The battered and undermanned Huskies got a lift this past weekend when senior captain Jody Burrows returned to action for the first time since tearing her ACL Dec. 2 at UMass.

When she was first injured, it was reported that number three would be out for the year, but Sunday, less than two months later she returned to the court at home against UNC Wilmington (6-13, 2-7 Colonial Athletic Association).

At the time of her injury, the point guard was among the CAA leaders in assists after ranking second in 2005-06.

Burrows’ return didn’t reverse the Huskies’ fortunes, however, as they dropped the game 64-56 to push their losing streak to four.

Both teams stumbled out of the gate and the game remained scoreless for the first three minutes of play.

With 11:15 left in the half, Burrows checked into the game to an ovation from the home crowd.

“It’s great to be back; there’s nothing I’d rather do [than play basketball],” she said. “It’s been a long two months.”

The Seahawks built a comfortable 28-17 lead with 5:52 left in the half. But as they have throughout the season, the Huskies stayed resilient and cut the lead to 35-27 at halftime.

NU came out of the locker room with renewed energy, thanks in part to the hot hand of sophomore guard Ashlee Feldman.

Feldman has shown a knack for draining baskets at will and she did just that, sinking three baskets, including two long-range threes, in the opening minutes of the second half.

After a lay up by junior guard Lucia Pablos, Feldman’s last three knotted the score 37-37 with 16:54 left in the game. The Huskies kept the score close and took their first lead of the day with 13:33 left in the game on a precision pass from Pablos to junior guard Shaleyse Smallwood, making it 43-41.

It was the Huskies’ only lead of the game however, as UNC was able to squeak ahead of NU shortly after, putting the Huskies away when senior guard Denise Lawrence broke away for a lay up to give UNC a 62-56 lead with 15 seconds left.

Smallwood led the Huskies with 15 points and six assists. Pablos finished with 14 points while Feldman had 13 and junior forward Stefanie Hodell chipped in eight to go along with eight boards.

Burrows played nine minutes, pulling down three rebounds.

“We wanted to put her out there [to get acclimated]. She’ll be playing more and having her back will help us,” said head coach Daynia La-Force Mann.

Even in limited action, Burrows provided a spark to her team.

“She’s the leader on the team,” Feldman said. “[She’s] playing on a torn ACL for us – that’s just awesome.”

Freshman forward Sahsha Taylor torched the Husky front court for 23 points and nine boards.

Turnovers hurt Northeastern, as UNC was able to turn 21 Husky giveaways into 30 points. Both teams shot well from the field, as NU was 22-48 (45.8 percent), while UNC was 24-50 (48 percent).

Before taking on UNC Wilmington at home, the Huskies traveled to George Mason (8-11, 2-7 CAA) Thursday.

The first game between the two saw George Mason jump out to a 20-point lead at halftime. The Huskies pulled to within one with 1:46 left, but couldn’t get over the top and lost 67-61 at home.

NU managed to keep the second game close and only trailed 29-22 at the half. The Huskies continued to hang close in the second half until a 17-4 run by George Mason midway through the period extended their lead to 23 and effectively snuffed out any chance of a Husky comeback.

“Our intensity in the second half wasn’t good,” La-Force Mann said.

George Mason outscored the Huskies 32-22 in the paint and pulled down 44 rebounds to the Huskies’ 29.

Pablos led all scorers with 18 points, while Feldman had 13.

Junior forward Jessica Smith put up a double-double with 12 points on 6-7 shooting to go along with 11 boards. For the game, George Mason shot 27-62 (43.1 percent), to NU’s 20-55 (36.4 percent).

Northeastern (3-17, 2-7 CAA) will be back in action tomorrow as the team takes on Hofstra at 7 p.m. at Solomon Court.