|   The future looks bright for Brittany Wilson and the Huskies. |
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Huskies end promising 2008-09 season
March 18, 2009
Boston, Mass.
Brittany Wilson earned CAA All-Rookie honors.
The young Northeastern women’s basketball team that is compiled of seven freshmen and four sophomores proved that it could compete with the best in the Colonial Athletic Association and against any other team in division I basketball. The Huskies had a challenging non-conference schedule to go along with their rigorous CAA schedule.
The expectations were low for the Huskies this season after losing three starters, two of which were the team’s leading scorers. Northeastern was picked to finish ninth in the CAA by the league’s coaches, writers and sports information directors. Under the guidance of third-year head coach Daynia La-Force Mann, the Huskies silenced the critics by finishing 8-10 in the CAA good for sixth place for the second straight year. The Huskies were also 12-19 overall.
Northeastern won several awards for the 2008-09 season. Jasmine Crew was named second team All-CAA and Brittany Wilson earned All-Rookie honors after being named CAA Rookie of the Week three times throughout the season.
The women’s basketball team also saw milestones achieved as its lone senior Ashlee Feldman become the 14th Husky to surpass the 1,000-point plateau early on in the season. Feldman finished with the season with 223 points and 1,221 for her career, good for 11th place on Northeastern’s scoring list. Feldman also hit 47 three pointers in 2008-09 ending with a career total of 240 which is second on NU’s all-time list.
Northeastern began the 2008-09 season 2-4. The Huskies began with a tough four-game stretch against St. John’s, West Virginia, Marist and Boston University. But NU was able to get some W’s in the win column with back-to-back victories at Rhode Island and Stony Brook.
After a slow start to the season due to the difficult non-conference schedule, the Huskies turned things around in conference play. NU opened up CAA play with a 57-52 victory at Hofstra. With the win, Northeastern snapped Hofstra’s seven-game win streak and gave the Pride their first home loss of the season.
The Huskies gained some confidence after going toe-to-toe with CAA powerhouse Old Dominion at Solomon Court. The two teams went back and forth all night until a late second-half splurge allowed the Lady Monarchs to squeeze out a victory. NU bounced back by knocking off UNC Wilmington and George Mason in consecutive games.
After a challenging two-game swing in Virginia vs. Old Dominion and James Madison, Northeastern returned home for a pair of games that went into overtime. NU defeated Georgia State 68-66 in a thriller before falling to Towson 62-58. The Huskies would regroup thanks to a 10-point victory at William & Mary. Northeastern then took the No.1 team in the conference, Drexel, to overtime at Solomon Court, but fell short late in the extra period.
In the final game of the season the Huskies faced Hofstra for the right for the sixth seed going into the CAA Tournament. It was a nail bitter of a contest as both teams battled for 40 minutes. Northeastern was able to take a two-point lead with 54 seconds left after a three pointer was hit and held on the secure the victory and the sixth seed going into the CAA Tournament.
In the first round of the CAA Tournament the Huskies drew the 11th-seeded Georgia State Panthers. Northeastern was red hot in the contest shooting a season-best 51.1 percent from the field to give the Panthers a 68-45 pounding.
Northeastern then faced the third-seeded and host James Madison Dukes in the quarterfinals. In front of a rowdy crowd, the young Northeastern team was able to keep its composure and take the lead at half time. In the second half the Huskies would battle back from a nine-point deficit, but JMU would ultimately take the victory by the skin of its teeth.
Despite the tough loss, the future looks bright for Northeastern. The Huskies lose just one senior and return 13 players. And as usual, head coach La-Force Mann will bring in a solid recruiting class that will help the Huskies be an elite team in the CAA in 2009-10 and beyond.
