AMHERST — Playing without starting point guard Bre Hampton-Bey, the UMass women’s basketball team lost 64-54 to Northeastern on Friday at the Mullins Center.
Hampton-Bey had to serve a one-game suspension for an on-court altercation against North Dakota.
“She’s a big reason we struggled offensively,” UMass coach Tori Verdi said. “We didn’t have anyone else attacking the basket.”
The game against Northeastern was the opener of the inaugural Thanksgiving Classic at UMass.
“We want to make an annual event and be home,” Verdi said. “It gives us an opportunity to play two home games instead of traveling all over the country.”
UMass will play Liberty on Saturday to close out the Thanksgiving Classic. The University of Houston also made the trip.
“We just put it out there on social media,” Verdi said. “There’s a couple websites we belong to, and we put it up there, and they respond.”
The Minutewomen (2-3) started strong, leading 20-13 after a quarter.
Center Maggie Mulligan had five first-quarter assists, passing from the high post and out of double teams.
Mulligan also scored four quick points near the hoop.
But the Huskies switched to a swarming 2-3 zone, which kept the ball around the perimeter for the remainder of the game.
Hailey Leidel (17 points) took advantage of the zone, making four 3-pointers in the first half. But Leidel went to the bench with foul trouble in the third quarter.
Leidel had to watch the Huskies pull away from the bench.
“It’s the worst possible feeling besides being hurt,” Leidel said. “Just knowing you are supposed to be in and you can’t help your team.”
With new pieces in place, the Minutewomen are still in the early stages of their progress as a unit.
“A lot of people are still trying to fit into their roles,” Leidel said. “Experience is an issue. We have no limits. It’s just us right now. If we click on all cylinders, we can be in great position for postseason play.”
After going to the hafltime break with a 34-33 lead, the Minutewomen scored four points in a turnover-heavy third quarter.
“We couldn’t score, and that hurt us,” Verdi said. “We just weren’t effective.”
Paige McCormick played well for UMass with 13 points and five rebounds.
The Northeastern lead increased to as much as 20 in the fourth quarter.
The Minutewomen made a 10-0 run late in the fourth quarter to make it 60-50 but could not get closer.
Jess Genco (18 points) and Stella Clark (16 points) helped Northeastern pull away with outside shooting, which is a strength of the Huskies attack.
“We knew they were capable 3-point shooters,” Verdi said. “Our goal and objective was to protect the perimeter and we didn’t do that.”
Northeastern was 9-for-27 from the 3-point line.
