Pride vanishes in second half for blowout loss

The Hofstra University women’s basketball team dropped their eighth consecutive game on Sunday, Feb. 4, in a Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) matchup at home against the University of Delaware. The Fightin’ Blue Hens ran away with an 82-59 victory over the Pride, continuing Hofstra’s cold streak.

Both Hofstra and Delaware now find themselves in the lower half of the CAA standings. Hofstra is 7-13 overall with a 1-8 record against CAA opponents, dropping down to No. 14, the lowest spot in conference standings. Delaware, holding an 8-13 overall record and a 4-5 record against CAA foes, sits slightly higher at No.10.

Emma Von Essen bounced back from the Pride’s contest against Stony Brook University when she scored five points and was 1-11 from the 3-point line. Against the Blue Hens, she led the Pride with 19 points and three assists, going 5-13 in 3’s. Sorelle Ineza followed Von Essen with 16 points, while Brooke Anya scored 14 points and led Hofstra with six rebounds and two blocks.

Despite Anya’s rebounding effort, as well as Ally Knights and Ja’Miyah Bryant each collecting five rebounds, the Pride had difficulty keeping possession. The Pride only collected three steals, compared to the Blue Hens’ 10 steals. Hofstra allowed 23 turnovers, which accounted for 27 of Delaware’s points.

“Defensively, we gave up a lot of easy buckets throughout the game,” said Hofstra head coach Danielle Santos Atkinson. “Way too many points in the paint, way too many points off offensive rebounds.”

While three members of the Pride left the game with double-digit scoring, five Blue Hens scored at least 10 points. Ande’a Cherisier led the Blue Hens with 17 points and seven rebounds, only missing one field goal. Chloe Wilson followed suit, scoring 13 points and putting up four rebounds. Wilson’s field goal with 8:44 left in the third quarter propelled Delaware’s second-half offense and took the lead from the Pride for the rest of the game.

Whistles were constantly blown throughout the game, affecting both the Pride and the Blue Hens. Nakiyah Mays-Prince and Klarke Sconiers, both who tallied 12 points for Delaware, each received four personal fouls. Anya and Zyheima Swint, who made one steal for the Pride, were also issued four personal fouls. Knights, the game leader with six assists, fouled out with 22 seconds left of the game.

“When you don’t have that [uninterrupted] flow throughout the game, it’s gonna affect your rhythm and obviously your chemistry and rotations when you have people in foul trouble,”  Santos said. “When there’s a shift in calls or when there’s a shift in allowing [the game] to be more physical or calling it tighter, we’ve got to adjust a lot sooner.”

 “We’ve got to lock in and continue to create those moments where the other team makes their run, where there’s some adversity and challenges, and be able to overcome that adversity and those times throughout the game so we can get back to doing what we were doing to get us in the position we were in,” Santos said.

The Pride looks to rebound their season when they travel to Towson University for a Sunday, Feb. 11, matchup against the Tigers, a team Hofstra defeated via a buzzer-beater during their last meetup on Feb. 9, 2023.

Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics/Alexis Friedman