By Kevin Carroll - Staff Writer Despite scratching and clawing their way back from a fifteen-point deficit, the Hofstra women’s basketball team just couldn’t overcome a season-best 31 points from the University of Delaware’s Erika Brown, as the Blue Hens emerged victorious over the Pride on Sunday afternoon, by a score of 73-62.
“I think we all wanted this game really bad, especially after the result of [the last game vs. Delaware],” said forward Anjie White, referencing their first 64-53 loss against the Blue Hens. “But they pushed us around and we tried to fight back but it wasn’t enough.”
Brown’s explosive offensive outburst came at the expense of a Hofstra defense that had been suffocating opposing teams all year. Joy Caracciolo also aided in the victory for UDel with a double-double, scoring 12 points and pulling down 12 rebounds.
Shooting woes plagued the Pride for most of Sunday’s contest, as they shot just around 34 percent from the field, and a measly 14 percent from beyond the arc. There were bright spots in an otherwise dreary performance, as redshirt sophomore Anjie White had a team-high 16 points. Ashunae Durant and Kelly Loftus also reached double-digits for the Pride, with 12 points apiece.
The Pride ran out to a quick start as play tipped off, grabbing an early lead, and controlling the game in the early going. Delaware was right there every step of the way, however, and the two teams traded leads, with UDel taking a lead at the 7:31 mark that they would never relinquish. Hofstra used a very balanced scoring attack, with seven different players scoring in the half. Delaware was more content to rest the scoring load on the shoulders of the sophomore Brown, who had 17 points in the first half alone, as UDel cruised into halftime with a 37-30 lead.
Coming out of the break, Hofstra looked to pull even with the Blue Hens, but Delware had an answer for every basket the Pride scored. White continued to contribute off the bench for the Pride, getting open looks, and knocking down free-throws, which has been something of a challenge for the Pride this season. Try as she may, however, White’s inspired performance was unable to keep Delaware from opening up a fifteen point lead with 10 minutes left.
The Pride refused to quit, battling all the way back, playing the stingy defense that had been their trademark all year long, and was able to close the gap to just five points. However, the Pride defense simply could not keep up with Brown, as she knocked down jumper after jumper to provide Delaware with a little breathing room. Unfortunately, as the minutes ticked away, the Pride just couldn’t connect on enough shots to get themselves back into the game, and UDel made all of their free-throws down the stretch to pick up the win.
“It was a disappoint loss, for sure, for us today,” Coach Kilburn-Steveskey said after the game. “I thought we had great effort on the floor, but to come up short…it’s just painful.”
With the loss, Hofstra falls to 13-8, and 6-4 in the CAA. Delaware improves to 10-11, with a 5-5 conference record.
The Hofstra women’s basketball team will stay right here in Hempstead for its next contest, a Friday night showdown with the Dukes of James Madison, who are currently unblemished in league play, with a 9-0 mark. That game will be played ay 7:00, at the Mack Sports Complex.