By Nick Mazzarella – Staff Writer Originally published 1/23/15
Hofstra was handed its first conference home loss of the season by Drexel in Thursday’s matinee at the Mack Sports Complex, 63-56.
Hofstra (12-6, 5-2 CAA) and Drexel (11-7, 5-2 CAA) met just 13 days ago in Philadelphia. The Dragons were looking to avenge the 53-52 overtime loss that they suffered in that game, and they did just that. In a game of many runs, Drexel always seemed to have an answer for the Pride and never relinquished its lead in the second half.
“I’m certainly disappointed in our outcome today, but it was another hard-fought battle with Drexel,” said head coach Krista Kilburn-Steveskey. “We just didn’t measure up to our level today.”
She added, “We seemed one step behind most of the day.”
Drexel’s Alexis Smith scored a game- and season-high 16 points, and Jamila Thompson was right behind her with 15 points and six rebounds.
For the Pride, Elo Edeferioka (15 points and 12 rebounds) and Ashunae Durant (12 points and 10 rebounds) recorded double-doubles.
Hofstra started the game shooting just 3-13 (0-6 3FG), but trailed by only five, 12-7, with 12:45 left. The Pride made their next five field goal attempts to go on a 12-5 run that gave them a 19-17 lead. But Drexel, who trailed for only 48 seconds all game, responded with a 9-0 run of its own to take a 26-19 lead with 6:04 remaining.
Durant’s jumper with 4:30 left ended the Dragons’ run and gave Hofstra its first points since the 8:55 mark. But a 7-0 Drexel run pushed the lead to 12 before Durant closed the first-half scoring with another jumper and cut Hofstra’s halftime deficit to 10, 33-23.
In the second half, Drexel’s lead got back up to 12 thanks to a three-pointer by Smith. But Hofstra responded, as four different players scored in an 11-0 Pride run to make it a one-point game, 38-37, with 13:47 left.
Drexel, though, came right back and hit five of its next six field goal tries en route to a 12-0 run that put the Dragons up 13, 50-37, with 9:08 to play. Jakelle King-Gilchrist’s free throw with 8:44 left broke Hofstra’s scoring drought of just over five minutes and started a 12-5 spurt that got the Pride within five, 55-50, with 3:25 to go.
But that was as close as Hofstra would get. A layup by Smith with 2:54 remaining increased the lead to seven, and Drexel hit free throws down the stretch to secure a win that evened its conference record with Hofstra’s.
“They came and were ready to play. They had four people in double figures,” said Kilburn-Steveskey. “They were hitting their shots, and we shot poorly. We shot 33 percent on our court, and they shot 44 percent.”
The Pride shot just 5-22 (22.7 percent) from behind the arc. Krystal Luciano, who averages about seven points and four assists, had only three points (1-8 FG) and two assists. Kelly Loftus finished with 13 points, but went 3-12 from the field (3-10 3FG).
“We should have gotten the ball inside…we threw up 22 three-pointers,” Kilburn-Steveskey said. “Our guards didn’t play well today, and we didn’t get the ball inside enough.”
Drexel’s Sarah Curran had 14 points and six assists, while Rachel Pearson neared a double-double with 10 points and eight rebounds. For Hofstra, Darius Faulk was all over the stat sheet with seven points, six rebounds, and six assists.
Hofstra will play at William & Mary this Sunday at 2:00 p.m. in the first of back-to-back road games.
“We just have to get back to the drawing board,” said Kilburn-Steveskey. “We can’t mess around for this Sunday. We got a big one.”