Hofstra women’s basketball bested by Charleston

The Hofstra University women’s basketball team lost to the College of Charleston Cougars 88-59 in a Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) home matchup on Friday, Feb. 23.

The Pride now holds a 9-15 overall record and a 3-10 record against CAA opponents, sitting in the 12th spot of the CAA standings. The Cougars 18-6 overall record and 10-3 record against conference opponents places them in the second spot of conference play.

Hofstra struggled to keep possession, as Charleston scored 32 of their points off turnovers, which the Pride had collected 22 of during the game. The Pride also only earned 26 rebounds compared to the Cougars 42 rebounds. Taryn Barbot put up 13 rebounds for Charleston, while Hofstra’s leader, Brooke Anya, only picked up seven boards.

“This team has taken a lot of steps forward,” said Hofstra head coach Danielle Santos Atkinson. “I felt like we took a step back tonight. We didn’t get off to the start that we needed to make sure we were competitive for a 40-minute game.”

While four members of Charleston scored in double-digits, led by Jada Logan’s 24 points, only two Hofstra players did the same. Sorelle Ineza led the Pride with 15 points while Emma Von Essen trailed with 11 points.

As soon as Alexis Andrews made her first of five field goals, a jumper for Charleston 21 seconds into the game, the Pride could not find a lead or tie. In the first quarter alone, the Cougars put up 27 points, nine from Logan, while the Pride only scored nine points total. The score only grew as the Pride were unable to score 20 points in a single quarter.

Foul trouble also proved to be an issue for Hofstra. Anya and Zyheima Swint both earned four personal fouls; Swint received half her fouls in the first quarter and was limited to playing just 10 minutes of the game.

“It’s not our first game that we’ve been in foul trouble,” said Santos. “We’ve got to be able to play through fouls and still continue to produce and contribute really aggressively.”

With foul trouble inflicting the Pride’s starting lineup, Hofstra relied on the play of their bench for most of the game. Hofstra’s b-squad scored 19 points of the team total, including freshmen Onna Brown, who scored five points, and Micaela Carter, who put up four points and led the Pride with two steals.

The Pride travel to Buies Creek, North Carolina to play the Campbell University Fighting Camels on Sunday, Feb. 25. This is Campbell’s first season as a CAA team, having competed in the Big South Conference from 2011 to 2023. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. at the Pop Convocation Center.

Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics/Evan Bernstein