeastern will also benefit from limited roster turnover, which is uncommon for a mid-major program.
“In an era where it’s easy to go up and to the next thing if things don’t go well, I think it’s a testament to this group and why I really wanted them on our team and program in the first place,” Edwards-Lloyd said on CAA Media Day. “There’s a level of resiliency and want that you don’t necessarily see in this generation.”
Now picked to finish 10th in the preseason poll, the Huskies enter the upcoming season with the potential to outperform expectations.
The Returners
One of Northeastern’s most promising stars is junior guard Camryn Collins, who transferred from Rider University before her sophomore season. Collins led the team in scoring last season, averaging 11.4 points per game while shooting 40% from the field and 32% from three-point range. She was also named to the Preseason All-CAA Honorable Mention team. Alongside Collins, senior guard Yirsy Quéliz returns for her fourth season with the program, making her the only Husky to have spent all four years under coach Edwards-Lloyd.
Quéliz came close to averaging double figures at 9.7 points per game and led the team in assists with 76, good for 15th in the conference last season. With Collins’ shooting ability and Quéliz’s quickness at 5-foot-4, the two could form a dynamic backcourt duo in their second season together, creating problems for opposing defenses. For Collins, that potential has already begun to translate into results despite not playing a game yet.
“In the offseason, I had to work a lot on my decision making and [being] a better threat on offense,” Collins said. “The stuff that we worked on over the summer and a lot of things that the girls kept in mind from the end of last season is really happening on the court.”
Transitioning to the frontcourt, the Huskies are led by junior forwards Justice Tramble and Taylor Holohan. After transferring from South Carolina State, Tramble led the team with 5.8 rebounds per game, ranking 19th in the conference. She also finished third on the team in scoring, averaging 9.1 points per game while shooting 52% from the field, behind Collins and Quéliz. Her performance last season earned her a Preseason All-CAA Honorable Mention nod. Last season, the Huskies’ game plan was to get the ball down low to Tramble, where she could finish inside and draw contact for and-one opportunities.
Holohan enters her third season with the Huskies after joining Northeastern as a two-star recruit from Averill Park, New York, in 2024. After playing just six games during the 2024-25 campaign due to injury, Holohan appeared in 28 of the 29 games last season and led the team with 20 blocks. Alongside Tramble, she will be a key contributor in the paint, with the duo expected to play important roles on the boards for a team that averaged just 35.1 rebounds per game, third-to-last in the CAA.
The return of junior guard Morgan Matthews and sophomore guard Kailee Beaudion-Foliaki will provide the Huskies with depth, as both played key minutes off the bench and occasionally started last season. As swing players who can fill roles at both guard and forward, they give Edwards-Lloyd the flexibility to adjust the lineup based on opponent matchups.
Junior forward Maya Summerville made her collegiate debut at the start of conference play in 2025-26 after missing her freshman season due to injury. Despite playing with a right knee brace, Summerville appeared in every game following her debut, averaging 14.5 minutes per game and starting three games. At six feet, her return provides valuable depth behind Tramble and Holohan in the frontcourt.
The rest of the returners include senior forward Andrea Martinez and sophomore guards Lindsey Lemay and Beatriz Pérez Pulgar, who will look to earn more playing time this season. Martinez averaged 8.4 minutes per game over the first eight games last season before seeing her role diminish. She did not appear in another game after non-conference play ended in late December.
Lemay, who was tabbed a McDonald’s All-American nominee in high school, played in just four non-conference games last season and will look to use her 5-foot-11 frame to help the Huskies wherever needed. Pérez Pulgar adds depth to the backcourt and showcased her shooting ability with a buzzer-beating three-pointer at the end of a quarter against Stony Brook last season.
Overall, Edwards-Lloyd believes the continuity among her returning players means there is much more in store for the Huskies this season.
“That belief in each other is really what motivates [the players] to where they looked at last year as an opportunity to come back and continue that mission. And it’s going to feel even sweeter when you do get to that level that you know you’re capable of,” said Edwards-Lloyd. “In the effort to complete unfinished business, I think many of them felt like we got more to do and prove and we’re right there.”
The Newcomers
This season, Northeastern will welcome three transfers to the roster, with no incoming high school recruits.
Redshirt freshman guard Amanda Smith spent her redshirt season with East Carolina, appearing in just two games. Born and raised in Brooklyn, Smith attended the Darrow School in New Lebanon, NY, where she received AA All-NEPSAC honors as a senior and won borough, city, and state championships in 2024.
Smith describes herself as both a creator and a shifty player. Edwards-Lloyd said she “brings dynamic playmaking to our roster” and “will provide depth at our point guard position” in an already crowded backcourt.
Another addition to the backcourt is graduate guard Summer Bostock. A Toronto native, Bostock joins Northeastern after spending her two previous seasons at the University of Houston and one at the University of Maryland, where she was part of an Elite Eight team. During the 2024-25 season, she averaged 4.1 points and 2.4 rebounds per game across 29 appearances. Bostock also brings international experience, having represented Team Canada at the 2021 FIBA U-16 Women’s Americas Championship, where she averaged 7.7 points and 3.8 rebounds per game.
Edwards-Lloyd described Bostock as a “perimeter threat who will stretch the floor,” a skill set that could address a major weakness for a Huskies team that shot just 28.8% from three last season, ranking 272nd nationally. At 6-foot-1, Bostock also brings size to the backcourt, raising questions about how Edwards-Lloyd will utilize her alongside the returning guards.
Rounding out Northeastern’s incoming class is graduate guard Anja Bukvic, who will play for her third school in three seasons. Bukvic spent the previous season at the University of Idaho after two seasons at Louisiana Tech, appearing in over 70 games during her collegiate career. She started every game for the Vandals, who ranked 24th nationally in scoring offense at 76.6 points per game. Bukvic averaged 6.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game.
“I feel like I’m a versatile player. I like creating for others, but also creating for myself, too,” Bukvic said in her introductory Instagram player profile post. Like Bostock, Bukvic brings plenty of experience to Northeastern. With nearly half of her field goals coming from beyond the arc, she could provide another perimeter threat for a team looking to improve its outside shooting.
All three players cited their connection with the coaching staff as a key factor in choosing Northeastern. For Edwards-Lloyd, the focus has been finding players whose mentality aligned with that of the returning group.
“In the process of recruiting [Smith, Bostock, and Bukvic], they were very similar to those who are here, [who] have something to prove, have a chip on their shoulder [and] really care about impacting a team,” Edwards-Lloyd said.
The Schedule
The non-conference schedule consists of 10 games, seven of which are rematches against teams the Huskies played last season: Boston University, Sacred Heart, Providence, Boston College, Merrimack, Yale, and UMass Lowell. The familiar opponents give Northeastern a great opportunity to build confidence ahead of conference play in January, particularly with most of its non-conference opponents picked to finish in the latter half of their respective conference preseason polls.
Northeastern opens its season at home against UAlbany, who was picked to finish seventh in the nine-team America East. The Huskies have not faced the Great Danes since the 2014-15 season, with the all-time series tied at 1-1. This matchup will provide an early test for Northeastern, as UAlbany will face several high-level opponents later in the season, including South Carolina, Ole Miss, and Rutgers.
The Huskies will then embark on a short three-game road trip through New England, visiting Boston University for their 84th all-time meeting, Sacred Heart, and Providence College before returning home to host Bryant. Two days before Thanksgiving, Northeastern will make a short trip from Huntington Avenue to Commonwealth Avenue to face Boston College. The Eagles were picked last in the ACC preseason poll after losing 10 players and making a change at head coach.
Northeastern returns to action over Thanksgiving weekend, hosting the Merrimack Warriors on Saturday before heading on the road the following Thursday to face New Haven for the first time in program history.
The Huskies conclude their non-conference schedule with two home games against Yale and UMass Lowell, who was unanimously picked to finish last in the America East for the second year in a row. Northeastern defeated both teams as part of its four non-conference wins last season.
Similar to the spring semester last season, the Cabot Center will see increased basketball activity this year, with the men’s basketball team now playing all of its home games there due to the demolition and reconstruction of Matthews Arena.
Northeastern opens CAA play against Hofstra on the first day of 2027. The Pride reached the CAA Championship Game as the 10th seed in the 2026 conference tournament before falling to top-seeded Charleston.
With six home-and-home series and six teams appearing just once on the conference schedule, the Huskies avoid a particularly demanding slate, facing only two teams from the projected top five, Drexel and Monmouth, twice. Monmouth, the unanimous preseason favorite, is the first women’s CAA team to receive every first-place vote since James Madison in the 2019-20 season. The Hawks will present a significant challenge, led by senior guard and CAA Preseason Player of the Year Gigi Gamble, who ranked fourth in the conference with 15.2 points per game and finished with 21 double-doubles.
The Huskies also have home-and-home series against Campbell, Stony Brook, and Hofstra. Northeastern’s Senior Day will take place on the final day of the regular season, when the Huskies host Monmouth on Mar. 6th. A full list of official theme nights can be found on the official schedule.
The Verdict
With 10 players from last year returning, there is reason for optimism heading into this year. Northeastern has not posted a winning season since the 2022-23 team finished 19-12, but this group has the potential to change that if they can stay healthy. With just one NCAA Tournament appearance in program history, in 1999, Northeastern still has plenty of work ahead to return to that level.
“I believe that this group really shares a lot of common beliefs [within] all of us, including coaches,” Edwards-Lloyd said. “There’s a lot of good things here, and we’re just on the cusp of beginning those things.”
Final Predictions
This is solely the opinion of Daniel Ku and WRBB Sports.
Record: 16-13 (9-9 CAA)
CAA Regular Season Finish: 7th
CAA Tournament Finish: Semifinals
The Northeastern women’s basketball program gets their 46th Division I season underway against the University at Albany on Nov. 2nd. Daniel Ku and Sam Riggs will have the call LIVE at 7 p.m. on WRBB Sports+.