Hofstra women’s basketball fell to William & Mary 81-65 Tuesday night in Virginia, just two days after beating the Tribe 64-61 at home. The Pride drops to 9-13 overall and 2-9 in CAA play as their first half deficit proved too difficult to overcome. The loss was especially deflating for Hofstra after their victory over William & Mary at home snapped a six-game losing streak.
“Obviously we are not a 20-point lesser team than William & Mary, so I’m sure that’s what the team feels. We really stunk it up in the second quarter and we didn’t battle back from that,” Pride head coach Krista Kilburn-Steveskey said.
William & Mary blew the game wide open in the second quarter, outscoring Hofstra 32-15 en route to a 48-23 halftime lead.
From the onset, Hofstra did not seem ready to play as William & Mary raced out to a 10-1 lead that they would never relinquish.
The Pride sought to make the contest respectable in the second half, outscoring William & Mary in the third and fourth quarter with three players finishing in double figures. Senior point guard Krystal Luciano paced the team with 18 points, while Ashunae Durant and Mariannne Kalin put up 16 points each. For Kalin, the 16 points set her career high.
Though these three Hofstra players finished in the top four of scoring for the game, none of their other teammates could muster much on the scoreboard. Aleana Leon finished 2-8 from the field, Sydni Epps finished 1-6 and Olivia Askin finished 1-5. For the Pride to make any noise in the remainder of the season, they’ll need to find contributions from those three.
William & Mary played a beautiful game on offense, sharing the ball well and capitalizing on easy points in the paint. The Tribe finished with 24 assists compared to Hofstra’s 10 and used that excellent ball movement to finish with 56.1 percent shooting on the night, highlighted by 70.6 percent shooting in the second quarter and 81.8 percent shooting in the third.
Conversely, Hofstra’s 10 assists paint a picture of an offense predicated on isolation plays from their stars. This lack of ball movement led to a bevy of ugly possessions that ended in ill-advised shots and overall frustration for the team. Krystal Luciano has scored in double figures in three straight while Ashunae Durant has racked up five of such performances in a row. However, until the secondary and tertiary scorers on this team step up, CAA play will continue to be a challenge for the Pride.
Hofstra returns home Friday for a match against College of Charleston at 7 p.m. while William & Mary (15-7, 5-6) will visit Drexel on Friday night.