In their season opener on Monday, Nov. 4, the Hofstra women’s basketball team dropped a nail-biter against Sacred Heart University by a score of 63-58. The Pride move to 0-1 for the fourth straight season.

“First game of the year, I felt there were a lot of positives to pull out of it,” said Hofstra head coach Danielle Santos Atkinson. “Some of the things that we wanted to take care of going into this game, we were able to do. Obviously, we didn’t come up with the win … but after the first game of the year, there are a lot of positives to take away.”

Junior Chloe Sterling dominated throughout the game on both ends of the floor, putting up a career-high of 18 points and two steals to lead the team in both categories.

“[Sterling] is a great player. She does a great job of leading us,” Santos said. “She does a great job of getting us in positions to be able to score, and she’s a two-way player.”

Freshman LaNae’ Corbett notched a double-double in her collegiate debut, putting up 15 points and 13 rebounds. She put in most of her work during the second half with 12 points and 8 rebounds.

“Coming out there I knew [Corbett] needed to get herself going and get settled in,” said Santos. “Coming from a high school that plays high-level basketball and one of the top high schools in the country, [Corbett] is used to the moment … once she got comfortable and settled in, she was able to do what she does.”

In the first quarter, the first-game jitters were still evident on both sides of the court with the Pride and Pioneers having five turnovers each.

Sacred Heart utilized a full-court press, forcing the game into a high tempo, leading to the Pride’s early turnover trouble. Hofstra finished the quarter narrowly trailing 17-14.

The Pride adjusted to the full court press in the second quarter and were significantly more efficient on offense. They went from shooting 33% from the field in the first to shooting 38% in the second quarter.

The Pride also began to knock down more of their free throws, making five of their nine attempts from the charity stripe in the second quarter. These improvements allowed the Pride to tie the score at 30 going into the half.

Hofstra started the second half on a 10-2 run, but the Pioneers responded with a 14-0 run of their own, applying the full-court press to score six points off turnovers. The Pride finished the third quarter with 7 turnovers, but a 5-0 run gave them a one-point advantage heading into the final frame.

The Pride extended their run to 14-0 to open the fourth, thanks to solid defensive play and confidence in transition. This confidence would not last for long, as a poor shooting and continued turnovers from Hofstra turned the tides in the contest.

After starting four-of-five to start the quarter, the Pride only scored twice in the last seven minutes as back-to-back threes were made, and an energized full-court press from Sacred Heart fueled a 19-4 run to come back and steal the win.

“The press didn’t change, it was just us and how aggressive we were in attacking it and how aggressive we needed to be,” Santos said. “We quit playing a tempo and pace that we needed to play with … continuing to work on it, I think it will be fine.”

Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics/Matteo Bracco