Preview: Hofstra goes to battle with NC A&T in CAA quarterfinals

The Hofstra University women’s basketball team’s quest for the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) championship continues on Friday, March 15, as they take on the North Carolina A&T State University Aggies at the Entertainment and Sports Arena in Washington, D.C.

This is only the fourth all-time meeting between the two teams and the second this season. The first game was a defensive battle in the finale of the regular season, which the Aggies won 57-46. Hofstra did not have a player score more than nine points and turned the ball over 22 times. NC A&T was led by D’Mya Tucker with 16 points.

Tucker is the second-leading scorer for the Aggies, contributing 11.4 points per game on 43.1% shooting, as well as 85.6% from the charity stripe, which is third in the conference. Tucker also chips in on the boards, pulling in 5.6 rebounds per game, good for second on the team.

The leading scorer on NC A&T is Jordyn Dorsey with 13.2 points per game, coming in at No. 12 in the conference in scoring. Dorsey is also the best distributor for the Aggies, dishing out 3.4 assists per game, which makes her seventh in the CAA. Despite her impressive season, Dorsey only contributed six points in the Aggie win last week.

Chaniya Clark has been a monster on the boards this season, grabbing 7.8 rebounds per game, coming in at fourth in the conference. Clark is a double-double threat every night, as she has had six such games this season.

This will be NC A&T’s first tournament game, as they earned themselves a double-bye to the quarterfinals with their fourth-place conference finish. Even though they defeated the Pride last week in their only meeting this season, this game will likely mean a bit more to the Aggies, as Hofstra ended their season last year with a 66-59 win in the second round of the CAA tournament. The Aggies will look to return the favor at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, March 15.

Photo courtesy of Alexis Friedman