Jusevitch leads Red Devils to NCC victory

LOWELL — Just when it appeared that the game was slipping away from Lowell, Hunter Jusevitch caught fire.

The junior guard scored 12 points in the final period to help the Devils lock up a 41-32 win over NCC rival Hobart (11-8, 4-2 NCC).

“She works for every bit of what she gets,” said Lowell (97, 4-1 NCC) head coach Matt Welsh. “She’s been doing that all year, even with three or four people on her.”

The fourth quarter started in a 22-22 deadlock and Hobart gained the upper hand early with a 5-0 run to start the period.

Then, Jusevitch’s first three shots of the quarter all fell, racking up a quick eight points for Lowell to flip the scoreboard back in favor of the Devils — a lead they would not relinquish.

“We just moved the ball around a lot better, instead of just passing it around the perimeter,” said Jusevitch. “My teammates were setting up screens for me and that helped a lot.”

Hobart’s offense would commit five turnovers in the period — but Lowell’s offense kept rolling. At the 1:30 mark of the quarter, Nicole Sharkey drained yet another three for Lowell— “a humongous shot,” as Welsh called it—to make the score 37-30 in favor of the Devils.

Hobart would get no closer for the remainder of the game, largely due—again—to Jusevitch, who hit all four of her free throw attempts in the final minute to finish with a game-high 20 points.

In spite of that high-scoring finish, points were at a much higher premium for the first three periods of the game. Five points from Hobart’s Zoe Wilson and four from Jusevitch led the two teams to a 10-10 tie after one period.